Heath Ledger's family pays tribute publicly

Heath Ledger's family remembered the actor as "the most amazing old soul in a young man's body." In a separate tribute, his sister said she could hardly breathe as she tried to write about "my little brother." "As a close knit and very private family we have observed you so determined yet quietly travelling in your self-styled path in life, nothing would get in your way ... no mountain too tall, no river too wide," the family said in a death notice published Friday in The West Australian. "You dreamed your dreams and lived them with passion and intelligent commitment. We have been privileged to accompany you on a ride through life that has simply been amazing and through it all we have loved each other beyond imagination," the notice added. "Our hearts are broken." The 28-year-old actor was found dead in his New York apartment Tuesday, where police also found several bottles of prescription drugs. Authorities suspect a possible overdose, but toxicology tests have not yet determined

the exact cause of death. The West Australian said Ledger would likely be buried in his hometown in western Australia of Perth after a star-studded funeral service in Los Angeles

Masseuse called Mary-Kate first -- three times

The massage therapist's first call on finding a lifeless Heath Ledger wasn't to 911. Nor was her second. Nor her third, police said. A day before a Friday private viewing for the 28-year-old actor, police said the masseuse spent nine minutes repeatedly ringing "Full House" actress Mary-Kate Olsen before calling authorities for help.

The masseuse called Olsen a fourth time after paramedics arrived -- at the same time as Olsen's security guards. The details emerged as Ledger's family made plans to bury the star of "Brokeback Mountain." The viewing was scheduled at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home in Manhattan, and Ledger's family was flying to the United States from his native Australia.

Glitz-starved eager to see SAG awards

Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards will be the industry's first red-carpet event in this strike-fractured awards season, and even the prospect of heavy rain hasn't dampened the enthusiasm.

Entertainment magazine and cable outlet spokespeople said they are ready to throw more weight behind their coverage of this year's carpet and ceremony, following the Writers Guild of America strike-ravaged Golden Globes on Jan. 13 and given the Oscar certainty. That means the SAG Awards -- which received a waiver from the Writers Guild of America -- likely will attract more hoopla than ever in their 14th year. "This could turn out to be the most star-packed awards show of the season," "Extra" Co-executive Producer Jeremy Spiegel said. Oscar officials have said that the ceremony is scheduled to take place as planned, though the WGA has not yet granted a waiver in the event that the strike has not been resolved by Feb. 24. Hollywood Reporter/Reuters

QUOTE:

"Over the past 20 years, he hasn't really been touring, so we feel really fortunate." -- 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (April 25-27; May 1-4) promoter Quint Davis, on Stevie Wonder's headlining the second weekend. Others to perform: Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Jimmy Buffet, Santana, Dr. John, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Al Green, Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty, Marcia Ball, Aaron Neville, Patti Austin, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall and Ruby Wilson.

TUBE TIME:

"Daniel's Daughter"

Time: 8 p.m. | Hallmark Channel

Details: New made-for-cable film starring Laura Leighton ("Melrose Place") as a powerful New York magazine editor who reluctantly returns to her small-town roots to fulfill the last wishes of her estranged father.