6:01 PM PT -- "Sopranos" creator David Chase tells TMZ ... "[James] was a genius.  Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that."

"He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time.  A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes.  I remember telling him many times, 'You don't get it.  You're like Mozart.' There would be silence at the other end of the phone."

Chase continues, "For Deborah and Michael and Liliana this is crushing.  And it's bad for the rest of the world.  He wasn't easy sometimes.  But he was my partner, he was my brother in ways I can't explain and never will be able to explain.”

4:48 PM PT -- The celebrity tributes have begun ... we just spoke with Joseph R. Gannascoli -- aka Vito on "The Sopranos" -- who tells us. "James is one guy who never turned his back on me. He was the most humble and gifted actor and person I have ever worked with."

He adds, "He was a great man and I will forever be indebted to him. "


James Gandolfini -- who famously played Tony Soprano on "The Sopranos" -- died earlier today in Italy ... TMZ has learned.

Gandolfini is believed to have suffered a heart attack. He was 51.

Gandolfini was in Italy to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily -- and he was scheduled to participate in a festival event this weekend with Italian director Gabriele Muccino.

Gandolfini shot to fame playing a hitman in the 1993 hit "True Romance" ... and quickly became a Hollywood legend when he was cast as Tony Soprano in 1999.  He won 3 Emmy awards for the role during the show's 6 season run.

Gandolfini also appeared in a ton of huge movies including "Get Shorty," "The Mexican" and "Zero Dark Thirty."

We last spoke to Gandolfini in May in L.A. -- he was in great spirits, making funny faces and joking about a "Sopranos" movie.


Gandolfini is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, who gave birth to the couple's daughter in October 2012. He also has a teenage son from a previous marriage. R.I.P.

Like a turtle without his shell, rock-n-roll god Slash hit the pool in Ibiza this week ... WITHOUT HIS TRADEMARK TOP HAT!!!

The former Guns N' Roses guitarist is vacationing off in Spain with his family ... just like they did back in 2012.  Dude looks good.

Meantime, here's a photo of Axl Rose at a yard sale in New York this weekend.  He looks ... fine?

NFL star Aaron Hernandez has NOT been identified as a suspect in the shooting of Alexander S. Bradley ... but that could change ... cops tell TMZ.

We broke the story ... Hernandez has been sued by Bradley, who claims the New England Patriots tight end shot him in the face and left him to die back in February.

Cops tell TMZ ... ever since the incident, Bradley has been extremely uncooperative with investigators -- and has refused to identify his assailant ... until he pointed the finger at Hernandez in his lawsuit, which he filed last week.

So what does it mean for the investigation? The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Dept. tells us ... it doesn't mean much.

In fact, we're told cops have no plans to meet with Hernandez ... and have neither named him a suspect nor a person of interest in the shooting.

And why not? With an uncooperative witness and no hard evidence ... it's a safe bet investigators don't feel they have a strong enough case to go after the NFL star.

Of course, plans could change ... but for now, it seems unlikely Hernandez will be prosecuted.

The former singer for Save Ferris has gone off the rails ... falsely promoting the famous ska band's "reunion" show this summer -- WHEN THERE IS NO SUCH THING -- this according to a new lawsuit ... and now her ex-bandmates are out for justice.

Singer Monique Powell made the "reunion show" announcement back in April -- claiming the band would be reuniting after a 10-year hiatus to perform at the OC Fair on July 27th.

But there was one problem ... the other Save Ferris members claim they never approved a reunion show -- in fact, they released a statement shortly after Monique's announcement, saying they'd never even been contacted by Monique about performing in it.

Monique responded with her own statement, "While I had hoped this could be a reunion of sorts with all, or some, of my former SF band members, unfortunately that isn't the way it looks to be turning out." But the show is STILL being promoted as a "Save Ferris" performance.


Former SF members Brian Mashburn, Eric Zamora, Bill Uechi, Brian Williams, and Evan Kilbourne have now filed a lawsuit against Powell -- insisting she has no right to perform under the Save Ferris name.

The band wants her to pay unspecified damages for falsely promoting a reunion show. They also want a judge to block her from using the Save Ferris name ever again.

Attempts to reach Monique were unsuccessful.

