Celebrity Death

Art Laboe, a pioneering voice in radio who created one of its most famous phrases, is dead after battling pneumonia.

The famous disc jockey who's widely credited with coining the phrase "Oldies but goodies" died on Friday night at his home in Palm Springs ... according to a rep for Art's production company. We're told he was diagnosed with pneumonia 2 weeks ago.

We're told he had close friends by his side when he passed -- and generations of his fans, particularly on the West Coast, are remembering the man who revolutionized radio broadcasts.

Art was just 18 years old when he got his first gig on KSAN in San Francisco. During WWII he started taking requests and dedications ... a new concept for disc jockeys at the time. He later moved to L.A. and had an enormous social impact on the city.

He organized live DJ shows at a drive-in movie theater ... where he would play rock 'n' roll music, and attract young audiences of white, Black and Latino fans. His shows were so popular, some credit him with helping end segregation in SoCal.

Art went on to become a record producer, and concert promoter and even owned some radio stations. And, when you talk about marathon careers ... Art's final syndicated radio show was produced last week, and aired Sunday night.

He was 97.

Tom Cruise is remembering his late lawyer and friend, Bert Fields ... sharing an incredible story of how they first met.

The 'Top Gun' star recorded a video message for Bert's memorial service ... revealing how he first came across Bert -- at a dinner party with Dustin Hoffman.

Tom says he was seated next to Bert and they got to talking. It didn't take long for Tom to notice something different about Bert, remembering him as one of the most fascinating people he'd ever met.

The conversation was so compelling -- Tom says they talked history and swapped stories. Bert told Tom he was Dustin's lawyer, and Tom hired him on the spot.

The video message is pretty emotional ... with Tom explaining what made Bert such a wonderful guy to have around. It's clear Bert made a big impact on Tom's life, and not just as his attorney.

TMZ broke the story ... Bert died in August after a legendary career representing the likes of Michael Jackson, James Cameron, Warren Beatty, Mike Nichols, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, Jerry Bruckheimer, The Beatles and Madonna ... just to name a few.

Bert filed some huge lawsuits against media outlets on behalf of Tom, including a $100 million suit in 2001 after a magazine claimed Cruise was gay, falsely claiming it had an X-rated video as proof. The case settled, with the mag admitting, "Tom Cruise does not appear on the videotape ... [He] is not and never has been, homosexual and has never had a homosexual affair."

Coolio’s fellow old-school rapper Tone Loc says life on the road won't be the same now that he's lost his touring partner of nearly a decade!!!

We caught the "Wild Thang" OG outside of LAX, where he opened up about Coolio's death leaving an immense void in his life -- a painful absence he's already felt during his last few performances.

Their friendship runs several decades deep -- Tone tells us Coolio, along with Young MC and the late Shock G, actually performed at his brother's funeral around 16 years ago.

Tone says he and Coolio were regulars on the "I Love The 90s Tour" circuit for the past 6 years, as was Vanilla Ice … who’s also been in mourning since Coolio’s death last week in Los Angeles.

TMZ broke the story -- Coolio died suddenly on September 28 while visiting a friend's home.

At the age of 59, he was still an active hip hopper … with gigs in Vegas and television appearances on "Wild ‘N Out" and "Futurama" already scheduled before he passed.

Tone's DJ M.Walk also chimed in, telling us about his special bond with Coolio ... and it's clear they both miss him dearly, having linked up more than 20 years ago.

Coolio will remain near and dear to his children's hearts -- and not just figuratively -- because they're designing jewelry to keep his ashes close.

According to the rapper's death certificate, obtained by TMZ, Coolio's body will be cremated ... and, we're told that's prompting his 7 kids to come up with the idea for some special bling.

Coolio's rep tells TMZ ... each of his children will get a pendant to hold the ashes, along with a necklace.

A few other close family members will get them as well.

We're told each of his sons and daughters will get to pick customized inscriptions for their jewelry.

The rest of Coolio's ashes will go into an urn once all the necklaces are distributed.

Coolio's always loved being a dad, according to Vanilla Ice -- who got pretty emotional when he told us how much Coolio always had family on his mind ... even in his final days.

