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William Lucking, who starred as one of the staple characters in "Sons of Anarchy" has died at the age of 80.

Lucking, who played biker Piney Winston on the show died last month at home in Las Vegas. An obituary for the actor, written by his wife of 25 years, Sigrid, called Lucking a "giant of a man with the soul of a poet."

It's currently unclear how Lucking died, but "SoA" fans will remember his character, Piney, as the biker club's oldest member and most senior adviser. Piney carried an oxygen tank on the show, and had seemingly slowed down a bit as the series started.

Lucking's career started back in the late '60s, spanning both TV and film ... with roles alongside Faye Dunaway in "Oklahoma Crude" to the original Colonel in NBC's The A-Team in the 1980's.

Lucking leaves behind his wife, two daughters, grandkids and a sister.

His obituary requests fans "toast to his memory and celebrate his legacy."

Phoenix Suns co-owner Robert Sarver is being accused of using the N-word on multiple occasions over the course of his 17 years with the team ... but he's denying all but one claim made against him.

ESPN just released a lengthy report on Sarver's tenure with the Suns organization ... with several sources accusing the 60-year-old of racism, sexism and misogyny.

Earl Watson -- who was head coach of the Suns from 2016-17 -- claims Sarver hurled the slur multiple times after a game against the Golden State Warriors ... saying, "You know, why does Draymond Green get to run up the court and say [N-word]?"

The ex-NBAer says he fired back at Sarver by explaining he's not allowed to use the word ... to which Sarver replied, "Why? Draymond Green says [N-word]."

While Watson claims he said the word, Sarver says he actually used the phrase "N-word."

Sarver adamantly denies calling or referring to anyone as the racial slur ... saying, "It is abhorrent and ugly and denigrating and against everything I believe in."

Sarver -- who also co-owns the Phoenix Mercury -- does admit using the word "many years ago" ... claiming he was responding to a player while discussing team chemistry.

"An assistant coach approached me a short time after and told me that I shouldn't say the word, even if I were quoting someone else," Sarver told the outlet.

In a 2004 meeting that included Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, agents and other staffers, Sarver allegedly said the term "black guy" loosely, which employees believed came off as racially insensitive.

6 other staffers claim Sarver also used the N-word when sharing stories relayed by a black player.

There's more -- an executive claims Sarver explained his decision to hire Lindsey Hunter as head coach over Dan Majerle back in 2013 by saying, "The N-words need an N-word."

Watson also says Sarver mentioned race while asking him to cut ties with Rich Paul's Klutch Sports amid contract negotiations with player Eric Bledsoe ... claiming he said, "Yeah, I understand what race you two are. So I'm asking you, How bad do you want your job?"

Watson claims to have responded -- "You can do whatever you want. You own this team, but my culture is not for sale. And, I'm not for sale."

As for Sarver, he says his issues with Klutch were due to a conflict of interest and not race. Watson was later fired 3 games into the 2017-18 season.

The report claims Sarver told a pregnant employee in 2008 she would not be able to do her job because she would be at home breastfeeding all day ... but Suns management rebuked Sarver's wishes and did not fire the woman due to fear of discrimination.

Sarver is also accused of showing employees pictures of his wife in a bikini ... which he claims was meant to show off team-branded swimsuits that were recently approved for sale.

There's more -- Sarver is admitting to pulling down an accounting exec's pants in front of fellow employees during an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge back in 2014, which he regrets.

Sarver also allegedly made comments to staffers about shaving their private parts, NBA players getting strippers pregnant and female employees crying too much.

Others claim Sarver discussed receiving oral sex from his wife, needing to wear extra-sized condoms, and asking players about their sex lives ... which he's denied.

As one employee put the working environment under Sarver ... "If the commissioner comes in and investigates to see what the f*** is going on in Phoenix, [he] would be appalled."

Britney Spears ventured into Hollywood Wednesday night for a little culture -- an exhibit that's the talk of the town.

Britney hit up Immersive Van Gogh Los Angeles in the heart of Hollywood. She tooled up in her G-Wagon as her driver entered the parking lot at the intersection of Cahuenga and Sunset Blvd. Her fiance, Sam Asghari, wasn't there.

The exhibit features 20,000 square feet of awesome Van Gogh works, splashed on 2-story screens. It's a 360-degree experience and pretty incredible.

The exhibit is sold out, but not to worry. It closed early Wednesday night at 7, which is when Britney went for a private showing. She was there a little under an hour before leaving.

