Celebrity Death

Actor and comedian Orson Bean is dead after being struck by a car while crossing the street ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Bean was allegedly jaywalking in Venice Friday night when he was clipped by one vehicle and then struck by another. We're told Bean died at the scene and both vehicles stayed after the incident. Cops are currently investigating whether the collision was criminal or an accident.

Bean's career began in the 1950s... he frequently made guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson.

Bean was a frequent guest on the game show "To Tell The Truth" and made appearances on versions of the show from the late '50s through 1991. He also made appearances on "Super Password" and "Match Game."

He also made regular appearances on TV ... with a role on two episodes of "7th Heaven" in 2003, "How I Met Your Mother" in 2007 and "Modern Family" in 2016. Bean was in the 2018 film "The Equalizer 2" as an elderly Holocaust survivor.

Orson was 91.

RIP

The Rock shared the moving eulogy he delivered for his father's funeral.

Rocky "Soulman" Johnson died last month, and Rock wanted his fans to know what his dad meant to him.  He said, “Man, I wish I had … I wish I had one more shot. I wish I had one more shot to say goodbye … to say I love you, to say thank you, but I have a feeling he’s watching. He’s listening.”

And, he went on ... “I was on my way to work, the other day on Jan. 15 and I was just pulling into work and we were shooting that day and it was the very first day of production,” he said, going on to tell the story of how his wife Lauren called to tell him that “something’s going on with your dad.”

“Lauren was with our babies, she was with my mom and she said, ‘You know, I really can’t talk… I think you should call Cora though’, so of course I called Cora,”

Soulman passed away from a heart attack on January 15 at age 75. He started the National Wrestling Alliance in the '60s and joined the WWE in the '80s.

Rocky and Tony Atlas became the league's first African-American tag team champions as The Soul Patrol.

The NTSB says an initial investigation into the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash shows no outward evidence of engine failure.

The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings into the Jan. 26 crash saying it appears the engine was working at the time of the crash because there was a cut tree branch at the crash scene.

The NTSB report says the helicopter's instrument panel was completely destroyed in the wreckage.

The main wreckage was 127 feet from the impact site -- and that's where investigators found both engines, the entire fuselage, portions of the cockpit instrument panel and other key pieces of the aircraft.

According to the report, the pilot's final transmission to the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SCT) was to let the controller know he was trying to climb to 4,000 feet to get above the thick fog/cloud layer.

However, radar data collected by investigators shows the aircraft only reached 2,300 feet before trying to make a left turn. Eight seconds later the aircraft began descending (while trying to turn) at a VERY high rate of speed, dropping at rate of 4,000 feet per minute before crashing into the mountain.

As we reported ... NTSB officials said Kobe's Sikorsky S-76 chopper was NOT equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), nor was it outfitted with a flight data recorder (FDR) or cockpit voice recorder (CVR).

In the seconds prior to crashing, the pilot, Ara Zoboyan, took the helicopter from 1,200 feet to 2,000 feet within a matter of seconds. It appeared he cleared one hillside, only to strike the next when it crashed at about 1700 feet. Photos taken by a mountain biker on a nearby trail show the intensity of the crash.

In the days following the crash, a team of NTSB investigators combed the crash site ... rummaging through debris. The agency released drone footage showing most of the aircraft in tiny pieces.

All of the parts were shipped to Arizona, where the NTSB reassembled the aircraft.

The NTSB says it will release its final report in 12 to 18 months. That one is expected to include findings, recommendations and probable cause for the crash.

As we told you, the NTSB says back in 2006 it recommended the FAA require all helicopters carrying 6 or more passengers to have TAWS, and for all rotorcraft to have an FDR and CVR. The FAA didn't mandate either.

Michael Douglas is among the many celebs who poured in from afar to bid Kirk Douglas goodbye at his funeral.

Michael, his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Steven Spielberg are among the many who are at the funeral Friday morning at Westwood Memorial in L.A. You can also see Kirk's wife, Anne Buydens, arriving as well.

