Apu from 'The Simpsons' -- RUMORED TO DIE ... Says Jennifer Tilly

We KNOW someone's gonna die on "The Simpsons" next season ... and we KNOW Jennifer Tilly is tight with co-creator Sam Simon ... so when we saw her in NY yesterday, it was the perfect opportunity to pry for some inside info.

Tilly wasn't exactly ready to sell out her poker buddy, but she did tell us that the person rumored to be getting the chop is everyone's favorite Kwik-E-mart employee Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Apu is definitely a candidate ... according to Executive Producer Al Jean who teased, "the actor playing the character won an Emmy for playing that character."