Max Wright, who famously played the father on the 80s hit sitcom "ALF" -- died Wednesday ... TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ ... the actor passed away in his home in Hermosa Beach, CA ... just outside Los Angeles. We're told Max had battled cancer for years. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995, but had been in remission for a long time.

Max was a veteran TV star whose most popular role was as Willie Tanner on the puppet-led sitcom -- which ran for 4 seasons on NBC. He's also known for acting in shows like "Buffalo Bill," "Cheers," "Misfits of Science," "Dudley" and "Norm."

He also starred in a ton of movies -- "All That Jazz," "Reds," "The Sting II," "Soul Man," "The Shadow" and several others. All in all, Max had more than 60 credits to his name, dating back to 1974.

His wife, Linda Ybarrondo, to whom he was married since 1965, died in 2017 from breast cancer. They had 2 children together.

Max's costar Michu Meszaros -- who played the main character, ALF (Alien Life Form for those not in the know) -- in the early seasons ... passed away in June 2016 at the age of 76.

Max was 75 years old.

RIP

3:07 PM PT -- Patience Carter -- who survived the Pulse Nightclub shooting -- tells us the video was traumatic to watch and was grossly accurate to what she experienced. Carter says the mild disclaimer at the beginning of the video should have been more severe as the music video could put survivors back into a dark place.

Madonna's new music video is a shocking and graphic recreation of a mass shooting scene ... that seems to emulate the horrific Pulse Nightclub murders.

Madonna dropped the video Wednesday for her politically-charged track, "God Control" -- a play on gun control -- and it shows 32 incredibly disturbing seconds of people being gunned down in a nightclub.

Warning ... the bloody scenes of bodies falling to the ground will be difficult for many people to watch. If Madonna's goal was draw visceral reactions ... it's a guarantee she'll get 'em.

In the music video ... the shooting violence starts at 2 minutes, 38 seconds when you see the shooter hold a gun up to his mouth and seemingly pull the trigger -- but the scene flashes to the guy opening fire on a bunch of people who are dancing in the club.

Madonna told People that her video is meant to be a commentary on the epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S., which she says is "out of control."

She included a disclaimer at the beginning that reads, "The story you’re about to see is very disturbing. But it’s happening everywhere and it has to stop."

Britney Spears' dad has had enough with online blogs which have accused him of mistreating his daughter ... and now he's suing to make it stop.

Jamie Spears is suing on behalf of Britney's conservatorship, alleging Anthony Elia -- the creator of the popular "Absolute Britney" blog and social media accounts -- defamed him and the rest of Britney's team when he said the team was manipulating Britney's Instagram account to create the illusion she needs help.

In one post, Elia accused Jamie and co. of deleting positive comments from Instagram in order to highlight the negative comments ... giving a false impression Britney was doing way worse than she actually was.

Elia is accused of falsely suggesting Britney's team -- directed by Jamie -- is "using her social media in a way to negatively portray her and do her harm." In other words, Elia suggested Jamie was making Britney's condition seem worse than it was in reality.

Elia went even further, saying, "This has to be a human right's violation?"

The lawsuit, filed by celebrity lawyer Larry Stein, is suing on behalf of Jamie, as the conservator of the Britney Spears Estate.

What really seems to upset Jamie is that, according to the lawsuit, Elia made his comments out of a "gut feeling."

Sources close to Britney tell us the online rumors created by Elia and other fan accounts have gotten so bad that law enforcement has gotten involved. We're told death threats have been made to just about everyone involved in Britney's conservatorship ... many of which have been taken seriously.

Our sources say reports of Britney being prohibited from driving or using a personal cellphone are simply untrue ... and backed up by photos of her out in her car and using a phone.

Beth Chapman, who along with her husband, Duane "Dog" Chapman, appeared for years on the iconic show, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," is dead.

Beth died Wednesday at a Honolulu hospital, days after being placed in a medically-induced coma. She had battled long and hard against cancer, which ultimately took her life.

The 51-year-old announced in 2017 that she'd been diagnosed with stage II throat cancer, but was cancer free by December of that year. The cancer returned last November -- after which she underwent aggressive chemo and fought valiantly to maintain normalcy in her life ... sometimes going out for the evening with her husband. She said last month on Mother's Day she had stopped chemo.

