The final chapter in Heath Ledger's stellar but short-lived career is complete after he was awarded an Oscar for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
It was also a night when the Bollywood-inspired rags-to-riches story Slumdog Millionaire came good on the hype, winning a swag of awards including the top gong for Best Picture.
Check out the red carpet arrivals in pictures
In one of the few upsets of the night, Sean Penn took out the Best Actor award for Milk over favourite Mickey Rourke.
As predicted Kate Winslet won the coveted Best Actress award for her performance in the Holocaust film The Reader.
Ledger's Academy Award means he has become only the second person in history to win a posthumous Oscar — Australian actor Peter Finch was the first for the Network in 1982.
The late actor's father Kim Ledger and mother Sally Bell accepted the award on behalf of their son, along with his sister Kate Ledger.
"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," an emotional Kim Ledger told the audience.
Speaking from the stage, Heath's mother Sally Bell said Heath was a compassionate and generous soul who had greatly inspired their lives.
"[We're] truly overwhelmed by the honour and respect bestowed on him with this award," she said.
Ledger's sister Kate confirmed the Oscar would be passed on to the late actor's daughter Matilda.
"We really wish you were but we proudly accept this award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda," she said.
Ledger had been the unassailable favourite to win the award, with critics and commentators agreeing almost unanimously beforehand that there was almost no chance he would lose.
But other Australians nominated for an Oscar this year have missed out, including visual effects wizard Ben Snow who was up for the award for his work on the Robert Downey Jr superhero film Iron Man.
The Oscar was won by the visual effects team from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Australia's two nominated film editors, Kirk Baxter and Lee Smith, also failed to win their award category.
The Oscar went to Slumdog Millionaire's British editor Chris Dickens.
Baxter had been nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button while Smith received his nod for The Dark Knight.
Earlier at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, Hugh Jackman blew away the audience by performing a musical medley with pop star Beyonce Knowles and an opening act that gently satirised the nominated films and the awards themselves.
Jackman received a standing ovation for the self-consciously "low budget" opening which bloomed into a rolling medley of song and dance.
Penelope Cruz was the first winner of the night, taking the Best Supporting Actress gong for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
"Has anybody fainted here? Because I might be the first one," Cruz said on accepting the award.
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