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Pat Sajak is on the road to recovery after undergoing surgery for a blocked intestine ... opening the door for Vanna White to host "Wheel of Fortune."

Production sources tell TMZ ... Pat is going to be sidelined for two weeks, during which Vanna will fill his shoes on the hosting front.

"Wheel of Fortune" is currently shooting Disney Week at its Los Angeles studio ... and our production sources tell us the person turning the letters will have mouse ears ... in case you can't figure it out, we're talking Mickey Mouse!!!

The show announced it canceled its Thursday taping because Pat went under the knife, and taping resumed Friday with Vanna stepping in as host. Sajak is said to be resting comfortably and looking forward to getting back on the job.

Pat's been the host of "Wheel of Fortune" -- the longest-running syndicated game show in the country -- since 1982, and Vanna's been turning the letters since then as well.

'Wheel' and "Jeopardy" are owned by the same company and are 2 of the most successful shows in TV syndication. Pat's now laid up, and Alex Trebek is battling pancreatic cancer and is undergoing a second round of chemo, though he has not missed a show.

The first real-life cowboy who held a Marlboro cigarette in his hand, and played the role of the "Marlboro Man" -- even though he wasn't a smoker -- has died.

Robert Norris, who played the advertising icon for a dozen years, reportedly died last Sunday at his ranch in Colorado Springs.

As the story goes, ad execs noticed Norris in a newspaper photo with his longtime friend -- an actor by the name of John Wayne -- and tracked him down at his 63,000-acre ranch in Colorado.

They thought he was perfect for the rugged, genuine cowboy character, and according to a friend ... he did it as a favor. This was in the '60s, and Bob appeared in magazines, commercials and billboards for the cigarette company for the next 12 years.

Strangely enough, Norris never smoked in his life, and he eventually quit the campaign because he thought he was setting a bad example for children.

Robert was a popular figure in his hometown, known for being a philanthropist and businessman along with a rancher. He was also actively involved in helping several rodeo organizations.

He's survived by his 2 sons and 2 daughters. His wife passed in 2016 at age 88.

Norris was 90 ... so saying no to cigs seemed to serve him well.

RIP

O.J. Simpson has belatedly fired back at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas ... suing the hotel claiming it defamed him by banning him in 2017 after falsely accusing him of being drunk and disruptive.

The incident in question went down just weeks after Simpson was released from prison. Simpson -- who had been frequenting the hotel in the days prior -- allegedly got into an altercation on Nov. 8 at Clique Bar after flying into a drunken rage.

Sources told us ... glasses were broken during the melee and the ex-NFL star was eventually told to leave, given a trespass notice and told to never come back.

But, in his lawsuit, Simpson is adamant he was NOT drunk, he was NOT belligerent and did NOT break any glasses. In fact, he says earlier in the evening a manager at the steakhouse in the hotel actually thanked him for being a gracious guest.

O.J. says when he was leaving for the night ... someone from the hotel handed him a trespass notice and repeatedly said it was private property and he was not welcome back ... ever.

Simpson says he was shocked by the move, claiming he was never involved in an incident that night that could warrant a permanent ban.

Simpson says his parole officer saw our story and visited him at his residence the next day and gave him a drug and alcohol test ... which both turned up clean.

Simpson claims the PO also went to the Cosmo to investigate and told Simpson there was no evidence he did anything that would violate his parole.

In fact, in his suit, Simpson refers to himself as a "model parolee with perfect performance."

Reality is ... Simpson is WELCOMED at many famous spots all over town and regularly poses for pics and signs autographs. In a way, he's become a draw.

Shortly after the incident, Simpson spoke on camera and he said he had no clue what happened.

Simpson was released from prison on Oct. 1, 2017, after spending years behind bars for an armed robbery conviction.

Since he's been out, O.J. has been a regular on Vegas golf courses and fancy restaurants. He's also joined social media where he often talks about fantasy football topics.

Jane Fonda's "Fire Drill Fridays" arrest streak is over -- she avoided handcuffs this week, but only at the behest of the climate change movement for which she's become the face ... TMZ has learned.

The actress showed up Friday in Washington, D.C. and -- like she has week after week -- she urged Congress to act on climate change. Then she started marching with other protesters, and this is usually when police step in and issue 3 warnings ... before taking Jane and others into custody.

But, it never happened. Jane simply got into a waiting SUV and bounced.

