RIP

Burt Bacharach, one of the most prolific composers/songwriters in American history -- responsible for enormous hits like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "I Say a Little Prayer" -- has died.

Bacharach died Wednesday at his L.A. home of natural causes, according to his publicist.

Bacharach and his composing partner, Hal David, were responsible for a string of Dionne Warwick hits, including "Do You Know The Way to San Jose," "Walk on By," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Don't Make Me Over."

Numerous artists covered his songs, including Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones.

Although the 8-time Grammy winner was largely considered a master of easy listening, his songs were covered by artists in all genres of music -- everyone from Luther Vandross to Marty Robbins to Elvis Costello and even The Carpenters recorded his songs.

Everyone knows the #1 hit, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" ... classic Bacharach.

He and David composed the score for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which included 'Raindrops.' They won 2 Academy Awards for the film's soundtrack.

Motown record label founder Berry Gordy tells us, "Over the years, no matter who Burt collaborated with, there was always a recognizable “Bacharach” sound and magic to his songs. He was a unique writer whose music always touched my heart. I will miss him, but I know Burt’s amazing legacy will live on forever."

Burt also wrote several hits with his one-time wife Carole Bayer Sager -- and, in fact, they also won an Oscar for "Best That You Can Do" ... the theme from "Arthur."

All told, he walked down the aisle 4 times, including a 15-year marriage to actress Angie Dickinson. He married for the last time in 1993 when he and Jane Hansen tied the knot.

He's survived by 3 children and Jane. Burt was 94.

Prized 'Star Wars' memorabilia that belonged to Peter Mayhew, the actor who famously played Chewbacca, is about to go up for auction ... and unrightfully so, according to the late actor's wife.

Angie Mayhew tells TMZ ... she's very upset an auction house in the UK is selling a ton of Pete's possessions from his 'Star Wars' days, including scripts, call sheets, signed photos and more.

The collection was given to Ryedale Auctioneers by a couple who moved into Peter's old home in northern England and found the items in the attic.

The couple didn't know the memorabilia once belonged to Peter, so they unwittingly gave it all up.

Angie tells us when they were moving out of the home, Peter attempted to snag his mementos from the attic, but couldn't get inside due to serious knee issues ... and he didn't want Angie to risk injury going up there herself.

She says Peter scooped up as many items within arm's reach as he could, but had to leave the rest.

Angie says leaving the memorabilia was one of her and Peter's "biggest disappointments" in life.

On Tuesday, Peter's wife saw the items were up for auction, and immediately got honchos at the Peter Mayhew Foundation to contact the auction house. Angie says she plans to speak with the auction house Thursday.

You'll recall, the iconic 'Star Wars' actor died back in 2019. Angie is hoping to reclaim the items and put them on display in the family's "Chewy" museum in Texas.

Tyre Nichols' mom is hopeful Congress will make good on what came across as a promise during President Biden's State of the Union address ... but she's reiterating it's time for them to finally act on real police reforms.

We caught up with RowVaughn Wells on Capitol Hill Tuesday night, shortly after the President delivered his State of the Union address ... in which he referenced the fatal beating her son endured at the hands of Memphis cops last month.

RowVaughn tells us she's very appreciative of the President's strong message Tuesday night ... saying now it's all about putting forth action.

Given the reaction in Congress after the Prez speech, she says it looks like something might really change this time around. However, she says "we'll just wait to see" -- a point Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family also reinforced.

As you know Tyre was beaten by multiple Memphis PD officers so badly during a Jan. 7 traffic stop ... he died 3 days later in a hospital bed.

Since his death, police have released gruesome video of the brutal beating ... which stirred outrage and multiple peaceful protests across the country.

Five Black officers were immediately fired, and later charged with second-degree murder.

Other firefighters and officers who responded to the scene without rendering timely assistance to Tyre have also been fired, but no one else has been criminally charged.

Tyre's family has vowed to join the renewed push for legislators to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing act ... which was defeated in a 2021 Senate vote.

In what many may consider a bizarre pairing, Priscilla Presley has ties to the 'Jackass' world -- in none other than the troubled Bam Margera.

Elvis' ex-wife -- and the mother of the late Lisa Marie Presley -- posed for some casual snaps posted Tuesday with the former skateboarder-turned-stuntman ... who's been on a downward trend lately in his personal life. BM posted two photos he'd taken with Priscilla.

In both, it seems they're just hanging out at someone's house. For the first IG, Bam simply wrote ... "Lunch with prescilla Presley." Didn't quite get the spelling right -- but no harm, no foul we suppose.

