It was the kind of red carpet event he might have loathed. But the world of celebrity was determined to make a show of Heath Ledger's funeral yesterday.
More than 750 friends and family attended a memorial service to the quiet and private Hollywood actor in his home town of Perth, in Western Australia.
Among them was Cate Blanchett who starred with Ledger in the Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There.
She was one of many who made emotional tributes to the actor.
Grief: Heath's former lover Michelle Williams and his sister Kate support each other through the difficult day
Heath Ledger's former fiancee Michelle Williams is comforted at his wake
Ledger's former fiancée Michelle Williams wore dark sunglasses and clung tightly to the hand of Ledger's sister Kate as they walked into the ceremony, held on a school playing field in Perth suburb Como.
The US-born actress, 27 - who met Ledger when she played his wife in Brokeback Mountain - chose not to wear the traditional black mourning dress, opting instead for a cream summer dress with black trim.
Ledger's grief-stricken parents arrived afterwards - mother Sally Ledger Bell, with her husband Roger Bell, then father Kim Ledger and his wife Ines.
Ledger, 28, was found dead 17 days ago in his New York flat. He had died accidentally as a result of mixing several prescription drugs, according to the coroner's report.
At the service, sister Kate spoke of the bond she and he had shared, saying her brother would ring her three or four times a day.
Michelle celebrates Heath's life at his wake
After a long day's grieving, fellow mourners help ex-fiancee Michelle forget her sorrow at a wake on the beach
Even at the height of his fame he never forgot his friends, she said.
Other mourners including model Gemma Ward, Tom Cruise's Cocktail co-star Bryan Brown and 28 Weeks Later actress Rose Byrne.
The eulogies were accompanied by Ledger's favourite music and clips from his films.
Musician Ben Harper performed Happy Ever After In Your Eyes, a song written for Ledger and Williams' daughter Matilda Rose - though the two-year-old herself was not at the service.
The 90-minute ceremony also included a video tribute to actor.
Michelle arrived at the service at 12.30pm with Ledger's family in a convoy of four black vehicles.
Tribute: Cate Blanchett at the ceremony in a Perth school field, where she read a eulogy for fellow Australian Ledger
Mourner: Model Gemma Ward joins the gathering to remember Heath Ledger
"It's a pretty sad time. We're finding it difficult to cope," Ledger's father said as he arrived.
The service, which closed with The Beatles' Come Together, was followed by a cremation at Fremantle Cemetery attended by only about 10 members of his immediate family in what his father described as a "very, very private" funeral.
Finally a wake was held at a restaurant on a Perth beach where Ledger had loved to surf.
Bygone days: Ledger pictured with Michelle Williams, who bore his two-year-old daughter Matilda
