Comedy

Comedian James Gregory -- known for dubbing himself "The Funniest Man in America" -- has died ... according to a post from his family.

The post -- made on Gregory's official Facebook -- says James passed away Thursday from cardiac complications.

James took up comedy in the early '80s when he was 36 after years of working as a salesman ... and, he became the first comedian to take the stage at the legendary Punchline club in Atlanta. While he was known as a Southern comedian, he traveled all across the country performing shows for the next four decades.

Rudy Moreno -- the longtime comedian who was huge in the Latin community -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The comedy vet passed away after a stint in a Los Angeles ICU his agent Mark Scroggs confirmed. He did not provide a cause of death.

As we reported ... he ended up in the ICU while battling pneumonia and receiving dialysis treatment -- and his wife, Arlene, couldn't find him, claiming the hospital told her he wasn't in the system.

How do you top the 'Greatest Roast of All-Time??' How about going at another GOAT -- 'cause comedian Chris D'Elia tells TMZ Sports a roast of LeBron James would be a worthy follow-up to Tom Brady's night of hell.

But, don't get your hopes up, folks ... 'cause he doubts that'll ever happen.

We talked to D'Elia all about the successful Netflix special at LAX this week ... and picked his brain about the rules of roasting -- after all, he DID crack jokes at a guy named Justin Bieber's expense back in 2015.

Whoopi Goldberg says "The View" ain't what it used to be -- explaining audiences are ready to jump on hosts for any little comment they make ... regardless of intention.

The EGOT winner -- who joined the show way back in 2007 -- opened up about hosting during a sit-down with Chris Wallace on his interview show ... and, he asked her if she liked moderating the program.

Goldberg says she liked "The View" more before 'cause audiences cut the hosts slack and didn't immediately jump to the conclusion they wanted to make nasty, horrible comments.

Bert Kreischer's clearing up a wild story about Tom Brady's roast, saying he did NOT have cocaine on him -- like everyone in the arena suspected -- but admits playing it up for the crowd!

The comedian appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night, and spoke about an unaired moment that got the Kia Forum audience jumping -- he showed them a bag full of a white substance and implied he was holding a bit of blow.

Kreischer explains he had a bag full of nicotine pouches, which he put in a clear plastic baggie -- making it look like coke -- and placed it in his pocket.

Tom Brady was PISSED Robert Kraft caught a stray during Sunday's G.R.O.A.T. ... and now we know why -- roasters were explicitly told NOT to make any happy ending jokes, a directive Jeff Ross ignored!

Comedian Andrew Schulz, who was a part of the show, provided a bit of a peak behind the curtain, revealing massage cracks were out of bounds.

"I think that was 100% real," Schulz said on his "Flagrant" show, explaining, "The reason why I think it's real is because they told us no jokes about happy endings with Robert Kraft."

Matt Rife says getting canceled is the least of his worries -- 'cause it's not a real thing in his eyes ... and he'll joke about what he wants, although DV seems to be off the table.

The comedian did a sold out show this week at the Hollywood Bowl, where he was hop-scotching through material and touching on some polarizing topics ... like trans jokes, etc. While he was going, he reportedly said he wasn't afraid of backlash anymore, noting it washes away.

MR is said to have been going back and forth on things that were okay and weren't okay to talk about in public and is quoted as saying, "What am I gonna do? Get canceled? Cool, I’ll do another Bowl show, awesome."

Gypsy Rose Blanchard believes in her heart of hearts she's Taylor Swift's new muse -- she's convinced one of the singer's new songs is all about her, or at the least ... inspired by her.

Sources connected to Gypsy tell TMZ ... GRB thinks Taylor’s new song "Fresh Out The Slammer" -- from her 'Tortured Poets Department' album -- might be about her December release from prison.

The reason she even suspects that ... we're told Gypsy sees a lot of similarities between the song lyrics and her real life -- almost to a T.

7:05 PM PT -- Jerry Seinfeld's changing his tune on Howard Stern, and he's issuing a mea culpa to his old pal. He tells TMZ ... "I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts."