As we reported ... the legendary actor died Wednesday. Michael announced, "To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard of us all to aspire to."

Kirk, who earned Oscar nominations as an actor and producer, served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.

Kirk's survived by Anne, his 3 sons and seven grandchildren. He was 103.

Gayle King got set up to look like an insensitive troll because her network posted a salacious promo ... that's how some staffers at "CBS This Morning" feel anyway.

Sources connected to the show tell TMZ ... some of Gayle's coworkers are incensed over the backlash she's getting because a promo clip of her interview with Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant, included a question about his 2003 sexual assault case. Lisa pushed back, making it clear ... in her book, it's not relevant to Kobe's legacy.

We're told the staffers believe CBS never should have let the clip see the light of day.

Gayle was being shredded on social media after the promo ran, and she was beside herself, saying she was blindsided and making it clear ... she was going to make her displeasure known to the network. She did just that, and the network folded, saying it erred.

The staffers we spoke with say ... the interview is actually flattering to Kobe and covers his achievements in both life and career.

Fact is ... CBS and every other network chooses promos that sizzle ... promos that will draw people in, and often times it's the salacious stuff that gets put out. At CBS, you'll recall, they made lots of news when they released a promo with R. Kelly going off the rails, screaming uncontrollably. The difference between that and Kobe ... Gayle didn't look bad in the R. Kelly promo.

Our sources say CBS failed by not protecting its undisputed star of the morning show. They should have realized the promo -- out of context -- would subject Gayle to great criticism, but that didn't happen. CBS promises it won't happen again.

Our sources say staffers feel the network owes it to its talent to keep them out of messes like this, especially when King's full interview with Leslie painted a very nice picture of Kobe and his legacy ... and should have been the focus of any excerpts.

Our sources say the person who was responsible for the posting the clip has not been fired but feels awful about what transpired.

Kobe Bryant wasn't just a UFC fan -- he was a big investor -- and got a huge distribution check from the company just days before he passed away ... so says Dana White.

The NBA legend was famous for his business savvy off the court -- and White says part of Kobe's portfolio was an ownership stake in UFC and Body Armor, the official energy drink of the UFC.

White tells TMZ Sports ... that 2019 was the most successful year in UFC history which resulted in massive payouts for all of the investors.

"Kobe got a distribution from the UFC the Wednesday before the incident and he was so pumped up and excited and he said what everybody always says, 'I wish I had invested more!'"

White says he'll remember Kobe as a great dude and an important part of the UFC fabric -- and tells us the organization plans to honor Kobe on Saturday at UFC 247 in Houston.

As for the fight card, White says he's extremely fired up about the main event -- Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes -- telling us Reyes is a dangerous man with a real shot to beat the G.O.A.T.

And, if Reyes wins, there will no doubt be a rematch.

There's more ... after the controversy between Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith following the Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone fight, we asked if the two TV stars would be working together at UFC 247, Dana replied, "I don't think so."

Remember, Rogan said he was upset with the ESPN host for crapping all over Cowboy's "atrocious" performance during the UFC 246 post-fight show.

Smith said he felt like Cowboy quit -- to which Rogan essentially said Smith's opinion was uninformed and just plain wrong.

Conor McGregor felt Smith disrespected Cowboy and publicly called for Stephen A. to apologize.

Nick Gordon died of a heroin overdose ... according to his autopsy and toxicology report.

The report -- obtained by TMZ -- says Gordon was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. He was hospitalized for 7 hours before he died. There was also Narcan in his system ... a drug used to counteract the effects of an overdose.

As we reported ... Nick had some sort of black fluid foaming out of his mouth the day someone called 911 to say he wasn't breathing. A man claiming to be Nick's brother said Nick died of an apparent OD. The "black stuff" could support that conclusion ... given that black discharge is sometimes related to a foam cone that comes out of the mouth and nostrils after an opioid OD.

