Actor Heath Ledger's body is expected to be brought to Australia for burial in his home town of Perth after Hollywood celebrities have said farewell to him at a memorial service in the United States.

The Australian actor's family will lay him to rest in Perth, with his father Kim Ledger planning the sad journey home with his son's body, The Sydney Herald reports.

Ledger's distraught parents, along with his sister, are due to hold a private memorial in New York. A public remembrance has also been proposed for Los Angeles in the coming days, Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told reporters in New York Friday.

"I understand there's a private memorial service today for family members. I also understand it's proposed there will be a public memorial service in Los Angeles later this week," Smith said, adding that Australian consular officials have offered to help the family repatriate the body.

George Amado, the general manager of Manhattan's Frank E Campbell funeral home, confirmed today that funeral arrangements had been made, but would not reveal any details.

"The family doesn't want us to give out any information," Amado said.

Ledger's Perth-based uncle, Mike Ledger, today said he did not expect the actor's parents to stay long in the US, saying they'd be back in Perth "shortly".

Mike Ledger and another uncle Haydn Ledger who also lives in Perth again dismissed any suggestion their famous nephew may have taken his own life.

"No. Not possible," Mike Ledger said during a live cross with the US network CBS. "No, we know Heath well enough to know."
Haydn agreed.

"It's certainly, as far as we are concerned, it was a tragic accidental death," he said.

They would not answer when asked if Ledger had been suffering from depression, saying Ledger's parents were better placed to comment on that.

Last update: 01-25-2008 17:30