He adds, "I meant to say he must feel surrounded but I said 'outflanked' which sounded terrible and insulting. And of course, none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show. Anyway, it was bad and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me."

Jerry Seinfeld acknowledges Howard Stern is the OG king of sitting around and recording conversations for air -- but says he just ain't all that funny in the age of modern podcasting.

Madelyn Cline looked pretty confused while trying to get the heck outta Dodge this week ... pulling on the wrong car door multiple times while leaving her hotel post-Met Gala.

Check out this hilarious video of the "Outer Banks" star leaving her luxury hotel in New York City, rolling bag in hand and paparazzi cameras flashing away. She heads toward the curb and yanks open the door to a four-door sedan ... only to realize it ain't her ride!

Cline closes the door quickly and heads to the next ride, a big black SUV. She opens the door ... and, again, it wasn't for Madelyn. Two for two ... whoopsie.

Jaden Smith isn't as skilled on his skateboard as he might've thought ... brutally wiping out during a night ride in NYC.

Will Smith's son was cruising Monday night on his skateboard -- with his bodyguard jogging alongside him for a couple blocks. What's really interesting is Jaden skateboarding amounts to the most chill Met Gala after-party we've seen ... he was actually chatting with photogs about what a good time he'd just had at the fashion event, which he attended with sister Willow Smith.

The good vibes didn't last long though, as Jaden took a tumble mid-chat! Check it out ... he falls to the side after picking up speed.

Druski's crushing the dreams of many men by going public with his romance with Rubi Rose, and doing so with a serious tongue kiss -- and while some think it's giving skit, we're hearing it's the real deal.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Druski and Rubi are still in the budding stages of their new romance ... and they're taking things slow, but all the stars seem to be in alignment!!!

They recently hit it off during a trip to the Dominican Republic for a mutual friend's birthday, realized they had a bond and wanted to take their relationship to the next level.

Nikki Glaser's standing by her Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen divorce jokes ... saying she thinks the topic's fair game at a roast -- and joking Gisele actually had it coming.

We caught up with the controversial comedian outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Hollywood Tuesday, and asked her if she thinks Brady's roast panel hit the divorce jokes a little too hard ... which is a feeling many had after each person hammered the topic home.

Glaser says she tried not to go too hard on GB ... and, she actually hopes the supermodel can forgive her one day if she's upset ... 'cause she says she loves her a ton.

"Bad Boys: Ride Or Die" isn't the only heat wave Martin Lawrence will be commanding this summer -- TMZ Hip Hop can reveal the comedic legend is returning to his stand-up roots with a huge tour!!!

Martin's "Y'all Know What It Is!" tour will kick off the laughs July 20 with several other heavy-hitters joining him onstage for the 36-city event.

Deon Cole, DC Young Fly, Jess Hilarious, Adele Givens, B. Simone, Chico Bean, Ms. Pat, Rickey Smiley and more will appear throughout various cities during the nationwide tour.

Bridget Moynahan is smiling on the outside -- showing up for her costar Tom Selleck's event in NYC -- but she's also strongly hinting she's pissed about her ex, Tom Brady's roast, where their split was fodder for savage jokes.

The actress popped up Tuesday night at Manhattan's 92nd Street Y for a discussion about her "Blue Bloods" costar Selleck's new book, "You Never Know: A Memoir" in New York.

Moynahan seemed happy and content as she posed for photogs, and even spoke to a live audience about his book and the recent canceling of their CBS show after 14 seasons.

Steve-O is leaving Los Angeles -- no less than a week after announcing he was hightailing it out of town ... the guy's put his abode on the market, and it's actually a damn good deal.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... the 'Jackass' star recently listed his Hollywood Hills home, this as he gets ready to completely shift his life over to Tennessee to reap the tax benefits and adjust to a new way of life -- including owning a new ranch he showed off.

Of course, with the purchase of one property ... he's looking to unload his crib in L.A., and he's listing it for a cool $1.799 mil.