Joey Bada$$ made a powerful statement at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards ... urging rappers to stop delivering messages that lead to their demise, or the death of others.

During his performance of his "2000" album cut “Head High," Joey lined up 12 backup dancers ... each with a slain rapper's name embroidered on their hoodie.

In chronological order of their deaths, Joey honored Scott La Rock, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, Soulja Slim, XXXTENTACION, Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, King Von, Young Dolph, Trouble and PnB Rock -- all who fell victim to gun violence between 1987 and last month ... when PnB was killed. 😕

Joey went on to argue rappers are spurring their own genocide, and preached the culture needs to take accountability for the message it's delivering to kids.

He also slammed the popular slang term "op" a.k.a. enemy ... contending that war is being fought within rappers' own circles.

The New York rapper isn't the only one from his rap generation to decry the rap murder rate -- just a few weeks ago, Rich Homie Quan told us the "shoot 'em up, bang-bang music" is a problem for everyone who hears it.

Loretta Lynn, the trailblazing country star whose song, "Coal Miner's Daughter" became not just a hit song but an award-winning movie has died.

Loretta's rep tells TMZ ... the famed singer passed away at her Tennessee ranch Tuesday morning ... the rep says Loretta died from natural causes. She was surrounded by family when she died.

Loretta suffered a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip a year later. The stroke caused Loretta to stop touring after 57 years.

Loretta is a true legend ... nominated 18 times for a Grammy, and won 3. She's amassed an incredible 21 number 1 singles and 11 number one albums.

Among her hits over her 6-decade career ... "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)," "Don't Come Home a Drinkin'," "One's on the Way," and "Fist City."

As for "Coal Miner's Daughter," the film chronicles Loretta's life, and it was a huge hit. It was nominated for 7 Oscars. Sissy Spacek won for best actress in her portrayal of Loretta.

Loretta won CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year in 1967, 1972 and 1973.

Loretta was married to Oliver Lynn for nearly 50 years. She married him in 1948, when she was 15. The couple had 6 children together. Oliver died in 1996. Her son, Jack Benny Lynn, died at 34 and her daughter, Betty Sue, died at 64 of emphysema.

Lynn sometimes touched on social issues, like birth control in a song titled "The Pill" ... and double standards for men and women in a song called "Rated X." She also wrote a song called "Dear Uncle Sam," about a woman who was widowed after her husband died in the Vietnam War. There were times country music stations refused to play some of her songs.

Loretta was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988. She also won the Billboard Legacy Award for Women in Music in 2015. And she got the Named Artist of a Lifetime by CMT in 2018.

Loretta was 90.

RIP

Tiffany Jackson -- a former WNBA player and Texas Longhorns legend -- has passed away after her battle with cancer, her alma mater confirmed.

She was only 37.

The Texas women's basketball team announced the devastating news Monday evening, saying the former UT forward -- who was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2015 -- died from the disease.

"Tiffany had a great career and was an impact player," her former UT coach Jody Conradt said.

"She was recognized for her all-around game and the fact that she was tremendously mobile and could play multiple positions. She was beloved by teammates, and we share in the sadness of her passing."

Jackson was a hoops star in high school, winning a state title and Gatorade's Player of the Year award.

The awards didn't stop after high school ... during her four years at UT ('03 to '07), she won ESPN's National Freshman Of The Year award and became the only person at the school to record a combined 1,000 points, 1,0000 rebounds, 300 steals, and 150 blocks.

Jackson was selected 5th overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft and went on to play for the New York Liberty, Tulsa Shock and Los Angeles Sparks during her 9-year career.

After retiring in 2018, she re-joined the Longhorns as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team. Then, in April of this year, she got a head coaching gig ... when she was named the HC at Wiley College.

"I know she was so excited to be the head coach at Wiley College for the upcoming season," UT current head coach Vic Schaefer said.

"She will be sorely missed by so many. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family."

Several WNBA players paid tribute to Jackson, including Tamika Catchings, who called her "absolutely amazing."

"Going to miss her smile, presence and heart for others."

Coolio had a lot of things in the works before his sudden passing last week -- including the fact he was about to headline his first ever Vegas residency this month ... TMZ has learned.

