Heath Ledger found dead in NY apartment

Heath Ledger's family yesterday rejected any suggestion that the actor killed himself and joined fellow Australians in mourning one of their rising stars after he was found dead in an apartment in New York.

The Australian-born actor was found face-down and naked at the foot of a bed in a Manhattan apartment on Tuesday. Police said there were prescription sleeping pills near Ledger's body, but there was no obvious sign he had committed suicide.

Ledger's members faced a throng of journalists in the actor's hometown of Perth in western Australia and read a statement saying his death was purely accidental, though they did not say whether he died of an overdose.

"We, Heath's family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda," Ledger's father, Kim, told reporters. "He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30pm US time."

Kim Ledger remembered his 28-year-old son as a "down to earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, unselfish individual" who was "extremely inspirational" to those who knew him.

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him," Kim Ledger said. "Please now respect our family's need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately."

Meanwhile, tributes from fellow Australians flooded in yesterday.

Actress Nicole Kidman called the death a "terrible tragedy."

Cate Blanchett, who starred with Ledger in the Bob Dylan bio-flick I'm Not There, a role that earned her an Oscar nomination on Tuesday for best supporting actress, said she was "shocked and saddened" at the news.

"I deeply respect Heath's work and always admired his continuing development as an artist," Blanchett said in a statement published by News Ltd newspapers online. "My thoughts are with his family and close friends."

Australian Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia had lost one of its brightest talents and that his more challenging roles would be remembered "as some of the great performances by an Australian actor."

Ledger's man looks had propelled him to early stardom in teen films like 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale.

His career took a notable turn toward dramatic and brooding roles with 2001's Monster's Ball, where he played a suicidal prison guard.

He received an Oscar nomination for his role as a troubled gay cowboy in the 2006 film Brokeback Mountain, where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, now two-year-old Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Williams' Larry, a prominent stock trader currently in Australia fighting extradition to the US on tax evasion charges, remembered Ledger as "a great talent."

"My heart goes out to everyone in his family and my family," Williams told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.