Dog just tweeted a goodbye to Beth, saying "Today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side."

Beth endured at least one health scare over the past few months, having been rushed to the hospital in April for breathing trouble related to her cancer treatments.

Beth became a licensed bail bondsman at age 29 -- the youngest in Colorado history. Her record was broken by her stepdaughter, Lyssa Chapman, who became licensed at age 19.

She met Dog when she was 19 and he was 35 ... when she got in trouble with the law. She was in a grocery store and got distracted by a call from her boss, and she walked out with a lemon and got stopped for shoplifting. Turns out she had an unregistered, unlicensed gun in her pocket -- she had taken it from her then-boyfriend who was drunk at the time -- and Beth's dad called Dog to bail her out.

They married in 2006, one day after Dog's daughter, Barbara Katy, was killed in a car crash in Alaska.

Dog and Beth became international stars after "Dog the Bounty Hunter" debuted in 2003. The show ended its run in 2012. They did another show -- "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt" which ran through 2015. The couple took a break from TV for a bit, and during that time ... Beth ran for president of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States and won. They were in the process of filming a new show, "Dog's Most Wanted," which was set to air next year.

It's unclear for now if their new program will make it to broadcast in light of Beth's death. We do know that Beth's health struggles were supposed to be a key storyline and that she was going to be front and center alongside Dog ... just like the old days.

Production started in February -- but no word if the network they were working with, WGN America, completed a full season's worth of episodes or not. Beth herself said the series wouldn't hit the airwaves this year, but a trailer has already been released.

Beth had 11 kids -- the latter 2 she had with Dog. Beth also has 14 grandchildren ... one of whom she had custody of after Dog's daughter died in the crash -- and the boy's father was found to be abusive.

She was 51.

Peter Greene, the actor known for playing bad guys, is now a real-life hero after seeing 2 women pounding on each other in the street, and stopping to break it up ... as NYPD traffic agents watched it all go down.

The crazy video of the "Pulp Fiction" villain, Zed, -- obtained by TMZ -- starts with a woman in a red shirt and blue pants confronting another woman in a neon green shirt ... who decides to throw down.

We're told the scuffle happened Monday in NYC's SoHo neighborhood. The guy who shot the vid -- underground rapper, R.A. the Rugged Man -- tells us, the lady in blue pants was acting aggressively before this, even spitting on people, and allegedly assaulted another woman minutes earlier.

R.A. says the lady in neon finally decided to step up and deliver a thorough shellacking ... that is, until Peter arrived on the scene. The actor hopped off his bike and got right between the combatants ... even though they kept going at it for several seconds.

Peter was mad as hell too -- at the women and also at the traffic agents standing on the same corner as the brawl doing nothing to stop it. He let them have it, then took off.

No word what happened to the women in the fight ... but the spitter's face is bloodied.

The irony here, of course, is that Greene -- best known for playing evil characters in "Pulp Fiction" and "The Mask" -- got to play the good guy for once.

Atta boy, Zed.

Blake Griffin and Chandler Parsons are LIVING UP THE SINGLE LIFE ... partying with a whole bunch of insanely hot bikini-clad women on a yacht in Ibiza -- and the pics are AWESOME!!!

The two NBA stars were all smile on the booty boat ... and it's pretty clear why -- it looks like fun!

Besides being young, ripped and pro athletes ... Blake and Chandler are also super rich!!

Blake's reportedly made close to $200 MILLION in his NBA career -- and Chandler's around $127 MILLION.

As we previously reported, Parsons recently broke up with his longtime model girlfriend, Cassie Amato ... so he's looking to rebound -- and it seems he's doing pretty well!

Between the two of 'em, Chandler and Blake have dated some of the biggest stars in Hollywood ... from Kendall Jenner (Blake) to Bella Thorne (Chandler) to Toni Garrn (Chandler) to Arianny Celeste (Chandler) to bikini mogul Francesca Aiello (Blake).

Prince William says he would be totally okay if any of his children are gay -- but at the same time ... he says he'd be somewhat concerned as well.

The Duke of Cambridge addressed the topic Wednesday while visiting the Albert Kennedy Trust in London -- where he was discussing a range of issues that affect LGBTQ youth. During the convo, someone asked Will how he would feel if any of his 3 kids ever came out?