Why? Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... protest organizers urged Jane not to get arrested for what would have been her 5th time in as many weeks because she risked more than a month in jail. Jane currently has an open court date later this month, stemming from her third arrest, and because of that she could have faced 30 to 90 days behind bars.

We're told the "Fire Drill Fridays" folks made it clear to Jane she was more valuable to the them leading the weekly protest -- drawing a spotlight to the cause -- than she would be rotting in a jail cell.

Ben & Jerry's cofounders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield also joined Jane. So far, they have avoided getting hauled away. We're told the police appear to be giving everyone a pass this week because the dozens of weekly arrests just become a nuisance for law enforcement.

To that point, Ben and Jerry definitely charmed at least one Secret Service agent on the scene with their weapon of choice ... a cup of their world famous ice cream. Brilliant move.

As we've reported here, here, here and here ... the protests were inspired by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg. Jane's 4th arrest last week meant she had to spend a night in jail.

Celebrities alike have joined Jane at the nation's capital and see the arrest as a badge of honor. Jerry told us earlier this week on "TMZ Live" it didn't take much pressure from Jane to join her on the frontlines.

As you probably know by now ... Ben & Jerry's have been calling for climate change action for YEARS now. They even launched a Save Our Swirled flavor to shine a spotlight on saving the planet.

Fathers are going to have to look elsewhere to dress up their kiddos ... Amazon is no longer selling a kids' shirt emblazoned with the phrase, "Daddy's Little Slut."

Amazon yanked the piece of children's clothing from its online store Friday after some folks on social media raised a huge stink, calling the shirt offensive and shaming Jeff Bezos' company.

The slutty shirt is designed by OnlyBabyCare and Amazon was hawking it for $18 before it went viral and the pearl-clutching fun police forced the company's hand.

It's interesting ... dads were able to dress their little girls for months before the product got the ax ... the shirt had been available on Amazon since June and was originally listed for $36.

The product description is pretty rich ... with OnlyBabyCare claiming the garment was suitable for "playing outside, birthday party, baby shower, baptism, wedding, baby photography, daily wear, family day."

At least there's no sexism when it comes to these sluts ... the manufacturer said the shirt was unisex and suitable for "little girls or boys."

Nyjah Huston -- the #1 skateboarder in the world -- made an amazing wish come true for an 11-year-old shredder ... throwing the kid a private skate party and the pics are AWESOME!!!

The reigning Street League Skateboarding champ got word that a brave 11-year-old named Jaydon -- who's been battling a severe kidney disorder -- has been dreaming of skating with his hero, Nyjah.

In fact, we're told Jaydon -- who lives in Florida -- is a hardcore skate fanatic who watches skate videos of Nyjah almost every day!

So, the good people at the Make-A-Wish Foundation put the two in touch -- and Nyjah hooked up one of the coolest 1-on-1 skate sessions EVER!

Nyjah invited Jaydon to the famous The Berrics indoor skatepark in Los Angeles -- owned by pro skaters Steve Berra and Eric Koston -- where Huston personally hooked the kid up with dope shoes and gave him pointers on how to hit the ramps and grind rails.

AND, THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

Huston and Make-A-Wish also brought in a taco guy -- because Jaydon loves tacos -- and they mowed down all the food their stomachs could hold!

When the day was over, Jaydon didn't only leave with a super memorable experience ... Huston sent him packing with a boatload of signed gifts and Nike merch.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro just pled not guilty to a laundry list of misdemeanors stemming from last month's incident with his baby mama, Jen Harley.

The "Jersey Shore" star showed up in an L.A. courtroom Friday morning, sporting a suit and tie for his arraignment, and entered his not guilty plea to the 7 misdemeanors he's facing -- domestic violence, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment [of Jen], and 2 counts of resisting arrest.

As we reported ... Ortiz-Magro was initially busted for kidnapping after allegedly striking Jen, chasing her down with a knife, taking their baby girl from her ... and then locking himself inside an Airbnb they were renting in Los Angeles.

When police arrived, he allegedly refused to come out, so cops busted in and tased him before slapping a pair of handcuffs on him.

Jen says she suffered bruises and scrapes from her altercation with Ronnie, and there are photos of her alleged injuries.

TMZ broke the story ... Jen was granted a protective order to keep Ronnie away from her and their 1-year-old daughter, Ariana. We're told he plans to fight that order during a court hearing next week.

You'll recall ... neighbor's surveillance footage shows Jen looking very scared as she held Ariana and hid behind a car.