The second caption read, "Priscilla Presley watching Phoenix the wolf." You can see PP staring at something and Bam looking on with glee -- it's unclear if she's checking out a photograph or a screen, but he's suggesting she's taking a gander at his 5-year-old son, Phoenix Wolf Margera.

While this appearance together might seem like it's coming out of nowhere, it's not really ... Bam's actually friends with Lisa Marie's half-brother -- and Priscilla's son -- Navarone Garcia.

Of course, seeing Bam with Priscilla during such a tumultuous time in both of their lives is a little worrisome -- at least on its face. As we've reported ... Priscilla is challenging a trust LMP had tinkered with before she died, putting daughter Riley Keough in charge instead of her.

The Grammys officially have to recognize hip hop's presence going forward ... so says 2 of its pioneers ... Melle Mel and Scorpio of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five!!!

We linked with Melle, Scorpio and Bar Shon after their participation in the Grammys hip hop blowout to celebrate the culture's 50th birthday ... and in their opinion, the classic contributions to the medley really boosted the tribute.

Melle and Scorpio also tell us it was an honor to rock with the newer artists, who included Lil Baby, GloRilla and Lil Uzi Vert -- but it was their wave of nostalgia that made the performance one for the books.

The Furious Five rappers disagree with the notion new rap music is garbage -- they say each generation has its own sound and even remember when older heads turned their noses up at their music when they referred to it as "fresh."

Gabby Petito's family just released a photo that they say backs their wrongful death suit -- namely, what they claim is an alarming selfie taken minutes before cops stopped her -- and proof officers should've taken action.

Attorneys for Gabby's parents -- who filed suit against the Moab Police Dept. in Utah for not intervening to protect their daughter before she was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie -- distributed a picture they claim was taken on her phone minutes before she and Brian encountered MPD officers on the road ... following a call from a concerned citizen.

The photo appears to show Gabby with a bruised eye and red marks on her face ... something that didn't look nearly as visible in body cam footage taken during the actual traffic stop.

Interestingly, the cop talking to Gabby did point out something on her face ... asking if she'd been hit. He also pointed out what he seemed to think was an injury on her shoulder.

The Petito family says a timestamp from Gabby's selfie shows it was taken at 4:37 PM on August 12. Moab PD's body cam footage started rolling shortly after at around 4:53 PM.

Gabby's parents feel this shows she was obviously injured at the hands of Brian ... and that law enforcement had a duty to step in and shield her. As we now know, the two officers on the scene made a decision not to arrest anyone at the time ... something the Petitos feel warrants at least $50 million in damages.

Cardi B got roped into Offset and Quavo's fight backstage at the Grammys -- and part of her attempt to break it up was caught on video.

Entertainment Tonight obtained footage of Cardi shouting at 2 people -- her husband and his cousin/former rap pal, and you can clearly hear her screaming ... "Both of y'all's wrong! This is not right!!!"

She goes on to address someone specific in tense terms ... "No bitch, shut the f*** up 'cause you shouldn't have been talking." It's unclear who CB was referring to there.

Afterward, she came back and talked to an ET reporter ... who straight up asked her if she was back there settling some stuff. Cardi brushed it off, saying the only thing she settled was her outfit. Unfortunately for her and for Offset, the whole brouhaha was on camera.

This simply confirms what TMZ first reported ... a fight broke out backstage between Quavo and Offset, which multiple witnesses tell us was initiated by Quavo. Offset tried downplaying our story, tweeting out what seemed like a denial.

Scott Alexander, a magician best known for his time on "America's Got Talent," has died ... according to his wife.

Scott's wife Jenny -- who appeared on the show as his assistant -- shared the tragic news on Monday, posting ... "We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, a mentor, and one hell of an entertainer."

As for what led to his death, Jenny says "Scott suffered a stroke while working on a cruise ship in St Kitts and did not make it home to us."

'AGT' fans will remember Scott and Jenny from Season 6 of the hit show. He made quite the impression on the judges with his illusions and tricks, before getting eliminated in the Quarterfinals.

After the show, Scott also appeared on Season 2 of "Penn & Teller: Fool Us".

Scott is survived by his wife and their 3 children. In Jenny's own words, "We are shattered."

A GoFundMe has been started by a family friend to help Jenny as well as their children's future.

There's clearly still serious bad blood between Migos' rappers Quavo and Offset following the death of Takeoff ... and those emotions boiled over backstage at the Grammys into a physical fight.