Check out his answer ... it's interesting.

Wills makes it clear he'd fully support Charlotte, George or Louis if they came out publicly, saying, it's "absolutely fine by me." However, he adds that he'd also be "nervous" for them and what they'd have to potentially deal with as a Royal -- barriers, discrimination, persecution, hate, etc.

Still, all in all ... he'd have their backs.

The root of his concerns, however -- the fact his family, steeped in tradition and custom, is in a different position than most of their countrymen. While others coming out might be widely embraced when they come out ... the spotlight's much bigger for Royal family members.

Eminem's biological father -- who the rapper frequently rapped about abandoning him -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. died this week near Fort Wayne, Indiana ... according to family members and neighbors. A family source tells us he apparently suffered a heart attack while at home.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, has made no secret of his lifelong grudge against his father and rapped about never meeting him in person. His hit songs like "My Name Is" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet" reflect those feelings.

According to Eminem's mother, Debbie ... Mathers Jr., who went by Bruce, married her when he was 22 and she was 15, and they had their son 2 years later. They split up shortly after, and Eminem and his mom settled in Detroit with her family while Bruce moved to California ... where he had 2 other kids.

Eminem has said in interviews that he wrote letters to his dad as a child but they always came back "return to sender." The rapper said Bruce would sometimes call while family members were babysitting, but he would never actually talk to him on the phone.

In 2001, Bruce published a letter addressed to his son in a newspaper explaining his side of the story -- that Eminem's mom kept him away. Still, Eminem apparently never got in contact with his father to reconcile.

In "Cleanin' Out My Closet" ... Em rapped, "My fa***t father must've had his panties up in a bunch ‘Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye. No, I don't, on second thought, I just f**kin' wished he would die. I look at Hailie, and I couldn't picture leavin' her side."

NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony says reports suggesting he's cheating on his wife, La La Anthony, with a woman on a yacht in France are COMPLETELY FALSE ... and says the blogs have it ALL WRONG.

There are pics floating around showing Melo laying out on a yacht while a beautiful woman in a tiny bathing suit is next to him. There doesn't appear to be anyone else on the ship.

But, Carmelo tells TMZ Sports ... the woman is actually on the yacht WITH HER HUSBAND AND THE REST OF HER FAMILY -- and Carmelo is just on board as a friend while in Europe on a business retreat.

Melo says the false reports are "affecting my family" -- and he's calling for everyone to correct their reporting because it's hurting him, hurting the other woman and other people involved.

"All them bloggers that's trying to put that out there, that sh*t is not cool at all," Melo said.

"That's not cool at all. Let that family be they family, they married."

"The only reason i'm addressing this is because this is affecting my family now and you got me out here looking crazy. Usually I won't address this, but I had to address this."

7:35 AM PT -- The hearing is over, it only went about 20 minutes, and Cuba's attorneys did not get a ruling on their motion to dismiss. The judge said she would not make any "rash decisions," and certainly not before prosecutors have a chance to respond on July 17.

Judge Keshia Espinal added she would rule on the motion to dismiss on August 14.

Prosecutors filed a deposition from the accuser in which she details her account of the alleged groping.

Cuba Gooding Jr. just arrived to a Manhattan courthouse for a hearing in his groping case ... and the actor is trying to convince the D.A. to drop the charges against him.

We got Cuba strolling into court Wednesday morning, flanked by his legal team and NYPD officers for security. As we've reported, prosecutors have charged Cuba with one count of misdemeanor forcible touching and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree.

The Oscar winner's attorneys, Mark Heller and Peter Toumbekis, say their client is innocent and have filed a motion to dismiss the charges. The judge is expected to address that motion Wednesday in court.

Cuba was arrested earlier this month, turning himself in to police a few days after a woman called 911 alleging the Oscar winner touched her breast without her consent while at a New York bar. He's pled not guilty.

TMZ broke the story ... Cuba feels his accusers own words -- from blog entries -- show she has a "warped mental state." His motion to dismiss widely quotes blogs where she allegedly said she was starving for attention and also suffering PTSD and anxiety disorder.

Cuba also wants a full exoneration, and his lawyers have argued the case is littered with factual inconsistencies, a lack of conclusive video evidence and an alleged screwup in the NYPD investigation.