She already (kinda) redeemed herself for that infamous pageant flub -- so yesterday, we decided to pelt the beautiful Miss Utah with some brain-twisting riddles instead ... and she actually did pretty damn well.

21-year-old Marissa Powell had just touched down in L.A. for her appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" -- and while she was at the airport, we asked her a bunch of questions to test her wits on the fly ... such as the classic "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" and "What can you put in a bucket of water to make it lighter?"

She doesn't exactly get them right, but she doesn't exactly get them wrong either. Then again, she could probably say anything and we'd be happy.

HOT CHICKS!! HOT CHICKS!! HOT CHICKS!!

Paris Jackson told a creepy story about one of her former nannies and Michael Jackson ending up in bed together ... and she said it under oath during a deposition taken for the wrongful death suit against AEG.

Video of Paris' deposition was played in court Tuesday ... and the highlight was her description of Michael's relationship with ex-nanny Grace Rwaramba.

In the depo ... Paris explained to attorneys for AEG that Michael warned his children about Grace, telling them ... "She was sneaky. She wasn't an honest person, and she lied a lot."

Paris said she didn't know specifically what she lied about -- but then seemed to suddenly remember one freaky detail about Grace sneaking into Michael's bed while they were staying in hotels.

Paris starts out saying ... "This is gonna freak you out."

She's right. You gotta hear it, and really interesting to hear it in Paris' words.

2:45 PM PT -- Cops tell TMZ, Hernandez has NOT yet been identified as a suspect in the shooting, but that could change.

11:55 AM PT -- According to police reports, obtained by TMZ, the victim was discovered outside of a John Deere store in Riviera Beach, FL on Feb 13 around 6:48 AM. 

The manager of the store, who found Bradley, says the victim was bleeding from his head and one of his hands.

According to the police report, Bradley instructed the John Deere employee to call 911 and warned -- "Tell them to hurry -- I'm gonna bleed out."

When the employee tried to ask Bradley if he knew who shot him, Bradley replied, "I'm done talking -- it hurts too bad."

Emergency responders raced to the scene -- but when they arrived, Bradley was being difficult ... refusing to cooperate and being "rude" to personnel.

Eventually, cops say Bradley identified his attackers as being "both Hispanic and black males." 

According to the police report, he never identified Hernandez by name.

10:34 AM PT -- Sources connected to the case tell us ... Bradley's legal team only dismissed the case because there was an error in the paperwork ... and they FULLY plan to REFILE the lawsuit TODAY.

We're also told ... Bradley will argue that the bullet initially struck him in the arm and continued traveling through his body until it struck him in the face .... blowing out his eyeball.



New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was sued earlier this month for allegedly shooting a man in the face following an altercation at a Miami strip club ... TMZ has learned.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Florida on June 13 -- five days before investigators searched the NFL star's Massachusetts home in connection with a homicide investigation that appears to be unrelated.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Hernandez and Alexander S. Bradley went to Tootsie's Cabaret in Miami on February 13, 2013 ... and during the outing, the two men got into an argument.

Bradley claims ... After the dispute, both men left the club -- and got into the same car which was heading to Palm Beach. During the ride, Aaron allegedly aimed his weapon at Bradley ... and the gun discharged, striking Bradley in the face.  

Bradley claims he suffered major injuries from the gunshot ... including the loss of his right eye.

Bradley also claimed he required major surgery to reconstruct his face ... which required plates and screws. Bradley also claims he suffered damage to his right hand and arm, which also required surgery.

There's more -- Bradley claims Aaron was not licensed to carry a firearm in the first place.

Bradley demanded more than $100,000.

But just 4 days after Bradley filed the lawsuit, the case was DISMISSED.

We reached out to Aaron's people for comment -- so far, no word back.

11:52 AM PT -- Paula's rep issued a statement to TMZ ... saying, "Ms. Deen does not condone or find the use of racial epithets acceptable. She is looking forward to her day in court.”  


When Paula Deen was asked, under oath, if she has ever used the N-word -- she responded, "Yes, of course" ... and the shocking admission was all captured on tape.

