Celebrity Death

Vanessa Bryant says Kobe's charity will have a new name -- the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation -- and she says it's all to honor Gianna Bryant.

"Because there is no #24 without #2, we have updated the Mamba Sports Foundation to now be called the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation," Vanessa said Thursday.

It's an amazing tribute ... especially because Vanessa says the foundation's goal of helping young people through sports "remains the same -- and stronger than ever."

If you're unfamiliar ... Kobe's charity has helped more than 10,000 kids as well as hundreds of veterans -- with the org saying they have over 1,000 volunteers lending a hand.

The charity has been flooded with donations since Kobe and Gigi tragically died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 -- and Vanessa says she's overwhelmed by the love.

"Thank you all for the outpouring of support and your kind donations to date as we carry forth Kobe and Gigi’s legacy," Vanessa said. "We hope to empower young athletes in a world they left us all to help shape."

A memorial for Kobe and Gigi has been set for Feb. 24 at Staples Center ... and we're told proceeds from the tickets will be donated to charity.

It's unclear which orgs will get the benefits ... but it seems safe to assume the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation will be one of the organizations to get money.

James Brown might have been murdered ... so claims a woman who knew Brown, and just handed prosecutors stacks of what she believes is possible evidence of foul play.

A Fulton County D.A. spokesperson confirms Jacque Hollander met with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard on Wednesday and gave him a bin full of items. Howard now says he's directing his investigators to interview Hollander ... and if evidence she presented to the D.A.'s Office holds up, Howard says he's open to launching a full-scale death investigation.

We're told Hollander -- who unsuccessfully first tried to meet with the D.A. in 2019 -- reportedly gave a list of possible witnesses and handed over a stack of printed text messages. She also reportedly explained how she came into possession of the bin.

James, of course, died on Christmas Day 2006 at an Atlanta hospital. His death certificate cites a heart attack and fluid in his lungs as the cause of death.

The Game will pay homage to the late Kobe Bryant everywhere he goes from now on -- the rapper has revealed a new face tattoo in honor of the NBA legend.

Game added to his ink collection on Wednesday with a sideways 8 and Kobe's autograph above his right eyebrow ... which symbolizes "Kobe Forever."

Game -- who is still grappling with the loss of the L.A. icon -- has also planned a song to honor Bryant and has worn his jerseys during his current tour.

The Compton native is no stranger to face tattoos -- he had a butterfly on his left cheek before covering it with an L.A.-inspired piece. He also has a tear drop under his right eye.

Game hit up Dark Ink Gallery in Glasgow ... just hours before his show at O2 Academy.

NBA superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis put permanent art on their bodies in honor of Bryant ... with LBJ getting a snake with Kobe's numbers and "Mamba 4 Life" underneath it.

J.R. Smith, Shareef O'Neal and 2 Chainz have also commissioned Bryant memorials on their bodies.

The memorial for Kobe and Gigi Bryant will be attended by friends, family, NBA officials and players, season ticket holders and local politicians. The remaining seats will be ticketed and go to members of the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

As we reported, the memorial will be held at Staples Center on February 24, where seating capacity stands at around 20,000. Fact is ... hundreds of thousands of people would like to honor Kobe and Gigi, but there's no way all of them can be accommodated.

No word yet on how the public can get tickets, but law enforcement sources tell us ... if people can't get into Staples, they're not going to get close to the venue.

We're told just like the Michael Jackson and Nipsey Hussle memorials, the streets around Staples will be closed for security and traffic control. The memorial will not be broadcast on the screens outside Staples or L.A. Live.

Several law enforcement sources tell TMZ, they're encouraging people who don't get tickets to stay home and watch the memorial on TV. We're told it will be broadcast on multiple networks.

Three victims in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash were honored with a special memorial service at Angel Stadium.

John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter, Alyssa, were remembered at a public memorial Monday ... just two weeks after Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed, killing 8 passengers plus the pilot.

The service included speakers close to the Altobellis. There was also a video tribute.

The Costa Mesa Fire Department rolled out its fire trucks and hung a massive American flag to honor the victims. There's also a sign in front of Angel Stadium that reads "Celebrating the Lives of John, Keri and Alyssa" with the entire family pictured.

Not far from the main entrance is also a huge collage of the Altobellis.

Altobelli, of course, had deep roots in Orange County. He was entering his 28th season as Orange Coast College's baseball coach. The Pirates were coming off an incredibly successful season ... after capturing their fourth state title.