Sources at the show tell us just before Quavo took the stage to perform his song "Without You" as a tribute to Takeoff during the "In Memoriam" segment of the show, he and Offset got into a physical fight and had to be pulled apart.

As for what led to it -- we're told The Grammys had asked Offset to be a part of the tribute, but Quavo refused to let him take part. We're told Quavo blocked Offset from joining him on stage ... leading to the melee.

Our Offset sources say it was Quavo who started the fight.

We should note -- Quavo and Takeoff were extremely close at the time of Takeoff's murder -- Offset was still hanging out with Takeoff separately, but the trio wasn't hanging out as a unit. Quavo's "Without You" was a song he specifically wrote for Takeoff.

J Prince and Offset's beef over Takeoff's death is boiling over, and fans are blaming Gillie Da Kid and Wallo for heating the pot ... because J Prince used their platform to spark things up.

The Rap-A-Lot Records don closed off his recent "Million Dollarz Worth of Game" interview with some pretty tough talk aimed at Offset, claiming the rapper was "throwing rocks" without properly raising any issues he has with J. Prince himself.

Offset, in turn, defended his honor with sharp words ... dismissing J Prince's "Mob Ties" reputation while accusing him of exploiting Takeoff's death by repeatedly doing interviews about the situation.

Fans are labeling Gillie and Wallo the instigators for allowing the tensions to get so high, especially after some of their past interviews -- most notably ones with Lil Durk and Young Thug -- showcase the Philly podcasters assuming a "big brother" role to steer rappers away from the street life.

And, here's the crazy part: Gillie kicked off the interview claiming they initially refused the sit down with J Prince, but his conversation with Quality Control Records boss Pierre "Pee" Thomas was good enough for them to proceed ... and they still managed to ruffle feathers!!!

Offset's been dealing with a lot these past few days ... with things coming to a head between Quavo and him backstage at the Grammys.

TMZ broke the story, the 2 estranged Migos members got into an altercation after Quavo blocked Offset from partaking in his Takeoff tribute, and now there's this lingering beef with J Prince.

Tristan Thompson is opening up for the first time about his mother's unexpected death ... penning her an emotional tribute letter on Instagram, writing his "soul is empty" since her passing.

"Dearest mommy in heaven, It has been one month since you’ve been gone," the former NBA player wrote.

"I’m in disbelief. I'm in the deepest part of sorrow & grief. My soul is empty as I come to terms that my biggest supporter/superhero is gone."

The 31-year-old continued, writing about the sacrifices his mom made for him and his siblings.

"Mommy, all the sacrifices you did for ur sons will never go unnoticed or without appreciation. You were an amazing mommy, role model, best friend & the strongest woman I know."

Thompson also touched on some of the public mistakes he's made as an adult, vowing to show his mom raised a good man.

"Im sorry mommy for the wrong decisions Ive made in my life. Im sorry for the embarrassment &pain. You raised me better than what I was able to show you," Tristan wrote.

"But I have also learned sorry is not enough. Actions speak louder than words. So I wont just say sorry. Stay tuned to the ways I will show the world what an amazing son you raised."

Fans, NBA stars, and celebs flooded Thompson's IG comments with support, including his former teammate LeBron James and Kim Kardashian, who left a heart and dove emoji.

Of course, Kim's sister Khloe -- who shares two kids with Tristan -- and the Kardashian family have been by his side since his mom, Andrea, suffered a heart attack at her home in Toronto on Jan. 5.

Dee Dee Ramone fans with a passion for the singer's life and some seriously deep pockets will now have a shot at owning some of his most personal items.

Ramone's ex-wife, Vera Boldis, is teaming up with Moments In Time auctions to sell a bundle of Dee Dee's belongings for a hefty $1.5 million. Boldis has held onto the collection from the original member of The Ramones for more than 40 years.

If someone is willing to shell out the $1.5M, they'll get close to 1,000 items ... including everything from lyrics and clothing, down to his love letters and his wedding album.

As for some specifics, there's a super fancy gold and diamond 'KING' necklace, ties, as well as a signed copy of the group's 5th studio album "End of the Century," which was originally released in 1980.

Dee Dee died back in 2002, and Tommy Ramone, the last surviving member of the group, died in 2014.

Charles Kimbrough -- a longstanding star on the sitcom 'Murphy Brown' -- has died.