As we reported, Britney went off on her mom, Lynne Spears ... saying she engineered the conservatorship that made her life miserable. It doesn't seem like a coincidence Britney posted her feelings hours after Lynne filed legal docs asking the conservatorship to pay $600,000 that she incurred in legal bills.

The judge in the conservatorship case could decide to pull the plug next Friday. What's unclear ... will the judge order a mental evaluation, something Britney does not want.

Henry Ruggs sat near a sidewalk just feet away from the Toyota engulfed in flames -- which killed a woman and her dog -- and he and his girlfriend swore and sobbed ... in this new video, obtained by TMZ Sports.

Just seconds after the former Raiders star slammed his Corvette into the back of a Rav4 at around 3:40 AM in Las Vegas ... footage shows Ruggs and Kiara Washington locked in a hug on the ground. In the clip, you can hear parts of their emotional conversation.

"OK. OK, here," she told Ruggs as she grabbed his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He responded, "F***!!! Stop yelling!!!"

Video later shows one witness, who had arrived just minutes after the crash, telling an officer, "That's Henry Ruggs right here. That's Henry Ruggs right here. He plays for the Raiders."

The woman holding Ruggs then was sent into a panic -- as Ruggs appeared to drift in and out of consciousness in her arms.

"Can we get help?!?" the woman yelled. "Can you please help him!?!" He is knocked unconscious!"

Ruggs then seemed to come to -- and you can hear in the video, he began crying and sobbing as his girlfriend still held his head.

As we previously reported, cops say Ruggs showed signs of impairment at the scene when they interrogated him -- and, after being checked out at a local hospital, he was arrested and booked on charges of DUI and reckless driving.

In police documents, cops say he was going 156 MPH just before the crash ... and ultimately hit the Toyota at 127 MPH. Prosecutors later said bloodwork showed he had a BAC of .161 -- more than two times the legal limit of .08.

They added the 22-year-old also had a gun in the Corvette.

Ruggs -- who was released by the Raiders after the wreck -- showed up for a hearing on the matter in court on Wednesday in a neck brace and a wheelchair ... and later posted $150,000 bond.

Zayn Malik's confrontation with Yolanda Hadid -- the one that ended with Zayn pleading no contest to 4 criminal charges -- was all about boundaries ... boundaries he says she violated.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Zayn was at Gigi's home Sept. 29, where he was staying because he wanted to be close to his daughter. Our sources say on that day Yolanda "barged" into the house, without calling beforehand or even knocking at the door.

We're told this was an ongoing source of conflict ... Zayn felt Yolanda was acting like the house was hers and ignoring his position as the boyfriend of Gigi and father of their little girl. Our sources say Zayn made his feelings known once she entered, but Yolanda wasn't having it.

We're told Zayn typically works nights on his music and sleeps for part of the day, and Yolanda regularly disrupted his life by coming over as if she owned the place.

There were other sources of tension as well ... notably, Yolanda was posting photos of the baby, which pissed off Zayn because he felt privacy was vital.

TMZ broke the story ... Zayn was charged with 4 counts of harassment for allegedly berating Yolanda and pushing her into a dresser -- something he denies. He was also charged with harassing Gigi, who was in Paris at the time of the incident. And, he was charged with harassing the security guard, whom Zayn allegedly challenged to a fight. Zayn pled no contest, received a small fine and was ordered to take anger management courses.

Chris Rock's making it clear where he stands in the vaxx/anti-vaxx debate by taking a big swipe at Kyrie Irving ... and he did it in a prime location.

Chris was onstage Wednesday night in Brooklyn along with a bunch of bands and comedians performing at an NFT Week event when he hyped up the crowd by calling out anti-vaxxers. He eased into it with a joke about wearing face masks at concerts, and then simply asked, "Where's my anti-vaxxers at?"

Oddly, the question actually drew some cheers -- NYC requires vaccinations to attend shows like this -- and then Rock hit 'em with ... "You dumb, Kyrie motherf******!!!"

Chris was just a few miles away from Barclays Center, where Kyrie will NOT be playing this season for his Brooklyn Nets -- but his joke still scored laughs from the hometown crowd. Remember, Chris is from Brooklyn ... but he's still a diehard Knicks fan.

Lil Baby, Questlove, Aziz Ansari, and Rich the Kid were some of the other performers -- and after Chris took his shot at Kyrie Irving, he introduced The Strokes.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson very much appear to be an item ... well, maybe something more flingy than that ... the two just met up for the second night in a row.