Shortly before he died, Coolio was actually in talks with a production company called Fan Rebellion -- which produces an ongoing Vegas residency show called Boombox!, held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino ... this according to FB's Chief Creative Officer, Jimmy Maynes.

Boombox! tends to specialize in old-school hip hop acts from the '80s and '90s -- and have booked big names like CeeLo Green, Tone Loc, and others -- so it's right up Coolio's alley .. and exactly why Maynes and co. were negotiating to get him onstage.

Maynes tells us the plan was to have Coolio come in and head the show starting at the end of October and running through the second week of November ... for a total of 10 days, with one performance per day at 5 days a week. In other words, ten concerts.

We're told Coolio would've been one of a handful of MCs -- he'd be the headliner -- and Maynes says he would've only done 3 songs when he was up. The tracks that were being considered ... "Gangsta's Paradise," '1, 2, 3, 4,' and "C U When U Get There."

As for the specifics of what Coolio had in mind ... it's pretty interesting. Maynes tells us Coolio made some requests for the stage for his set -- including a variety of props, upwards of 10 dancers, a 2-story background screen for visuals and two to three outfit changes.

We're told Coolio wanted his headlining set to be a look back on his story, and was excited for this next chapter of his career.

Of course, his death put an abrupt halt to things -- with Maynes telling us they're now scrapping that late October window and hoping to pick it back up in December with a whole new lineup. Indeed, Coolio passing away threw 'em for a loop.

Kodak Black is attempting to right at least one wrong ... blaming PnB Rock's girlfriend, and her Instagram post, for his murder -- something he now regrets doing.

A clearheaded Kodak hopped on IG Live over the weekend to apologize to Stephanie Sibounheuang, the mother of PnB's children, after learning her post was not responsible for spurring the fatal armed robbery.

Kodak explained he had woken up with a migraine headache when he learned the PnB news on September 12, and says he made the immediate mistake of following the social media groupthink.

Kodak even went as low as to tell Stephanie to "kill herself" at the time, but he's now directly apologizing and wishing her peace going forward.

TMZ broke the story ... LAPD arrested a man named Freddie Lee Trone, his 17-year-old son and his wife -- and slapped them all with murder-related charges ... with the teen being named as the shooter.

The Florida rapper wasn't the only artist who jumped out the gate targeting Stephanie. Following the shooting, Nicki Minaj went on the attack -- but Cardi B screamed the complete opposite, and she's still calling for all offenders to apologize!!!

Coolio appeared to be both happy and healthy in his final day of life, but friends say the rapper had severe asthma ... a condition they believe contributed to his death.

We've spoken with several sources close to the late rapper who each told us about his asthma, and how it was something he struggled with over the years. What's more, we know Coolio's family also told investigators looking into his death about his history with asthma.

We're told Coolio would always travel with several inhalers to keep his condition in check -- even using them on stage during some of his performances.

A recent study by the American Heart Association found people diagnosed with asthma have a higher risk of heart attack. Additionally, people who use a daily asthma medication were 60% more susceptible to heart attacks, strokes or other cardiac events.

TMZ broke the story -- Coolio died in the bathroom of a friend's Los Angeles home last week.

We're told before his death, he entered the bathroom, locked the door and apparently collapsed. Coolio's friend had to break down the door to get to him.

A Russian rapper who was opposed to his country's invasion of Ukraine jumped from a high-rise building to his death ... after being drafted to fight in the war.

27-year-old rapper Walkie posted a video in which he said, "If you are watching this video, then I am no longer alive. I can't take the sin of murder on my soul and I don't want to. I am not ready to kill for any ideals."

Walkie went on ... "I choose to remain in history forever. As a man who did not support what was happening I am not ready to take up arms and kill my own kind."

He had already served in the Russian Army, and despised the experience. This time around he tried to get a deferment because of mental illness, but that did not fly with the Russian military.

Walkie was 27.

RIP

Vanilla Ice got pretty emotional, recalling the last time he had a heart-to-heart with Coolio about being a parent ... adding he's put a brief hold on his tour following the rapper's death.

Ice tried keeping it together while talking about their last convo ... and it sounds like Coolio's kids were on his mind the last time they hung out. He says family was a big topic during their chats.