His son confirmed the news to the New York Times, saying his father had passed almost a month ago ... way back on Jan. 11 in Culver City, CA. No other details about a cause of death were released.

The actor will certainly best be remembered as Jim Dial on the '80s/'90s hit show, where he played cranky veteran TV anchor, Jim Dial -- who delivered the news alongside Candice Bergen's Murphy, and who was shaped after Walter Cronkite and other legacy newsmen.

He starred on 'MB' for all 10 seasons, and he even got an Emmy nomination one year for his performance. Kimbrough returned to the role for a few episodes in the 2018 reboot as well.

Before TV, Kimbrough was a steady theater actor ... having starred in lots of Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including Stephen Sondheim's "Company."

Prior to his big break on 'Murphy,' Kimbrough had guest starred in a number of other hit TV series ... like "Kojak," "All My Children," "American Playhouse," "Spenser: For Hire," "Another World," "Hothouse" and more. He had also acted in several movies through the '70s and '80s.

It wasn't until the '90s that Kimbrough showed off a new skill ... voice acting. He lent his vocal talents to famous kids shows like "Dinosaurs," "Mighty Max," "Pinky and the Brain," "Recess," "Hercules," "The Angry Beavers," "Batman Beyond," and others.

Of course, he also famously voiced one of the gargoyles in 1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," playing Victor. He reprised this character for both the sequel and video game spinoffs.

Kimbrough is survived by his son, John. He was 86

Lisa Marie Presley could not handle the stress leading up to the Golden Globes, because she had become used to feeling anonymous during COVID, and felt fully exposed during the roll up to the Golden Globes ... sources tell TMZ.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Lisa actually felt comfortable during COVID, because she could leave her home masked up and no one knew it was her ... including paparazzi.

Lisa's world was rocked to the core in July, 2020, when her son Benjamin died by suicide. As we reported, our family sources say were it not for her 14-year-old twins, Lisa would have followed in Benjamin's path.

As she was dealing with her grief, we're told Lisa did not want to be seen by anyone. On the occasions when she ventured out of her home, she felt protected with a mask covering much of her face ... she was not spotted by anyone, and it proved comforting.

Lisa spend most of her time at home in 2021 and 2022, but 3 months before the Golden Globes, we're told she realized she would be a public centerpiece for the "Elvis" movie, and it freaked her out.

TMZ broke the story ... Lisa had gained weight over the last few years, and went on a dramatic weight loss program. We're told she lost 40 to 50 pounds in the 6 weeks leading up to the Globes.  It was apparently during Lisa's interview with Billy Bush, something was off.

As one source put it, she was "obsessed" with looking her best for awards season. A family source put it bluntly ... "Were it not for the Golden Globes, Lisa might be alive today."

Our sources say she was so stressed out over the Globes, we're told she started taking opioids again ... something that dogged her much of her adult life.

The L.A. County Coroner is awaiting toxicology results before determining cause of death.

Jennifer Hudson brought the house down at Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party Saturday night, with a rendition of "Greatest Love of All" that would have surely left Whitney Houston impressed.

Kevin Costner, Whitney's "The Bodyguard" co-star, hopped on stage with a super emotional tribute to both Whitney and Clive. Speaking to Davis from the stage, Costner said, "Neither one of us, in the end, could protect your beloved Whitney."

Costner went on ... "But your fingerprints on her life are clean my friend. You were a miracle in her life. Thank you for being her bodyguard, Clive. Everyone in this business has a mom, but not everyone has a Clive."

TMZ broke the story ... Whitney died of an overdose at the Beverly Hilton hotel back in 2012, just hours before Clive Davis's annual pre-Grammy bash.

"Laverne & Shirley" star, Cindy Williams' name won't soon be forgotten in the place she grew up in ... because they're dedicating an entire day in her honor.

Williams was raised in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, and there's now an official movement to declare January 25 -- the day she passed away -- as Cindy Williams Day in the community.

A spokesperson for the sixth district of Los Angeles tells TMZ ... “Our office was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Cindy Williams, a Van Nuys treasure and Hollywood icon. Throughout her life, Cindy served as a role model to young women in Hollywood and showed them that, through hard work and dedication, they could achieve whatever they put their minds to."

As we reported, the actress, made famous for her portrayal of Shirley in the hugely popular "Laverne & Shirley" died at the age of 75 last month.

While she's best remembered for playing alongside Penny Marshall in the hit series, she did a ton of other gigs throughout her career ... like taking on projects on Broadway and appearing on other shows such as "8 Simple Rules".