RIP

Cissy Houston, a Grammy-winning singer and the mother of late singer and actress Whitney Houston, is dead.

Cissy died Monday surrounded by family in her New Jersey home, where she was under hospice care as a result of Alzheimer's disease ... her daughter-in-law Pat Houston confirmed to TMZ.

She's being remembered by Pat as "a strong and towering figure" and "a woman of deep faith and conviction."

A man was shot dead by cops in Illinois after he opened fire on officers following a wild chase that started when he allegedly shot his own dad -- and the dramatic scene was caught on police video.

The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office and Plano Police Department dropped graphic segments of the footage from last month’s incident ... and it shows the suspect, 36-year-old Nicholas Novak, hopping out of his vehicle at an intersection with a shotgun in hand, firing at least once at responding officers.

A Kendall County Sheriff’s deputy and a Plano police officer both returned fire with about a dozen rounds ... and the footage shows the suspect collapsing to the ground after being struck.

Alec Baldwin's film "Rust" is gearing up for its world premiere at Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Cinematography Film Festival next month ... but it’s being slammed as tone-deaf by industry peers of the late Halyna Hutchins.

Many are raising concerns about whether it’s appropriate to showcase the controversial Western at an event that Hutchins, who was from neighboring Ukraine, regularly attended -- since she died on the set of the film 3 years ago after being hit by a bullet fired from a loaded prop gun.

The festival -- which will also host a special panel to honor Halyna’s life -- promoted the upcoming premiere on IG with several stills from the movie -- but the comments section is anything but hyped for the event.

TikTok star Taylor Rousseau Grigg, who's amassed over 1.4 million followers on the platform, has died ... this according to her husband.

Cameron Grigg, the 25-year-old influencer's husband, shared the news on his social media Saturday ... saying her passing was, "so sudden and unexpected" -- adding, "This past year Taylor has dealt with more pain and suffering than most people do in a lifetime."

Taylor's husband didn't provide a cause of death, but noted the plan is for her organs to be donated. He signed off by saying they weren't able to financially prepare for the hardship that would come with her passing -- linking to a GoFundMe for fans who are able to help.

10:13 AM PT -- According to Christopher's obituary ... he died peacefully surrounded by his husband, Ray, and loved ones. The obit notes Christopher's loving spouse was faithfully by his side during the final stages of cancer that would ultimately end his life.

Another death in Madonna's family ... and this time it's her younger brother, Christopher Ciccone.

Madonna's brother died Friday in Michigan due to cancer ... his rep tells TMZ.

Richard Simmons is up in heaven with his trademark tank top and shorts, working up a sweat ... at least that's what his brother said at Richard's celebration of life.

The late fitness guru was remembered Saturday in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana ... and his brother, Leonard, compared him to Clark Kent during a touching eulogy at St. Louis Cathedral.

Leonard says Richard was like Superman in that he always had his tank top and shorts on under his outfit -- like Clark keeping his superhero getup under his civilian clothes.

If it were up to David Ortiz, there would be no debate over Pete Rose's Hall of Fame candidacy ... as he tells TMZ Sports the Reds legend should have been inducted years ago.

Big Papi made his opinion loud and clear while out at LAX on Friday -- just four days after Rose died from heart disease -- saying straight up, "I thought he should have been a Hall of Famer a long time ago."

"Mistakes are mistakes," the former Red Sox star said. "But sometimes there's exceptions to the rules, you know what I'm saying? And, he's one-of-a-kind."

A tourist in the country of Georgia unwittingly filmed herself falling to her death while singing and dancing during a night out -- and that horrifying footage has surfaced this week.

You can see Russian woman Arina Glazunova living it up, passing her phone back and forth to a friend ... when she trips over a knee-high wall and falls into an underpass.

There's a few seconds of shaky footage before the filming stops. Reality hit hard as the 24-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead from a broken neck and head injuries.

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.

Rich Homie Quan's first posthumous album, "Forever Going In," was released Friday -- a month after his death ... the day the star rapper would have turned 35.

The album looks to capitalize on RHQ's growing streaming numbers while also memorializing his life -- it clocks in at 35 songs!!!

2 Chainz, Lil Tjay, Sukihana, Skilla Baby and more help round out the guest list -- RHQ's family dedicated the project to all the supporters.

John Amos' daughter Shannon is claiming her brother, K.C., colluded with 2 others to take advantage of the declining actor ... alleging his will was changed before his death.

Shannon appeared on "TMZ Live" Thursday, where she was joined by John's former business manager, Paul Baldassarre, her daughter Quiera Colston, and John's God-daughter Amy Goudy ... to sound the alarm over their unanswered questions about the shocking circumstances surrounding the "Good Times" star's death.

According to Shannon, John was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2016, prompting K.C. to move in with their dad -- and she says K.C. then proceeded to isolate the TV legend from his other loved ones ... even monitoring his phone calls.

Ron Hale, the actor arguably best known to soap fans as Mike Corbin on "General Hospital," has died, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Ron died of natural causes at his home in St. George, South Carolina on August 27. A specific cause of death was not disclosed.

Throughout his decades-long career, the veteran actor appeared in several TV series ... including starring in the popular '70s soap "Ryan's Hope" -- in which he played Dr. Roger Coleridge.

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.

John Amos' death is exposing a family rift ... and it sounds pretty messy.

The late actor's family is now accusing John's son, Kelly Christopher Amos, AKA K.C., of isolating the "Good Times" star from his loved ones before his death.

In a family statement, John's relatives say ... "Over the past year, John Amos was isolated from his family and close friends by Kelly "KC" Amos, Eugene Brummet and Belinda Foster."

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.