Story developing ...

Donald Trump is firing back U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe -- saying bluntly, she should "WIN first before she TALKS!"

As we previously reported, the team USA cocaptain went scorched Earth on Trump during an interview earlier this month ... saying, "I'm not going to the f*cking White House" if the U.S. wins the World Cup.

Trump obviously saw the comments ... and is responding:

"Women’s soccer player [Megan Rapinoe] just stated that she is 'not going to the F...ing White House if we win,'" Trump said.

"I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven’t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose."

"Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!"

Trump also weighed in on the story TMZ Sports broke ... that several NBA teams and the NBA league office are moving away from the term "owner" because some players feel it's racially insensitive.

"Other than the NBA, which now refuses to call owners, owners (please explain that I just got Criminal Justice Reform passed, Black unemployment is at the lowest level in our Country’s history, and the poverty index is also best number EVER), leagues and teams love coming to the White House."

As for Rapinoe and Team USA -- they're scheduled to play Team France in the Round of 8 on Friday ... so they're getting pretty close.

Megan says she doesn't believe ANY of her teammates would accept an invitation to The White House if they win the whole thing.

The back-to-back Democratic debates -- which will feature candidates of Black, Hispanic, Samoan, Indian and Asian descent -- will be a major test for those trying to tackle the issue of diversity ... in the lighting department.

Production sources for the upcoming primary debates -- in which 10 different candidates will share the stage on both nights -- tell TMZ ... the fact they will feature more non-white candidates than previous debates will be challenging.

That company, Lighting Design Group, has experience dealing with crowded stages in the political world -- it did the lighting design for the 2016 Republican primary debates ... which had 17 in the field, but only 2 of those candidates -- Ben Carson and Bobby Jindal -- were persons of color ... and Carly Fiorina was the only woman.

The Dem debates have 5 non-white candidates and 5 women, which we're told can make the lighting way trickier.

Our sources say the lighting pros have to focus on getting it just right for the men and women of different skin tones when the TV shows a solo shot, but also must balance the lighting overall for "broad look" shots of multiple candidates. There are individual spotlights, but other lighting on the stage bleeds into the individual shots.

We're told the lighting folks will be ready to adjust on the fly during the debates with the goal being to make sure everyone is satisfied, but satisfying 20 presidential candidates may be an impossible order.

Here's the full lineup of the 20 candidates taking the stage:

Wednesday night -- Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Beto O'Rourke, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, John Delaney, Tim Ryan and Bill de Blasio.

Jordyn Woods ain't playing the crying game after being excommunicated by the Kardashians -- it's the opposite actually ... despite what her new fashion brand might suggest.

Kylie's former BFF launched a new clothing line Tuesday in partnership with online retailer BooHoo. Seems she's the face of the line ... at least that's what we get after watching the video she posted of herself rockin' some of its gear ... all the while flaunting her curves for the cam.

It's interesting ... the BooHoo line looks similar to stuff the Kardashians have worn and sold from their own fashion empire. Seems Jordyn's ripped a page right out of their biz book and is keeping it going for herself ... how 'bout that?!

There's also this -- Kim K suggested on the latest 'KUWTK' episode that Jordyn's only been able to provide for her own family through what Kylie has "given" her with respect to jobs and other opportunities.

Blac Chyna says she always knew she'd be vindicated in her hairdresser knife case, 'cause the lady was simply thirsty for the spotlight -- but she ain't gonna drink from Chyna's fountain.

BC says Tuesday's decision by the L.A. City Attorney's Office to reject cases against Chyna and her hairdresser -- each claimed to be the victim -- comes as no surprise ... as she maintains she never did anything wrong.

Chyna tells us her former employee -- whose name she refuses to say -- was obviously only looking for her 15 minutes. The proof, she says, is the woman took her bogus claims to media outlets and also her own social media ... BEFORE going to the police, attempting to smear Chyna.

The City Attorney's Office says there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, and Chyna insists that supports her account .. that she did NOT pull a knife or threaten anyone, as claimed by she whose name Chyna won't speak.

Plus, no other witnesses came forward to corroborate the woman's story, and there was never a smoking gun ... or knife.

What is clear is that something WAS thrown in the surveillance vid, and Chyna says it's the hairdresser hurling soda cans.