As we've reported ... Ronnie denies wielding a blade during the incident or injuring Jen, and he claims he was only trying to protect their child.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda just found a virtual pot of gold buried in a Dallas storage locker -- because it's filled with trinkets from "The Dude Perfect Show."

Rene -- who runs the Bargain Hunters Thrift Store featured on the reality show -- tells TMZ ... he and two buddies, Jeremy Hales and Justin Grimes, dropped $2,770 on a storage unit this week in Texas, and when they got inside they realized it used to belong to the super-popular YouTube stars.

"Dude Perfect" has a massive following -- 47.1 million subscribers -- so you've probably seen their insane sports trick shot videos, or recognize them from their Super Bowl commercial.

It's quite a haul for Rene ... the storage locker is filled with "Dude Perfect" props dating back to their first season -- trophies, a massive baseball mitt, the famous panda costume and more.

A$AP Rocky is heading back to the danger zone -- aka, Sweden, where he was jailed and convicted of assault over the summer.

The rapper's set to return to Stockholm, Sweden on December 11 for a show at the Ericsson Globe that will include other Swedish artists, yet to be announced.

In a statement released Friday, LiveNation says about Rocky ... "After tremendous support from the Swedish fans, he returns to Stockholm for a long-awaited gig for all his supporters."

Tickets apparently go on sale on November 12.

As you'll recall ... A$AP was found guilty of assault by a panel of Swedish judges in August, but he did not have to go to prison.

The judges determined the case -- which hinged on whether A$AP threw a bottle at the victim during the all-out brawl in late June -- did not warrant self-defense ... despite video showing the victim was antagonizing his crew.

Despite the guilty verdict, the judges felt Rocky and his codefendants got ample punishment with the month they served in a Swedish jail as they awaited trial. So instead, Rocky got a suspended sentence ... meaning he just had to pay various fines and fees.

The Swedish prosecutor who worked on the case tells us ... A$AP has NO restrictions on him related to the assault conviction. We're told ... "He can return to Sweden for his gig and won't be arrested unless he commits another crime."

Kanye West knows what's going to put him in the Oval Office in 2024 -- he's reaffirming his plans to run while revealing his platform and a name change ... a huge one.

Kanye dropped bombshell after bombshell Thursday in NYC, where he spoke at the Fast Company Innovation Festival. Seated next to Yeezy designer Steven Smith ... Ye told the crowd, matter-of-factly, he will be running for Prez.

Watch the video, because he didn't get the reaction he was expecting ... at all. The audience laughed, and Kanye stared back with a deadpan look and said, "What y'all laughing at?"

He went on to make the point that by 2024, Yeezy brand "will have created so many jobs, I'm not gonna run [for President], I'll walk." There was an uncomfortable silence following that, and he went on to say celebrities are terrified to speak their minds, including himself.

He admitted his wife, Kim Kardashian West -- who was in the audience -- would probably tell him later he was too outspoken at the event.

Ye also complained about Forbes' reluctance to label him a billionaire and announced he'll change his name to "Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West" ... just to stick it to the outlet.

Irv Gotti says he would NOT rip a page outta T.I.'s parenting handbook, but quickly adds ... that doesn't mean Tip deserves to be bashed for keeping gynecological tabs on his daughter's virginity.

We got the Murder Inc. Records honcho outside Le Pain in WeHo and wanted to get his take on T.I. stirring up controversy by revealing he's been taking his daughter to the gyno, for years, and sits in for the results ... strictly to confirm she's still a virgin.

From the jump, Irv says he's not gonna judge T.I. on how HE chooses to parent HIS kids. But, if it were his daughter ... it's pretty clear where Irv would stand.

As we reported, T.I. earned tons of backlash for his admission on the 'Ladies Like Us' podcast. In fact, the cohosts -- Nazanin and Nadia -- also took a bunch of heat for how they handled the interview. They apologized and deleted the episode.

Young Dolph was tossing handfuls of a green, leafy substance out the window of his Lamborghini before getting pulled over, according to cops ... in a scene straight out of "Super Troopers."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Young Dolph was cruising around Fairburn, GA Thursday morning when a patrol car noticed the paper license plate on the rapper's yellow Lambo SUV was expired.

We're told officers lit him up, but Dolph continued driving for several blocks and that's when police noticed him tossing something green and leafy out the driver's side window.

