Celebrity Death

John Singleton will get a fitting tribute on his last big project ... and it was no small feat to pull it off.

"Snowfall" -- the FX series Singleton co-created that chronicles L.A.'s crack epidemic in the '80s -- did an entire rewrite of the upcoming third season's finale to incorporate a young John character into the story ... based on his pre-"Boyz n the Hood" days.

Sources close to production tell us everyone involved really wanted to honor him this way, and worked very hard with little time to make it happen.

There's more -- we're told Singleton's 1-year-old son, Seven, will make a cameo in episode 10 as well ... which would have made his father ecstatic.

Our sources say John always had his boy on set and expressed his wish to eventually have him appear on "Snowfall" ... so producers checked that off the list too.

Little Seven spent some time with the show's stars between takes, and you can see ... he definitely upped the cuteness factor of the gritty drama.

As we reported ... Singleton died in April almost 2 weeks after suffering a stroke. He was 51.

Season 3 of "Snowfall" premieres July 10, so we're told the finale featuring the young John character and the appearance of John's son will air September 11.

Mick Foley says he'll come to your door and watch wrestling with you IN PERSON ... saying all it'll take for him to do that is a donation to Ashley Massaro's daughter's educational fund.

The wrestling legend appeared on "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and told the guys for a $5,000 check, he's willing to travel ANYWHERE in the United States or Canada to hang out with fans.

And, for a $10,000 donation, he says he'll even fly overseas!!!

"You get three hours of my time," Mick says ... "We can do whatever you want. I can do your yard work if you'd like."

Massaro tragically died last month in an apparent suicide ... and Foley has been one of the ring leaders of a charity project aimed at helping her daughter, Alexa, save up for college.

So far, their GoFundMe page has raised over $45,000 ... and Mick says the ultimate goal is $100K.

"Ashley was a really good friend and somebody I thought the world of," Mick says ... "And, I wish I had been there a little bit more for her when she was having trouble."

12:50 PM PT -- The Broward Sheriff's Office has also fired Peterson for neglecting his duties at the high school on the day of the shooting after an internal investigation.

The Broward County Sheriff's Deputy who fled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a mass shooting broke out has been arrested for failing to do his job and help limit the carnage ... and he's facing up to 96 years in prison.

Scot Peterson has been arrested and charged in Florida and has been hit with 11 criminal charges stemming from the Parkland shooting on February 14, 2018.

The charges include 7 counts of child neglect, 3 counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. This comes after a 14-month investigation where law enforcement interviewed 184 witnesses and reviewed countless hours of surveillance footage.

Peterson's bond has been set at $102k ... but if he posts it he'll be required to wear a GPS monitor, turn in his passport and forfeit any firearms he has.

As we reported ... Peterson was tasked to guard the school, but video shows him running away from danger when 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire on the school.

He's also been sued by families of the victims.

June Ambrose gets the award for most cringe-worthy moment at the 2019 CFDA Awards ... after making a monumental mental slip about the late Kate Spade.

The costume designer and star of "Styled By June" was chatting up celebs arriving Monday night at the fashion awards show at the Brooklyn Museum -- which was live streamed -- when she made a shocking and insensitive gaffe.

June was interviewing entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman and asked what designer she was wearing. When she said she was wearing Kate Spade, June replied ... "Are you here with Kate? Is she here?"

Seemingly unaware that the famous fashion designer died a year ago by suicide, Ambrose continued to look around for Spade and asked if she'd skipped past her. Bronfman was visibly rattled, but kudos to her for handling it with class and finding a way to NOT shame June.

People watching online, however, didn't let June's slipup slide -- blasting her online for being clueless and insensitive.

Ambrose indirectly acknowledged her mistake when she signed off, saying ... "It has been my honor and pleasure to host, screw up and cause chaos tonight on this carpet for you. I hope you enjoyed and learned as much as I did."

She also tweeted early Tuesday morning, apologizing for her mistake, and admitting she made "an error."

Frank Lucas, one of America's most infamous drug kingpins, died Thursday night ... TMZ has confirmed.

Frank, famously played by Denzel Washington in the 2007 movie "American Gangster," died in New Jersey, according to his brother. We're told Frank was being transported to a hospital for an unknown health issue and died on the way.

Lucas rose to power dealing heroin in Harlem in the 1960s and '70s, and he boasted of cutting out middlemen by buying his product directly from Southeast Asia ... then smuggling the drugs back to America using the coffins of dead U.S. servicemen.

