Ledger family dig deep for Telethon
It's a raw, intimate moment that captures the essence of late Perth actor Heath Ledger's fun-loving free spirit.
The evocative sun-drenched image - taken by New York photographer Ben Watts(brother of actress Naomi) by a riverbed in Los Angeles - has been immortalised on an official commemorative T-shirt that will help raise money for Telethon and two other charities.
"He loved his T-shirts and skateboards and it's a happy reflective image of Heath . . . that was him, fun-loving," father Kim Ledger told AAA at an exclusive photo shoot with Seven News Perth presenters Samantha Jolly and Blake Johnson.
He said the limited-edition garment - designed by Heath's step-sister Elana Rosa - was the first product to be approved by the trustees of Ledger's estate and has the endorsement of his family.
"A lot of people around the world had requested permission to produce prints on garments and we hadn't agreed to any of those - it's not the kind of thing Heath would probably stand by either," he said.
"So we had the idea of doing one shirt along the lines of the type of shirt Heath himself would wear and we agreed to do it once. In that way, there's a nice keepsake for everybody and at the same time we chose charities Heath was passionate about."
Among the beneficiaries is the Heath Ledger Scholarship for children's brain cancer through the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
"As a family, we became very aware of the important part Telethon played in helping build, develop and finance research as well as provide equipment to PMH," he said.
"Heath's sister Kate was run over by a car when she was eight years old and spent nearly six months at PMH fighting for life. We provided equipment and in some way contributed as a family and Heath grew up with that, so this project is really just an extension of that."
As for New York-based Matilda - the late actor's seven-year-old daughter with actress Michelle Williams - Kim said she was showing signs of inheriting her father's artistic spirit.
"We were on Skype last night - she's got the same energy and expression," he said.
A limited number of the high- quality T-shirts are being sold at the special Telethon price of $50, with all proceeds going to Telethon. Visit telethon7perth.com.au.
