There are reports that James Brown's body is missing from his crypt -- as in, stolen -- but TMZ has learned the Godfather of Soul never left the building.


The morbid dispute arose when one of Brown's illegitimate daughters, LaRhonda Pettit, told a UK newspaper that the singer's body was mysteriously moved from the temporary crypt in South Carolina in an attempt to keep her from having another autopsy performed on the body.

Brown died in 2006 -- and Pettit had suggested foul play.

But a lawyer who represents 5 of Brown's children tells TMZ James is right where he should be -- in his crypt -- still dressed to the nines in one of his famously awesome "farewell" outfits.

Guess he really was the hardest working man in show business: A DNA test done by James Brown's widow show he's the father of little James Brown II.

The attorney for James Brown II says a DNA test confirms James Brown fathered the son of a woman who claims to be the singer's widow. The attorney says that the 6-year-old boy was tested in April, before the paternity test was ordered by a judge. "If that was James Brown's bone we tested, that's James Brown's kid," says Robert Archer, PhD, director of Genetic Identity labs of Eugene, OR.

"The alleged father (James Brown) cannot be excluded as the biological father of the child since they share genetic markers," says the lab's paternity screening report dated April 18, 2008. A copy obtained by ArtHarris.com reports "the probability of paternity is 99.999975." We'll take that.

The results of the court-ordered test have not been released.

James Brown's alleged widow has been ordered by a South Carolina judge to provide a DNA test of her 6-year-old son, who she claims was fathered by the Godfather of Soul. Get up, get on up!

Trustees handling the singer's estate question the claims of Tomi Rae Hynie who says she is the mother of James Brown's youngest son. Her lawyer contends that James Brown II has been receiving social security and insurance benefits since Brown's death, and that Brown himself had accepted the child as his son. The Brown children have not commented on the ruling.

Adding more drama to the crazazy case is Andre White, who was a longtime friend of JB and was with the singer when he died. He told The Augusta Chronicle last month that Mr. Brown's closest friends, and at least one daughter, knew he'd had a vasectomy, saying, "It was just common knowledge among all his friends." Papa's brand new bag isn't so new!

The DNA test must be completed within the next 30 days.

Papa's got one less trustee! The bizarre battle over James Brown's will continued this week with the surprise revelation that a trustee of the estate had misappropriated $350,000 of the soul singer's money.

The trustee handed over a check for the full amount of missing money before resigning from his position as trustee and as co-executor of Brown's will.

Brown, who died this past Christmas lived on a $100,000 a month allowance, and friends and relatives aren't sure how much money is left in his estate. Some of the funds, say his former pastor Rev. Larry Fryer, are meant to go to needy children through Brown's "I Feel Good" Trust, and Fryer is concerned that those kids won't get their share of the money. Fryer has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the trust.

A follow-up hearing on the will is scheduled for September 24. That feels good!

Godfather of Soul James Brown was named the real father of two more children on Friday. He publicly acknowledged six children, but new DNA testing revealed that LaRhonda Petitt, and another unidentified individual are also Brown's kids.

Petitt, who was interviewed by the Augusta Chronicle, is 45-years-old -- the oldest of Brown's identified children. She revealed that Brown picked her mother out of a Los Angeles audience and the two began dating, but that Brown split when he found out about the pregnancy. It's a man's world!

Said Petitt, "I was angry that he was out there making all this money, and he wasn't doing anything for my mother and me. I could have had a better life." Several people have claimed to be Brown's babies, but so far, only two of the dozen or so tested have been positively identified as the late, great soulman's spawn.

Elvis Presley, George Burns and James Brown are all alive and kickin' -- for a new ABC reality show.



Auditions took place this week for the show "The Next Best Thing," ABC is searching for the best celebrity impersonator -- and celeb lookalikes (read: wackos) came out of the termite infested woodwork to cause troubled double-takes on the streets of New York.

Doppelgangers for Kenny Chesney and John Travolta showed up as well -- though after taking a look at them, it's clear those two celebs have no need to worry about identity theft.

TMZ has obtained a copy of James Brown's will, and it reads like the will of a guy who didn't have much -- other than knickknacks.

The will, which begins by noting that Brown is also known as "The Godfather of Soul," leaves his six children "furniture, appliances, furnishings, pictures, silverware, china, glass, books, jewelry, wearing apparel, boats, automobiles, and other vehicles..."

The document, signed in 2000, does not mention how much cold hard cash the estate is worth.

Brown did not include his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie or their 5-year-old child. Hynie is expected to contest the will and could end up inheriting 1/3 of the estate.

Papa may have a brand new resting place, but James Brown's youngest son and his last partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, won't be getting any of the Godfather of Soul's money.

According to Brown's attorney, Strom Thurmond Jr., five-year-old James Jr. is not listed as one of Brown's six children in his will, which was read in Aiken, S.C. today. And his mother, Hynie, once a backup singer for Brown, was also disinherited. Another Brown attorney says that the will has been read, but not yet filed in probate court.

Shortly after Brown's death on Christmas Day at age 73, Hynie returned to the Atlanta home she said she shared with Brown -- only to find herself unceremoniously locked out. A lawyer for the late music legend said that Hynie and Brown weren't legally married. Hynie's attorney, Thornton Morris, says that his client has no idea when the will was executed.

Feeling depressed about the passing of the Godfather of Soul aka the Hardest Working Man in Show Business?
Couldn't find a flight to the public memorial service in Augusta Georgia? Fortunately, eBay has got you covered in your time of sorrow.

A program from the funeral, originally intended for friends and close family members, has popped up on eBay.

Now you can have a chance to finish that James Brown shrine you've worked on so tirelessly.

James Brown has once again proven that he's still got flair ... even though he died nearly a week ago.

The Godfather of Soul, who passed away on Christmas day, underwent one last costume change for his second viewing in Augusta, GA early Saturday morning.

Brown rocked a shiny blue blazer with a matching tie this time around, a drastic change from the suit he wore during the New York viewing on Thursday.

Eat your heart out, Cher!

James Brown was laid out at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater today.

With Al Sharpton standing at the side of his gold coffin, thousands of fans paid their respects to the "Godfather of Soul."

The body will be taken to Georgia tonight for a second viewing and funeral. Brown died on Christmas morning of heart failure at age 73.