He tells us Coolio was all about positivity ... and was a good friend all this time -- adding he'll be missed.

Ice also says he's taking the weekend off from performing after learning about his bud's death ... because he doesn't think he's in the right mindset to put on a show.

As we reported, Coolio's last performance was with Ice ... coming out onstage with him last week to freestyle during his set. V.I. says he had no clue this performance would be his last -- he was more focused on how honored he was to have such a legend up there with him.

Trailblazing professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, who famously fought Muhammad Ali in a mixed-rules match, reportedly died Saturday at his home in his native Japan.

Inoki died of apparent heart failure after battling illnesses for years and being confined to a wheelchair. No official cause of death has been released.

Inoki -- a legend in Japan -- shot to fame in 1976 when he got into the ring with Ali at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. The sold-out fight was shown on a Jumbotron to 32,897 spectators at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. Inoki badly injured Ali during the 15-round bout, getting in more than 100 kicks to the fabled boxer's legs. Their fight ended in a draw.

Capitalizing on his newfound popularity, Inoki would become the most influential pro wrestler in Japan's history. In 1972, he launched the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Company, promoting some of the biggest matches involving Hulk Hogan, Dory Funk Jr., Big Van Vader and Bruiser Brody. Inoki also pinned Ric Flair in a 1995 match and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.

What's more ... Inoki was a storied politician who successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of Japanese hostages before the 1990 Gulf War in Iraq. And, he worked with North Korea to stop the kidnappings of Japanese citizens in Pyongyang during the Cold War.

Inoki was 79.

Coolio fans flocked to his website after his death to grab some merch ... and the response was so overwhelming, people were met with a big ol' "404 error."

The rapper's merch store was out of service as of Friday morning ... folks were unable to grab Coolio swag online -- instead seeing the message, "Page not found -- Somehow you have come to a page that does not exist."

Normally, a response like this would come up if the page were deleted, or because of heavy traffic. It looks like the latter is the culprit.

FYI -- the site normally has lots of great finds for Coolio fans ... stuff like fanny packs, mugs, hoodies and face masks.

You can count Ski Mask the Slump God among the rappers who won't stop wearing iced-out chains and jewelry after PnB Rock's murder, but he's taking some precautions and relying on good energy!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Ski Mask Thursday at LAX and asked about his massive chain inspired by the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! manga card game ... which he shamelessly wears while being searched by TSA.

The piece is modeled after a Millenium Puzzle and opens up to reveal his name engraved on a diamond-encrusted globe -- it's nothing short of insane, and totally conspicuous.

Ski Mask says he leaves on all his bling and rings through TSA searches, simply because it'll take too long to put them back on!!!

That being said, the Florida rapper definitely has thoughts on this week's arrests in the PnB case, he and echoes the recent remarks of Roddy Ricch and DJ Drama that L.A. is a dangerous place.

While he's aware of the violence, Ski Mask says keeping good energy typically prevents altercations in his circle ... and he also avoids most trouble by simply not going out at all!

TMZ broke the story earlier this week ... a father and son duo were arrested and charged with PnB's Sept. 12 murder at a Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in South Los Angeles.

Of course, Ski Mask went through a similar tragedy when his close friend XXXTENTACION was shot and killed in 2018.

Coolio was busy working up until he died, but there was one opportunity he was super excited about that unfortunately never happened ... he was supposed to appear on one of Nick Cannon's most popular shows.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ Coolio was scheduled to be in Atlanta to film an episode of "Wild 'N Out" on Tuesday, Sept. 20 ... but the rapper was forced to cancel at the last minute.

We're told Coolio really wanted to be on the show, and producers had been working for a long time to make it happen before they were finally able to find a date that worked.

However, a source close to Coolio tells us his travel plans changed at the last minute and he couldn't get a flight to Atlanta that would work for the show's taping.

We're told Coolio was a huge fan of the show and was bummed he couldn't participate. What's more, Valentina Nicolette, who booked Coolio for the gig tells us he was also planning to perform "Gangsta's Paradise" during his time on the show.

As we first told you ... Coolio appeared happy and in good health later that same week, taking pics with fans in a Texas airport ahead of a concert in the Houston area with Vanilla Ice.