Frank was born and raised in North Carolina before moving to New York City ... where he eventually got into the drug trade, cutting into the Italian mafia's business and carving a name for himself.

Lucas bragged his heroin was among the purest on the street, and he infamously dubbed his product, "Blue Magic." While he was at the top of the NYC drug trade, Frank rubbed elbows with elites from Hollywood, politics and the business world.

Frank was finally busted in the mid-1970s and all of his enormous assets and wealth were seized. Lucas owned property across the country in Chicago, Miami, Detroit, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina -- and even Puerto Rico.

When the DEA raided Frank's Jersey home in 1975, agents found more than $584,000 in cash.

Frank was convicted of federal and state drug violations ... and sentenced to 70 years in prison. Lucas ratted out others in the drug biz, and he and his family entered a witness protection program.

After 5 years in custody, Frank had his sentence reduced to time served plus lifetime parole ... but he was later busted for drug dealing again, and spent another 7 years behind bars before being released in 1991.

Claus von Bulow, the man who was convicted but walked free -- after his conviction was overturned -- and ultimately acquitted of trying to murder his wife ... has died.

The trial was one of the most sensational of the 20th century. Von Bulow was charged with deliberately injecting insulin into wife Sunny in 1980, sending her into an irreversible coma.

Prosecutors claimed Claus wanted to do Sunny in so he could inherit her fortune and continue his relationship with his mistress, a soap opera actress.

Von Bulow was convicted the first time around and sentenced to 30 years in prison, and then was famously represented on appeal by Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. He successfully argued items were illegally seized and the notes from key witness interviews had not been turned over to the defense.

The story riveted the nation, and became the subject of "Reversal of Fortune," which chronicles the murder and Dershowitz's appeal. Jeremy Irons, who played Claus, won an Oscar for Best Actor.

Claus was retried and found not guilty in 1985. He moved to Europe where he died.

Reggie Jackson says Bill Buckner was not only a great guy, but a great baseball player -- and it sucks he had to spend years dealing with the blowback from that infamous World Series error.

Reggie and Bill played during the same era in the '70s and '80s and you can tell by the clip, Reggie really liked the guy.

Of course, Bill passed away Monday after a battle with dementia. He was 69.

But, Reggie says he feels terrible that Bill had to deal with such a ridiculous amount of harassment after letting that ground ball go through his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

The error haunted the former Red Sox star for the rest of his career -- and the rest of his life -- and things got so bad, he eventually moved out of Massachusetts to get away from the constant torment.

Reggie tells us ... he wishes people would celebrate the rest of Buckner's career -- because he ultimately finished with close to 3,000 hits (the official number is 2,715).

"Just a great human being, super guy," Jackson tells us ... "Sorry really what happened with him in his career. It's a shame that he's marked for that."

The wife of Oscar-nominated actor Demian Bichir was sleeping only 2 hours a night and detoxing off anxiety meds before she took her own life ... according to her autopsy report.

Model Stefanie Sherk was discovered by her husband April 12 at the bottom of their pool in Sherman Oaks, CA with weights strapped to her back and ankles, and despite efforts to resuscitate her ... she never regained consciousness and died at the hospital 8 days later.

According to L.A. County Coroner ... Sherk was 2 days into detoxing from Xanax at the time of her death but was also suffering crippling insomnia due to her sleep aid, Lunesta, which had lost its efficacy.

The Coroner says she also had a history of depression and experienced "recent suicidal ideations."

Sherk's depression got worse at the end of 2018 following the deaths of her grandmother and her dog. She reportedly called a friend just 9 days before her suicide and described how she wanted to kill herself ... but the friend talked her out of it and notified the family.

The Coroner's report ultimately revealed Sherk's cause of death was "the result of the effect of lack of oxygen, mainly on the brain, produced by a purposeful drowning episode."

Days after Sherk's death, Bichir wrote ... "It is with inconceivable pain that I announce that on April 20, 2019, our dearest Stefanie Sherk, my beloved and loving wife, passed away peacefully. It has been the saddest and toughest time of our lives and we don’t know how much time it will take for us to overcome this pain. Stefanie’s beautiful, angelical and talented presence will be immensely missed.”

5:15 PM PT -- We just got Chazz Palminteri in NYC, and he told us he's glad he got the chance to work with Carmine ... calling him a really great man.

