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Ledger Award Triggers the Tears

Kline: He left 'original and enduring legacy'

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Feb 23, 2009 4:40 AM CST

(Newser) – The most emotional moments at last night's Oscars occurred when Heath Ledger's parents and sister accepted his posthumous award for best supporting actor. Ledger's family said the honor for the actor's portrayal of the Joker—which Kevin Kline hailed as "menacing, mercurial, droll and diabolical"—will be held in trust for his daughter, Matilda.

"This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here, his peers, within an industry he so loved," Ledger's mom, Sally Bell, told the crowd following a standing ovation. Bell spoke afterward about how comforted the family is now by Ledger's daughter. "You just have to look at Matilda to know she's totally like her daddy," said Bell. " She has the same mannerisms. I really feel he's in her."

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'The grotesquely smirking face of Ledger's Joker became the definitive image of the film,' Reed Johnson writes in the 'Los Angeles Times.' (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Ledger received a standing ovation and reverence silence when his Oscar win was announced. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh,File)

The Family of the late actor Heath Ledger arrives at the 81st Academy Awards. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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Heath Ledger's family received the award for Best Supporting Actor on behalf of Heath Ledger's 3-year-old daughter. (joaniong)

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Ledger Award Triggers the Tears