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The news of Austalian actor Heath Ledger's death is broken in his home country: his parents say it was a tragic accident. MOREINFO: The Australian-born actor was found by his housekeeper at around 1530 EST (2020 GMT) after she went to let him know the masseuse had arrived for her appointment. Police officials said they did not suspect foul play and Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city's medical examiner's office, said an autopsy was planned for tomorrow. Ledger's mother Sally and sister Kate gathered with his father, Kim Ledger at the family's suburban home and said they wanted to be left to grieve in private. SCRIPT: The death of Australian actor Heath Ledger was a tragic accident, according to his family. SOUNDBITE: Kim Ledger, Heath Ledger's father saying (English): "We Heath's family can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda. He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3.30pm U.S. time. We would like to thank our friends and everyone around their world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time. Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life that few had the pleasure of truly knowing him. He was down to earth, generous, kind hearted, life loving unselfish individual extremely inspirational to many." His father, Kim Ledger said the family wanted to grieve privately. Ledger, best known for his role as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain", was found dead in his Manhattan apartment after what police said could have been a drug overdose. Australia, Ledger's home country, was shocked on at the news of his death. The news of the 28-year-old actor topped Australia's news bulletins. Critics said he will be remembered as one of their country's greatest performers. SOUNDBITE: Network Ten entertainment reporter Angela Bishop saying (English): "He was much more interested in doing a great role and giving a great performance-- he was not interested in playing the movie star, and as such sometimes did not take it very seriously. But certainly from our point of view here in Australia he will be remembered as one of the greatest performers that our country has ever produced." Ledger, who was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain, had a two-year-old daughter with actress Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. He was due to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Night, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Ledger grew up in Australia and began doing amateur theatre at the age of 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV roles and guest spots on Australian television. Puja Bharwani, Reuters.