Deen was being deposed in connection with a pending sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee who claims she was subjected to a barrage of racist, sexist and generally inappropriate comments while she worked at Paula's Oyster House restaurant in Georgia.

Here are the highlights from the jaw-dropping depo:

Lawyer: Have you ever used the N-word yourself?
Paula: Yes, of course.

Lawyer: Okay. In what context?
Paula: Well, it was probably when a black man burst into the bank that I was working at and put a gun to my head.

Sidenote -- Paula was held up at gunpoint during a bank robbery in 1986.

Lawyer: Okay. And what did you say?
Paula: Well, I don't remember, but the gun was dancing all around my temple ... I didn't -- I didn't feel real favorable towards him.

Lawyer: Okay. Well, did you use the N-word to him as he pointed a gun in your head at your face?
Paula: Absolutely not.

Lawyer: Well, then, when did you use it?
Paula: Probably in telling my husband.

Lawyer: Okay. Have you used it since then?
Paula: I'm sure I have, but it's been a very long time.

Lawyer: Can you remember the context in which you have used the N-word?
Paula: No.

Lawyer: Has it occurred with sufficient frequency that you cannot recall all of the various context in which you've used it?
Paula: No, no.

Lawyer: Well, then tell me the other context in which you've used the N-word?
Paula: I don't know, maybe in repeating something that was said to me.

Lawyer: Like a joke?
Paula: No, probably a conversation between blacks. I don't -- I don't know. But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the '60s in the south. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior. As well as I do.

We reached out to Paula for comment -- so far, no word back.

  

Here's 52-year-old natural redhead Kathy Griffin on a talk show this week (left) -- and a stock photo of bouffant-bombshell Katey Sagal as her "Married With Children" character Peg Bundy (right).

Only one of them is actually married with children.

Just sayin'...

We now know what in the Hell Kate Upton was doing hanging out with "Dancing With the Stars" dude Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- and we're still not happy about it.

As we previously (and jealously) reported ... Maks and Kate were spotted leaving a restaurant together in NYC last week.


So, of course we've been wondering how someone known as the "bad boy of the ballroom" ... managed to bag the hottest chick on the planet.

Well, we ran into Maks at LAX, sans Kate, and asked if they're, y'know ... banging?

Let's just say we feel a little better ... for now.  But not much.

The idiot who blackmailed rapper J. Cole on Twitter yesterday -- by threatening to kill his little sister if J. Cole didn't retweet him -- is now being investigated by police, TMZ has learned.

A rep for the New Braunfels Police Department in Texas tells us, they have opened an investigation into the 19-year-old responsible for the tweet ... after the picture (showing the fan aiming a gun at his sister's face) was brought to their attention.

The rep says the teenager in question "is cooperating and it seems this was just a bad lapse in judgment." Police say the gun in the picture is a BB gun, not an actual handgun.

The rep adds, "For now this is still an open investigation, and for the time being no charges are being filed."

As for the teenager -- we spoke to the kid, and he has profusely apologized for sending the message, telling us, "I'd like to apologize to America for the photo and to put J. Cole in that position. It was all a joke."

He added, "It was an unloaded BB gun and my sister was in on it. I only tweeted it because I didn't expect a response. Mr. Cole please don't sue me. I want to formally apologize more to J. Cole and yeah my mom made me delete my twitter until I fixed it.” 

So there you have it. DON'T BE STUPID, KIDS.

9:49 AM PT -- Yep, it's nasty.

Zimmer just fired back at MW through a statement released to CNBC ... saying, "Over the past several months I have expressed my concerns to the Board about the direction the company is currently heading."

"Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the Boardroom that has in part contributed to our success, the Board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns through termination as an executive officer."


Men's Wearhouse did not like the way George Zimmer looked as executive chairman ... 'cause the suit chain just FIRED his ass!!!!

FYI -- the famously-bearded Zimmer didn't just FOUND the company in 1973, he also served as the spokesperson and is known for his slogan -- "You're going to like the way you look, I guarantee it."

The company announced the termination in a blunt statement ... and explained, "The board expects to discuss with Mr. Zimmer the extent, if any, and terms of his ongoing relationship with the company."

Sounds like a pretty nasty breakup.

In the meantime, here's a commercial to remember him by ...