Chazz also feels Carmine should be reinstated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

9:53 AM PT -- Carmine's manager tells us, "From Broadway, to film and television, Carmine spent over six decades entertaining audiences, and nothing made him happier. His talent, wit, warmth, and charm will be missed. Carmine passed peacefully, surrounded by friends and family."

"Perhaps Carmine's biggest regret was his involvement in a scandal that left him expelled from The Motion Picture Academy. While exonerated by police and the FBI, Carmine was always deeply saddened by what had transpired."

9:10 AM PT -- A rep for Carmine tells us he had actually been at Cedars-Sinai since April 25 when he took a nasty fall. He had been getting treatment for back injuries, but after nearly a month in the hospital he came down with pneumonia.

We're told he was diagnosed last Thursday, and although doctors felt he was stable enough for release on Friday ... his health started going south on Saturday.

Although some of Carmine's friends have posted he was in a coma, the rep said he was responsive up until the day before his death.

Carmine Caridi has died from complications suffered during hospitalization for a bad fall ... TMZ has learned.

The 'Godfather' actor -- who played Carmine Rosato in the first sequel -- was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai hospital in L.A., and his health started slipping over the weekend. We're told he died on Wednesday. Carmine's friend, actor and director Chazz Palminteri, confirmed the passing to TMZ.

It's unclear what caused Carmine's health crisis.

Carmine is a veteran TV actor, who's starred in big shows like "Starsky and Hutch," "Taxi," "Fame" and "Simon & Simon." He also, notably, played Det. Vince Gotelli in "NYPD Blue."

Interestingly, he returned in "The Godfather Part III," but in a different role -- he played Albert Volpe that time around.

In total, Carmine has more than 100 acting credits over six decades in showbiz.

He's also known as one of the few people who've been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for sharing movie screeners in '04 -- which became the butt of Jimmy Kimmel's joke during the 2018 Oscars ... when he compared Carmine to Harvey Weinstein.

Carmine took exception with Kimmel's crack, telling us he shouldn't have been put in the same category as Weinstein ... even if it was all in good fun.

Carmine was 85.

RIP

Racing fans from all over the world packed St. Stephen's Cathedral in Austria on Wednesday to bid farewell to F1 legend Niki Lauda ... including Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The mourners braved heavy rains to get inside the church, where Lauda's coffin was flanked by flower wreaths. His trademark red crash helmet was placed on top.

The 70-year-old passed away last week -- nine months after undergoing surgery for a lung transplant.

Lewis Hamilton has taken Lauda's death particularly hard ... the two were very close. In fact, Lauda was involved when Lewis signed with McClaren ahead of the 2013 racing season.

Niki's widow, Birgit, and his son, Mathias Lauda -- who's also a pro racecar driver -- also attended the memorial service.

Other notable names at the service include Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and former drivers Alain Prost, Sir Jackie Stewart and Nico Rosberg.

Niki won the F1 drivers' championship in 1975 and '77 with Ferrari and again in '84 with McLaren ... but he's most famous for crashing and catching fire in 1976 at the German Grand Prix.

Lauda was badly burned in the crash, but he made a miraculous recovery an returned to racing only 6 weeks later.

Lauda's incredible comeback after dodging death instantly made him the stuff of a legend ... and his 1976 rivalry with British driver James Hunt was the plot line of the movie "Rush."

Bill Buckner -- who drew the ire of Red Sox fans for decades due to a major World Series error -- has died after battling dementia ... according to his family.

Buckner passed away early Monday morning surrounded by family and friends following a tough battle with Lewy Body Dementia, per a statement his family released. They went on to write, "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life."

They ended their remarks by saying, "Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

He's perhaps most famous for a game-deciding blunder during the 1986 World Series, when he was playing first base for Boston and failed to field a slow chopper down the line.

With the game tied at the bottom of the 10th and a runner on second, Mets player Mookie Wilson tapped a ball on the ground toward first, which seemed like an easy enough play to make -- only Buckner didn't. It hopped between his legs and rolled into right field.

The Mets scored and won the game, and then went on to win Game 7 ... dashing the hopes of the Red Sox who were hunting for their first World Series win at the time since 1918. The mistake went down in baseball history, and made him hated among Sox fans for years to come.

Buckner was eventually honored at Fenway Park in 2008, after the Sox had won the WS four years prior. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and it was clear the old wounds between himself and the city had healed.

He played with the Dodgers, Cubs and Sox over the course of his 22 season baseball career.

Bill was 69.

"Mr. Harris Goes to Washington" ain't a classic film but the purpose of T.I.'s trip to D.C. was classy ... to carry on the work of the late Nipsey Hussle.