K&P joined a group of friends for dinner at Zero Bond in NYC. The pair arrived separately, Pete first and then Kim -- dressed in Balenciaga sunglasses and a black dress -- about 10 minutes later. If the two grabbing dinner sounds familiar, it should ... Pete and Kim chowed down at Campania in Staten Island Tuesday night after they were escorted through a back entrance and treated to a very private meal.

This time, things weren't as intimate -- with others breaking bread with them -- but to hang out 3x in less than a week, not to mention cross-country ... well, it's starting to sound like a thing. According to Page Six, who was first to report the story, Pete wore a green plaid shirt, jeans and sneakers to the meetup.

As for why Kim's in town, it wasn't solely to see Pete ... she was honored Monday at Wall Street Journal Magazine's 2021 Innovator Awards for her SKIMS line. Always a savvy businesswoman, Kim wore brown leather with SKIMS during her acceptance speech.

It was only a few days ago when we got Kim, Pete and friends in the OC during a trip to Knott's Berry Farm. The two rode a rollercoaster together, and at one point held hands ... onlookers told us they looked like a "thing."

Welp, forget any chances of Erika Jayne and Sutton Stracke settling their nearly season-long beef ... the two faced off during last night's 'RHOBH' reunion with insults that pushed the envelope even for a Bravo show.

Last night's fourth and final installment of the sit-down with the cast members was again mostly centered around Erika, but it was when they rehashed a dinner fight that happened between EJ and Sutton that things got really nasty.

Sutton revealed she had to hire a full-time security team after Erika threatened her and her family. The two traded jabs during the reunion, before Erika dropped a hammer, saying at the time of the dinner fight, Sutton was being a "bitchy f****** c***."

During the reunion, Erika also mentioned how her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, still calls her several times a day, getting emotional and revealing she blames him for putting her in such a tough position.

As we reported, EJ is currently in the middle of a legal battle -- accused of taking $25 million from Tom's former law firm to fund her ritzy lifestyle.

Meghan Markle is lobbying hard for paid paternity leave -- an issue that could be a deal-breaker in the impending infrastructure vote on Capitol Hill -- and she's been cold-calling U.S. Senators ... but oddly, using her royal title.

Apparently, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand gave Markle the cell phone numbers of 2 key Senators -- Susan Collins and Shelley Moore Capito, both Republicans. Markle followed through with a phone call, which showed up as a blocked number.

Moore Capito told Politico, "I'm in my car. I'm driving. It says caller ID blocked. Honestly, I thought it was Senator Manchin, his calls come in blocked."

Moore Capito says she answered and the caller then ID'd herself ... "And she goes, 'Senator Capito?' I said, 'Yes.' She said, "This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex."

A similar call was made to Collins, who also answered. Collins said, "I was happy to talk with her, but I'm more interested in what people from Maine are telling me about paid leave."

Markle has been active behind the scenes, writing both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to push for passage of the bill. She wrote, "I'm writing to you at this deeply important time -- as a mom -- to advocate for paid leave ... on behalf of my family, Archie and Lili and Harry."

Aaron Carter is about to be a first-time father -- a baby that’s due any day now, and the kid's name will honor Aaron's relationship with Michael Jackson.

The singer tells TMZ ... his fiancée, Melanie Martin, has been expecting a baby boy for quite some time now. Her due date is Nov. 18, but he says they're ready for her to pop anytime between now and then.

Aaron says they've already decided the kid's name will be Prince Lyric Carter, which is a nod to MJ.

As you probably know, Aaron and Michael were close ... and he tells us the King of Pop -- who he considered a friend and mentor -- used to call him the Prince of Pop. Sooo, there ya go.

Anyhow, the young Prince-to-be might be arriving via c-section because of some high-risk factors for Melanie. We're told she has anemia and ulcerative colitis, plus the baby was in breech position -- feet first -- for the first 6 months of the pregnancy ... but he's back in a normal position now.

The couple says they're nervous, but mostly thrilled for Prince's arrival ... especially after Melanie suffered a miscarriage last year.

If Hollywood memorabilia's your thing -- don't miss this chance to bid on relics from 'Anchorman,' 'Friends' and a George Clooney watch ... all in the name of helping vets.

Indeed, the cause is a great one. A nonprofit called Homes for Our Troops is holding its 5th annual Veteran's Day Celebrity Auction starting Nov. 4 and running through the 14th ... and they've got some neat stuff on the table here, which can technically be yours.

Among some of the coolest items ... Jockey briefs as seen on the set of "Anchorman 2," which are autographed by the great Will Ferrell himself. If you're not quite brave enough for that -- there's also something for 'Friends' lovers, especially fans of Rachel Green.

