Movies

LeVar Burton is paying tribute to John Amos following news of the actor's death ... crediting the late star for making history in Hollywood.

We caught up with the actor outside ABC Studios in NYC Friday, where LB had nothing but good things to say about the late TV legend. As LeVar put it ... John's legacy is to be celebrated, especially regarding his work as James Evans on "Good Times."

He noted ... "For me, personally, John's legacy will be that he changed the way Black men were perceived on television in America. James Evans was a householder and, prior to that, Black men were really portrayed as absentee fathers, deadbeat dads, that sort of thing. Only good for prison and jail. John Amos changed that."

Billy Baldwin is voicing his support for brother Alec Baldwin's upcoming "Rust" premiere ... saying the event isn't as controversial as one might think.

We caught up with the actor outside the "Americans With No Address" premiere in Los Angeles Thursday evening, where BB took a couple minutes to defend "Rust" moving forward with a red carpet debut -- despite the on-set tragedy and subsequent manslaughter trials.

As Billy put it ... Alec and the rest of the "Rust" creative team are honoring the wishes of the family of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins ... who was fatally shot on the set of the Western flick in 2021.

Ben Affleck is debuting his divorce glow-up ... swapping out his signature salt-and-pepper beard for a freshly dyed look.

The Oscar winner hit the streets of Santa Monica, California, where he was seen sporting a significantly darker shade of facial hair ... a clear dye job.

Ben appears to be feeling himself, as he beamed while stepping out in a pale blue button-down shirt and black, business-style slacks.

Chris Pine is the latest celeb to have cops descend on his home ... for no legit reason.

Someone called 911 and claimed a person sexually assaulted him at an address that matched Pine's home. When LAPD cops arrived, Chris answered the door ... clearly surprised to see the officers.

Officers spoke with Chris and quickly determined the 911 call was bogus and no crime had occurred.

Former actor Sean Frye was just a teen when he rose to stardom playing opposite Henry Thomas as Elliot's older brother -- the sunglass-toting friend in the blockbuster classic "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" back in 1982.

Sean was on the supernatural set with Henry Thomas as the 10-year-old boy who loves "Star Wars" and baseball, Elliot, Drew Barrymore as the sarcastic and mischievous lil' girl  Gertie, and Robert MacNaughton as Elliot and Gertie's older bro who helps build a communicator to "phone home" E.T., Michael.

Frye's last feature film came in 1988 in "For Keeps" starring Molly Ringwald.

Melania Trump is pro-choice, Will Smith is gassy and Rashee Rice's mom is being accused of sticky fingers ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock break down where Melania stands in relation to her husband on the issue of abortion.

Transgender model Sidney Starr and "Family Matters" alum Darius McCrary have been putting on a strong public front for months, and their union just got a whole lot tighter ... and Sidney says it's all thanks to gender-affirming surgery!!!

The two lovebirds recently paid Adam22 a visit at "No Jumper" ... where Sidney jumped at the chance to reveal Darius slapped down big bucks for her member to get the permanent snip!!!

Adam asked to be gifted Sidney's removed penis for safekeeping, but it looks to be long gone.

Here's Leonardo DiCaprio getting super cozy with Vittoria Ceretti over in Rome ... and it's something we don't see often out of these two.

Leo and his model girlfriend are enjoying each other's company in Italy ... so much so, Leo snuggled Vittoria in his arms on a staircase at an ancient church as he sipped a hot drink and took in the sights.

We haven't seen Leo and Vittoria this lovey-dovey before ... so the photos are super interesting.

"Power Book II: Ghost" star Michael Rainey Jr. has already begun shaping his future after the series wraps up this week -- he's entering the world of hip hop, via making beats!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Michael at an intimate dinner with friends and fam to celebrate 'Power II's' final season ... and he admitted he enjoyed "Tariq St. Patrick" -- and clearly fans did too.

He tells us they were so invested in the series' penultimate episode that involved a major cast change they actually got pissed at him!!!

You already know what day it is ... "It's October 3rd" AKA "Mean Girls" Day! The legendary film continues to roar through pop culture ... Take a stroll way back when with our iconic gallery of the "Mean Girls" cast.

Diddy’s every move is being dissected following his recent bombshell indictment -- and now a bizarre resurfaced video shows him calling out Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson over their skincare endorsements.

In the resurfaced clip from the early 2000s, a rambling Diddy rants about how LL and JS don’t deserve props for their Proactiv collabs, claiming he was onto the skincare brand 7 years before they ever did their commercials -- so, in his eyes, they were late to the game.

It's a seriously cringe-worthy clip, with Diddy going on about how his "silky smooth cocoa butter skin" was courtesy of Proactiv long before Lindsay and Jessica made it trendy in the beauty scene.

Will Smith really knows how to clear an area ... with his rear end!

According to movie director, Barry Sonnenfeld, the actor was such a fart bag during the filming of the 1997 sci-fi film, "Men In Black," that he caused the entire cast and crew to abandon the set for 3 whole hours.

Sonnenfeld made the shocking revelation during Wednesday's episode of Kelly Ripa's podcast, "Let's Talk Off Camera," while he promoted his new book, "Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time."

After a tremendous amount of controversy, Alec Baldwin's film "Rust" is finally getting its moment in the spotlight -- it's set to premiere next month at Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Cinematography Film Festival.

Three years after the tragic accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins -- a bullet fired from a loaded prop gun killed her on set -- "Rust" will hit the big screen in the city of Toruń. The event will also feature a special panel to honor her life.

Director Joel Souza, who was hurt in the 2021 set accident, will helm the panel. Joining him will be cinematographer Bianca Cline, who stepped in to finish the film, and Stephen Lighthill, one of Halyna's film school mentors.

James Earl Jones was widely respected on the set of "The Sandlot," even by his 13-year-old costars ... actor Patrick Renna recalls to TMZ.

We caught up with the former child star outside LAX, where he told us what it was like working with the film and stage legend ... and he had nothing but nice things to share.

As Patrick put it ... everyone knew who James was while filming the 1993 coming-of-age movie ... but, they unfortunately didn't get a ton of interaction with the A-lister.

John Amos died of congestive heart failure, according to his death certificate, and he was cremated more than a month ago ... fueling speculation that a family feud was raging at the time he died.

TMZ has obtained the death certificate filed with L.A. County, and it shows the "Good Times" star died August 21 at 5:18 PM at an Inglewood hospital.

The death certificate says there were no other significant medical conditions other than heart failure.

R. Kelly's daughter broke down in tears as she opened up about how she once looked at her dad with admiration ... but his multiple sex crime convictions later shattered her world.

In the trailer for "R Kelly's Karma: A Daughter's Journey," Joann Kelly admits there was a time when her father was her "everything" ... but when his convictions for possessing child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with underage girls came to light, it completely changed her life.

Joann notes no one wants to be the child of someone who hurt women and children -- adding her dad knows exactly why they can’t have the relationship she once hoped for.