PERTH, Australia -- Hollywood star Heath Ledger's funeral will be held later Saturday in his hometown of Perth in a small ceremony attended by only 10 people, the actor's father Kim said.

Kim Ledger also appealed for a massive media pack that has been staking out the family home in the western Australian city to respect the privacy of the actor's grieving relatives.

He said the private funeral would be held at Penrhos College girl's school in Perth, ending days of speculation about when the star would be laid to rest.

"It's a pretty sad time and we are finding it difficult to cope by ourselves," Ledger told reporters.

"The funeral will be very, very private and there will only be 10 people there, immediate family and nobody else."

Ledger said the family appreciated the massive outpouring of grief from the public over his son's death, and the support they had received from family and friends.

The 28-year-old actor was found dead in his New York apartment on January 22.

His family arrived in Perth earlier this week after two weeks in the United States, where they held a Hollywood memorial service in Los Angeles, a private family service in New York and visited his Manhattan residence.

The New York chief medical examiner's office on Wednesday released a toxicology report showing he died of accidental intoxication caused by a cocktail of painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.

Ledger's former fiancée Michelle Williams arrived in Perth with the couple's two-year-old daughter Matilda this week for the funeral, as did his ex-girlfriend supermodel Gemma Ward.

Jake Gyllenhaal, who co-starred with Ledger in the critically-acclaimed gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" was this week reported to be planning to attend the funeral but has not yet been seen in Perth.