The 911 call came in as "cardiac respiratory" on New Year's Day. He had been rushed to the hospital where he died. Nick's brother, Jack Walker Jr., shared the news by writing, "GOD WHY DID I HAVE TO LOSE MY BROTHER ON NEW YEARS," and adding, "All I can do is cry."

As you know by now ... Nick was present when Whitney Houston's daughter and his girlfriend -- Bobbi Kristina -- OD'd in a bathtub in 2015.

"I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."

That's Gayle King going NUCLEAR on her own network, CBS, for releasing an interview clip with Kobe Bryant's good friend, Lisa Leslie, in which King asks about Kobe's rape case ... claiming CBS simply did her dirty.

Here's the deal ... earlier this week, CBS released a teaser clip from King's big interview with the WNBA star in which she asks if Bryant's legacy is "complicated" because of the 2003 sexual assault case.

King received a TON of backlash online from people who claim the question was insensitive and inappropriate -- including 50 Cent and Vivica A. Fox.

In a video she made Thursday morning, Gayle admitted she's been reading the tidal wave of negative comments on social media and it's been driving her crazy!

"I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I’d be extremely angry with me too,” King said.

She continued, "I am mortified. I am embarrassed and I am very angry."

"Unbeknownst to me, my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview -- totally taken out of context -- and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring. It’s jarring to me. I didn’t even know anything about it."

King says the sexual assault question was only a small part of a larger conversation about Kobe's life ... and she felt it WAS appropriate to ask that question at the time.

"We talked about that court case because that court case has also come up. And, I wanted to get Lisa’s take on it as a friend who knew him well, what she thought, where that should stand."

"It was very powerful when she looked me in the eye, as a member of the media, to say, 'It’s time for the media to leave it alone and to back off.'"

"I felt really good about the interview ... so, for the network to take the most salacious part when taken out of context, and put it up for people who didn’t see the whole interview, is very upsetting to me and that’s something I’m going to have to deal with them."

"There will be a very intense discussion about that."

Awesome gesture from PGA Tour star Justin Thomas -- the golfer is auctioning off his custom Kobe Bryant wedges ... and says the proceeds will go to the families affected by Bryant's tragic helicopter crash.

Thomas paid tribute to the Black Mamba often this past weekend at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... even rocking a Bryant high school jersey while playing.

But, his best Mamba ode came courtesy of the clubs he used to shoot ... 'cause each of Thomas' wedges had some cool Kobe-isms etched into the iron.

"Mamba Mentality," "Black Mamba," "Kobe Bean Bryant" and "81 Points" were inscribed on his Titleist Vokeys for the four-day tourney.

Now, Thomas -- who finished third in the event -- says a lucky fan can have them for a price ... and says all the money will go toward The MambaOnThree Fund.

Of course, that's the charity Vanessa Bryant set up to help the families of those killed in the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Jan. 26.

Thomas was particularly hit hard by the tragedy ... he's been a noted HUGE Kobe fan throughout his career, famously yelling "KOBE!" before tough shots in the past.

Pablo Escobar's trusted hitman -- who confessed to killing more than 300 people -- has died, but not in a hail of bullets ... instead, he lost a battle with stomach cancer.

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez -- widely known by his alias, Popeye -- died early Thursday at the National Cancer Institute in Bogota where he'd been receiving care. Popeye was hospitalized on New Year's Eve for esophageal cancer, according to prison officials.

He was ultimately transferred to the institute when the prison found out about his cancer diagnosis. Popeye had been behind bars for more than 20 years after confessing to the murders ... the majority of which came at Escobar's orders.

Popeye wrote a book in 2005 about his time in the Medellín Cartel: "Surviving Pablo Escobar: 'Popeye' The Hitman, 23 Years and 3 Months in Prison." He was released from prison in 2014 but was recaptured just 4 years later for a slew of other crimes, including extortion.

The hitman -- who once plotted the assassination of a former Colombian presidential candidate -- gained notoriety on YouTube spewing hate-filled rants and defending conservative political views. He had more than 1 million subscribers on his channel.