In video from the traffic stop ... you see Young Dolph on his knees and in handcuffs as he's being detained by cops.

Our sources say police searched the Lambo but did not find any drugs, guns or contraband ... so Dolph was ticketed for littering and driving with an expired tag. He was not arrested.

We're told cops couldn't determine if Young Dolph was dumping marijuana out of his whip because the green substance was too scattered about the busy road by the time police pulled him over.

Conor McGregor has fought his way out of ANOTHER sticky situation -- reportedly proving he's NOT the father in a dispute of a 2-year-old "love child."

26-year-old Terri Murray had accused Conor of knocking her up back in 2017 -- just weeks before Conor's GF Dee Devlin gave birth to their son Conor Jr.

Murray claims she and Conor slept together at his hotel during the '17 Grand National in Liverpool. There is a photo circulating of Conor partying with Murray around that time.

But, according to Conor's rep, the UFC superstar has taken a DNA test which proves once and for all ... (switch to Maury Povich voice) ... HE'S NOT THE FATHER!!!

"To conclusively end any and all erroneous media reports, Conor McGregor took a DNA test recently which confirmed to all parties that he is not the father of the child in Liverpool," Conor's spokesperson said in a statement.

The Irish Independent claims they have seen the results showing a "zero percent probability" McGregor is the daddy.

Well, here it is. 14 years ago today, we pushed a button and TMZ.com went live and has been on a wild ride ever since.

We have broken thousands of stories over the years, many of which we can proudly say have changed the political and social climate. Our Ray Rice story had profound implications on the way the NFL and others deal with domestic violence. Our Donald Sterling story changed basketball for the better.

Some of the stories we've posted have been jaw-dropping. Those of us who worked at TMZ back in June 2009 were thunderstruck when we realized Michael Jackson was dead, and our investigation into doctors who enabled the singer was super disturbing.

Check out just a few of the stories we've broken that have made national and in many cases world news.

Sometimes you just know. When we got the Beyonce/Jay-Z elevator video back in May 2014, we knew it would generate crazy interest. What caused Solange to attack Jay, and how do you deconstruct Bey's reaction? Bey and Jay eventually righted the ship, and now all's well.

Click here to read more!

Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice got in trouble for attacking his girlfriend, but the public had no idea how serious it was until we got video of Ray viciously knocking out his fiancee in an elevator. The story hit like an atomic bomb. Prosecutors gave Rice a slap on the wrist, and the NFL gave him a measly 2-game suspension, which it later increased after a torrent of public criticism. The story triggered big changes in the way the NFL and other sports deal with domestic violence.

Click here to read more!

Michael Jackson long had trouble with drugs but kept a lot of it hidden from public view. On June 25, 2009, we got a tip he went into cardiac arrest and made about a hundred calls and eventually determined he was dead. After we broke the death story, the L.A. Times posted a story that Jackson was in a coma. The rest of the media had to then choose ... who to believe.

Lil Pump damn near became a snack for a slithering snake ... and it left him a bloody mess.

The rapper was shooting a music video Thursday night and the crew was handing off a snake to Lil Pump, who was sitting on some sort of stair-like throne. Then, it happened.

The snake, out of nowhere, whipped around and sunk its fangs into Pump's left hand. The scary moment was captured by podcast host Adam Grandmaison -- aka Adam22. You can see Pump flail as he extricates himself from the reptile. He then shows off the gnarly injury.

LP's left hand is covered in blood. And, if you look closely near the end of the vid ... it appears as if the snake's setting its sights on a second victim.

Good news for Lil Pump ... he doesn't seem that hurt, saying, "I just got bit by a snake WTF." He threw in a snake emoji on the caption and a few laughing ones before adding, "I can't f**k [with] no snakes. I hope I don't die."

Tina Turner fans screamed their faces off as she left the new musical 'bout her life ... which Whoopi Goldberg touts as simply the best damn thing on Broadway.

As "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" left the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in NYC Thursday night, fans gathered round to cheer her on and a full-on "Tina! Tina! Tina!" chant broke out.

Oprah and her BFF, Gayle King, were also spotted getting into their rides after taking in "Tina --The Tina Turner Musical" ... which just officially opened and stars Tony Award nominee Adrienne Warren in the title role.

Speaking of Warren ... we got Whoopi Goldberg after she saw the performance, and she was awestruck by what she had just witnessed. Whoopi compared Adrienne to another huge star who broke out on Broadway back in the '60s ... and is still going strong.