We got T.I. on Capitol Hill where he attended a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus as it tries to jumpstart incentive investment in low-income communities. It's a meeting Nipsey was scheduled to attend before he was gunned down in the neighborhood in which he himself heavily invested in ... Crenshaw.

Someone really wants you to believe 50 Cent went crying to the cops about Jimmy Henchman back in the day, but a report that name drops him is complete BS ... according to officials who know the case inside and out.

Here's the sitch -- a document purporting to be a "Report of Investigation" by the U.S. Dept. of Justice's DEA Office has been circulating for a while that cites 50 as having called the feds in 2009 to tip them off to ex-music mogul, James Rosemond -- aka Jimmy H.

At the time, Jimmy was believed to be linked to the murder of 50's pal, Lodi Mack ... who allegedly beat up Jimmy's 14-year-old son in the streets of NYC. Jimmy was eventually charged and convicted for the murder -- prosecutors say he hired guys to kill Lodi.

Welp ... it would appear someone wants to paint 50 as a good, old-fashioned rat, 'cause the report's been making the rounds on the Internet and in newsrooms.

In the doc, it says 50 called in anonymously at first to say the cops should be looking into Jimmy as a possible suspect for Lodi's murder ... and allegedly went on to tell cops that he was afraid for his own life in the aftermath. The doc says 50 told cops he'd cooperate with the investigation

Thing is ... we've been told the document is a complete fake. Law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of Lodi and Jimmy's case tell us ... the alleged report was never taken, and 50 was never recorded as having talked to officers working on the matter at the time.

Funny enough ... 50's known for calling out real-life snitches, like Tekashi 6ix9ine, who he savagely roasted on social media upon news that Tekashi had cut a deal with the feds by diming out his associates in his racketeering case.

YG says there are a lot of so-called Nipsey Hussle "fans" out there who are jumping on the bandwagon and pissing off the late rapper's family.

YG had his album release party at The Novo Thursday night in downtown L.A., and he launched on people who belatedly heap praise on Nipsey, saying, "There's a lot of fake-ass Nipsey Hussle love out there." He says Nipsey's family knows what's up.

The verbal throw-down came as YG talked about his recording, "My Last Words" ... a tribute to the murdered rapper. The recording captures YG's tribute to Nipsey at his memorial, which was held April 11 at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

YG's album, "4 REAL 4 REAL," drops today. The cover art includes, "In loving memory of Nipsey Hussle."

Slipknot cofounder Shawn Crahan's daughter died from what appears to be a drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

Police and the fire department responded to a call for a possible OD at a Hollywood home Saturday night, and found the body of the heavy metal percussionist's daughter, Gabrielle.

We're told CPR was administered, to no avail ... she was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.

Law enforcement sources tell us there was drug paraphernalia and evidence of narcotic use on scene, and Gabrielle has a history of drug use. Authorities are still investigating, and her cause of death is pending toxicology testing, but the outward signs point to drugs.

Shawn -- who goes by the stage name "Clown" or #6 and is the last founding member to remain with the group -- announced that her funeral will be held Sunday in Iowa, which is where they're from.

He also thanks fans for their love and support, saying, "You have all proven that there is empathy, positivity, & strength in this community that we call humanity here on Earth."

Gabrielle's most recent Instagram post -- from just a couple days before her death -- suggested she was 5 months sober.

She was 22.

RIP

Nipsey Hussle's first baby mama will object to the appointment of the rapper's brother to administer his estate, and might even ask that SHE be appointed administrator, if the hearing goes down as planned, and millions of dollars are on the line ... sources connected to the case tell TMZ.

Sources connected to Tanisha Foster tell TMZ, she will not accept Sam Asghedom, Nipsey's brother, as the manager of the late rapper's fortune, which Sam estimates at $2 million. Sam filed legal docs, saying Nipsey died without a will, and he wants to be appointed the administrator of his brother's estate. A judge is set to rule on Sam's request June 10.

Under California law, Nipsey's children would share equally in his estate. In addition to 10-year-old Emani, the child Nipsey had with Tanisha, he left behind 2-year-old Kross, who's mother is Lauren London. So, each would get around $1 million, less fees and taxes.

Tanisha is fighting for custody of Emani, and if she's successful, she would have some power in handling the money and would probably be entitled to use some of it to provide for the child. A judge has temporarily blocked Tanisha from having physical custody of Emani ... the child is currently living with Nipsey's sister.