Dennis Rodman says he's heartbroken over Kobe Bryant's death -- calling the guy "a mini-Michael Jordan" -- but he tells TMZ Sports the NBA should NOT change its logo to honor him.

"That's a tough one," Rodman said outside of Staples Center on Tuesday ... "Kobe has the charisma for the signature of a logo, but I'm holding my vote on that one."

Of course, tons of people have been in favor of the change -- celebs from Snoop Dogg to Julian Edelman have tweeted their support for it -- and an online petition earned more than 3 MILLION signatures last week.

On top of that, Paul Pierce recently told us he's all for the league making Mamba the logo and retiring both of his jersey numbers.

But, Rodman says Jerry West has just meant too much to him and too much to the game to pull him off the Association's iconic trademark, telling us, "I'm a good friend of Jerry West."

"He's been a mentor of mine for a long, long time," Rodman says ... "[It should] stay the way it is."

Don't get it twisted ... Rodman says he's been torn up ever since he learned of Kobe's tragic helicopter crash on January 26 -- telling us KB was one of "the most" exciting and inspirational people "in the world."

"Miss you so much"

That's Vanessa Bryant posting about Kobe Bryant -- remembering him on social media as a "loving husband" and "The Best Daddy."

Vanessa went to Instagram on Wednesday to post about her husband -- referring to Kobe as "my best friend" and saying she misses all of the funny, sweet little things he would do during their marriage.

"Miss you saying, 'Bonjourno principessa/reina'" Vanessa wrote ... referencing Kobe's ability to speak Italian.

"#mybestfriend #theBestdaddy Miss you so much. #handsome #sweet #funny #silly #lovinghusband ❤️Miss you saying, “Bonjourno principessa/reina."

Vanessa also posted a clip from a recent "Extra" interview in which Kobe was asked to name his best friend -- and he responded, "My wife."

Just a few days ago, Vanessa posted a painting of her daughter Gianna Bryant dressed up in Lakers gear -- and wrote, "Seeing my babygirl smile and happy again with a basketball 🏀 under her arm, wrapped in 💜💛love just warmed my heart."

"Thank you for this. @_vivalareina thank you!! My Gigi.❤️ #Mambacita."

Kobe and Gianna passed away January 26. We're told the Bryant family is working on putting together a public memorial for them but nothing is set in stone yet.

Originally Published -- 9:50 AM PT

Kirk Douglas -- renowned actor and father of Michael Douglas, with a decorated career spanning more than 6 decades -- has died.

Kirk passed Wednesday. Kirk's health had been in decline. In 1996 he suffered a stroke but recovered most of his faculties. Last time we saw him enjoying life was in April 2019 when he was "camping" in his grandson's backyard.

Michael told People, "It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard of us all to aspire to."

Michael ended it this way ... "But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband."

Kirk's appeared in a few minor Broadway productions in the '40s but then put his career on hold and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941. After several years of service, Kirk returned to theater, but his best work came on the big screen.

The famed actor and producer earned critical acclaim for his role in the 1960 classic, "Spartacus." In "Spartacus," Kirk gave onscreen credit to blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Kirk's move started the dissolution of the infamous blacklisting policies that had begun nearly a decade prior.

Kirk was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 1949 for his role as boxer Midge Kelly in "Champion." He also earned 2 Oscar nominations as a producer for "The Bad and the Beautiful" in 1953 and "Lust for Life" in 1957.

He acted alongside John Wayne in 3 films -- "In Harm's Way," "Cast a Giant Shadow" and "The War Wagon." He also shared screen time with one Arnold Schwarzenegger ... in the 1979 film "The Villain" and with Farrah Fawcett in the sci-fi flick, "Saturn 3."

Fun fact ... Kirk once earned a $50k paycheck for saying the only English word at the end of a 1980s Japanese TV commercial: Coffee.