'Friends' autographed clothing from Jennifer Aniston's personal collection are also on the auction block.

There's more than just attire here though for bidding purposes ... other items that HFOT has in its collection this year include a "Suicide Squad" script signed by the cast, a special Snoopy watch from George Clooney's own collection, a guitar with Jon Bon Jovi's John Hancock on it ... and a WHOLE lot more.

All in all, we're talking upwards of 130 personalized items and experiences that can be yours to claim -- and of course, the money's going toward putting our brave men and women who've served and returned injured into specially adapted custom homes.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is dragging his ex, Jenn Harley, to court ... and he wants to force a sale of the Las Vegas home they used to share.

According to a new lawsuit ... the 'Jersey Shore' star claims he and Jenn borrowed money from a bank to buy the house when they were still together -- but he claims she recently stopped making payments on the loan, even though she's the only one who lives there now that Ronnie moved out.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Ronnie claims Jenn hasn't made a loan payment since July, and he's also not sure if she's paying the HOA dues or utilities.

What's more, Ronnie claims Jenn made some home improvements he didn't know about and failed to pay for the work. As a result, he says there are now liens on the property.

According to the docs, Ronnie wants to sell the place, but claims Jenn refuses to cooperate. So, now he wants a court to force the sale so he can get his cut of the proceeds.

Jenn's lawyer, Michael Cristalli, tells TMZ ... Ronnie and Jenn agreed it's her house and she paid Ronnie for it, plus she pays the mortgage and invested six figures into improvements.

A shot at a Titans Super Bowl title did not end when Derrick Henry got injured Sunday ... so says Chris Johnson, who tells TMZ Sports Tennessee is still "the team to beat."

Of course, most disagree with CJ2K ... considering Henry -- who's expected to miss the rest of the season after foot surgery Tuesday -- was the leading rusher in the league and by far the Titans' best player before his injury.

But, Johnson says he doesn't expect a dip at all from the Titans going forward ... saying there's just too many playmakers on the roster to allow that to happen.

"We got a good quarterback," the ex-Titans star said. "We got two good receivers out there. So we should be all right."

Johnson tells us he expects to see Tennessee turn into more of a passing team ... though he did say he's confident if the team needs to rely on the newly signed Adrian Peterson, it can do that as well.

"Adrian's been able to show that he's been able to come in and can contribute to whatever team that he goes to," Johnson said.

The former running back explained a Titans' Super Bowl run is still more than possible ... and even delivered an uplifting message to downtrodden Tennessee fans.

The first game without Henry is slated for Sunday night against the Rams -- who, by the way, just added Von Miller to the roster this week.

Hollywood royalty Redfoo (birth name is Stephen Gordy) was in his early 30s when he joined forces with his nephew Sky Blu to create the iconic musical group LMFAO ... which shot to fame in 2009 after they released their debut album "Party Rock" in 2009 that included the hit songs "I'm In Miami Bitch," the Lil Jon jam "Shots" and the affirmative anthem "Yes."

Redfoo now spends his days living a healthy life at his vegan ranch and working on his forehand technique while exercising on the tennis court.

The Bull is on the move as "The Masked Singer" moves into the final stages ... and it sounds like he's starting to feel the pressure heating up.

Sources tell TMZ ... Bull overheard his competitor, Skunk, rehearsing in the trailer next to his and immediately recognized her voice, and how good it is!!!

That intel seemed to spook Bull, who promptly asked producers to move trailers, so he wouldn't get psyched out before the upcoming semifinal.

We're told producers found another trailer down the lot from Skunk, so Bull could keep his head in the game.

Now, we'll see if the move pays off, or if Bull still buckles under the mounting pressure.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen say there's one specific thing about Pete Davidson that could be the key to wooing Kim Kardashian -- his enormous funny bone.

We got John and Chrissy outside her office Wednesday and our photog asked what they make of Pete and Kim going on a secret dinner date in his hometown of Staten Island.

Chrissy, who is one of Kim's friends, says being funny is doing a lot for Pete ... and she says it's a quality that drew her to John.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Pete grabbed dinner Tuesday night at his favorite Italian restaurant ... a rendezvous that comes on the heels of them working closely on "Saturday Night Live" and hitting up a SoCal amusement park together.

The way John sees it ... what girl wouldn't want to fall in love with a funny guy?!?

Kim's past could also be working in Pete's favor ... Chrissy says KK needs someone to make her laugh after some intense months with estranged husband Kanye West, and Pete definitely fits the bill.

The 'SNL' star also famously coined the phrase "big d*** energy" ... and Chrissy admits BDE might be at play here.