Kirk survived a helicopter crash in 1991. Two other passengers were killed and Kirk was left with a terrible back injury. He also did tons of humanitarian work ... serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.S. State Department.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter. France also honored Kirk with the prestigious Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. The Academy Awards also honored him with an honorary Oscar in 1995.

Kirk -- once voted the 36th greatest movie star of all time by Entertainment Weekly -- was born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York to Russian parents who came to the states in 1912. Kirk married Diana Dill in 1943 and they had two sons -- Michael and Joel. Kirk and Diana divorced in 1951. He later married Anne Buydens in 1954 after meeting her when she applied for a job as his assistant on the film, "Act of Love." Kirk and Anne had two more sons ... Peter and Eric, who died in 2004.

Kirk's survived by Anne, children Michael, Joel and Peter and seven grandchildren.

He was 103. RIP.

Dog the Bounty Hunter's tumultuous week of family drama was capped off with a birthday dinner filled with emotion ... but interestingly, without ONE key person.

Sources close to the reality TV star tell TMZ ... Duane celebrated his 67th birthday Tuesday with a small group of family and friends at a Denver Benihana. We're told everyone at the table shared stories ... including some about Beth Chapman, which made Dog a little weepy.

The guests included his daughter, Bonnie and her husband, his son, Garry, his advisor and Justin Bihag ... one of his employees who's run into legal trouble lately.

TMZ broke the story ... Justin was arrested for allegedly violating probation. Dog's other daughter, Lyssa, reportedly outed Justin to cops, but she's having some legal trouble of her own now.

It's a messy situation, and it all ties back to Justin's mom, Moon Angell.

In case you haven't heard, Moon is a longtime friend of Dog and Beth who's been accused of starting up a romantic relationship with the guy in the wake of Beth's passing. They've both denied anything physical is going on, insisting their relationship is platonic.

They even went on the 'Dr. Oz Show' and put on a "test" proposal to definitively confirm nothing fishy's going on between them, despite Lyssa's suspicions.

Interestingly enough, Moon was NOT at Dog's birthday dinner -- even though Justin was. We're told Dog loves the kid like one of his own and continues to look out for him.

Shareef O'Neal is honoring Gianna and Kobe Bryant by tattooing their jerseys on his body ... and the pictures are amazing.

As we previously reported, Shaq's son became VERY close with the Bryants -- he basically viewed Kobe as an uncle.

Shareef has been deeply affected by their deaths and has been searching for ways to pay tribute to the Bryants. He's been posting a lot on social media. He went to the Bryant tribute at Staples Center. And now, he's inking their numbers on his leg.

Check out the pic ... you can see Gigi's #2 jersey she rocked for her Mamba Academy team. He also added Kobe's #8 and #24, the two numbers he wore with the Lakers.

Of course, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have also inked Kobe tributes on their legs -- both got imagery of a Black Mamba snake with the words, "Mamba 4 Life."

Originally Published -- 6:32 AM PT

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are taking a stand against his widow ... insisting she's got the wrong idea about who owns a bunch of unreleased Soundgarden tunes.

Soundgarden is responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year ... claiming ownership of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' laptop after his death -- but the band says ... not so fast!

In new docs, they acknowledge there are unreleased songs but say they -- as a band -- had been working on them as far back as 2014. As evidence, they point to a February 2017 article where Chris himself spoke to Music Radar about Soundgarden's new material. He said, "We have a lot of interesting songs."

The operative word there being, "We" ... according to the band. According to the docs, Soundgarden got together in the studio in April 2017 to do more work on the songs. They acknowledge they took a break from polishing the songs later that month ... to go on tour.

It was during that tour, in May 2017, that Chris died by suicide.

Further, Soundgarden say they've corresponded with Vicky about the songs, and she's admitted they were the band's property ... not just Chris' solo work.

They also think she's filed her lawsuit in the wrong court -- a federal court in Florida -- because the band is based in Seattle. Therefore, they're asking a judge to dismiss Vicky's lawsuit or, at least, force her to refile in the proper district.