Alyssa and Gianna Bryant were teammates at the Mamba Sports Academy. She was only 14 and Gianna 13, respectively. You'll recall, Gianna had her No. 2 jersey retirement ceremony at her private school last week.

The Altobellis have 2 surviving children -- a 29-year-old son, and a 16-year-old daughter.

Spike Lee's instant-classic Oscars suit paying tribute to Kobe Bryant is going to the Hall of Fame ... the Spike Lee Hall, that is.

The famous director was at LAX Monday -- heading back to his beloved NYC, we're presuming -- when we asked him about the night's most talked-about fashion statement.

Spike tells us his purple and gold homage, complete with #24 embroidered across the lapels and on the back, will be framed and hung up at his NY crib. In fact, he says it was shipped back ahead of him ... it's Gucci, after all.

Not a big shocker Spike decided to honor Kobe at the 92nd Academy Awards. The NBA superfan posted several tributes to hoops superstar following the tragic helicopter crash.

Spike and Kobe go way back -- he directed the 2009 documentary "Kobe Doin' Work" -- but it's clear he's not quite ready to talk about making another film about Bryant.

"My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone."

Vanessa Bryant just opened up about how she's dealing with the tragic losses of her husband and 13-year-old daughter ... and it's emotional.

"I can’t process both at the same time," Vanessa said. "It's like I'm trying to process Kobe being gone but my body refuses to accept my Gigi will never come back to me."

"It feels wrong," she added. "Why should I be able to wake up another day when my baby girl isn’t being able to have that opportunity?! I’m so mad. She had so much life to live."

Vanessa says one of the things keeping her going so strong throughout this insanely difficult time is the example she feels she needs to set for her three daughters.

"Mad I'm not with Kobe and Gigi but thankful I'm here with Natalia, Bianka and Capri," Vanessa said. "I know what I'm feeling is normal. It's part of the grieving process. I just wanted to share in case there’s anyone out there that’s experienced a loss like this."

"God I wish they were here and this nightmare would be over. Praying for all of the victims of this horrible tragedy. Please continue to pray for all."

As we previously reported, Kobe and Gianna Bryant -- along with seven others -- passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

'Wild Wild West' star Robert Conrad has died.

The 1960s and '70s TV and film actor passed away Saturday due to heart failure at his home in Malibu, according to family spokesperson Jeff Ballard. Ballard, on behalf of the Conrads, tells TMZ ... "He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts."

Conrad was a major star in his heyday, with lead roles in 'WWW' -- where he played Secret Service agent Jim West opposite Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon -- as well as Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington in 'Baa Baa Black Sheep,' later syndicated as 'Black Sheep Squadron.'

He was also featured on 'Hawaiian Eye,' 'Centennial,' 'Assignment: Vienna,' 'The D.A.,' '77 Sunset Strip,' 'Mission: Impossible,' 'High Mountain Rangers,' 'Jesse Hawkes,' 'High Sierra Search And Rescue,' and had brief appearances in other hit shows like 'Mannix,' 'Columbo,' 'The Duke,' 'J.J. Starbuck,' 'Adam-12,' 'The Gallant Men,' 'Sea Hunt' and 'Maverick,' among many, many others.

RC also acted in films and TV movies such as 'Young Dillinger,' 'The Bandits,' 'D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill,' 'Adventures of Nick Carter,' 'The Last Day,' 'Sudden Death,' 'The Lady in Red,' 'Hard Knox,' 'Police Story: Gladiator School,' 'Jingle All the Way,' 'Dead Above Ground' and more.

He's survived by his 8 children, whom he shared with two different ex-wives ... Joan Kenlay, and LaVelda Fann.

Kobe Bryant's youngest daughter is already learning to stand up on her own two feet -- and her mom, Vanessa, is right there capturing every adorable moment of it on camera.

7-month-old Capri Kobe is the star of Vanessa's most recent IG post, impressively attempting to get up from the floor with the help of her aunt -- Kobe's sister, Sharia Washington. It's so freakin' cute, honestly ... the joy both Vanessa and Capri share is a sight to behold.

VB captioned the video, "My Koko Bean. She looks just like my Gigi. ☀️💗auntie Ri-Ri. #7months." You hear Vanessa cheer the kid on as she gets up twice in a row from a seated position ... the baby loves the encouragement, giggling and eager to try it again.

As tragic as the loss of Kobe and Gigi must be on the Bryant family right now, it's great to see Vanessa in good spirits. She's been fairly open on social media thus far, capturing Gigi's jersey retirement as well as capturing the Lakers' tribute in Staples Center.

Actor and comedian Orson Bean is dead after being struck by a car while crossing the street ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Bean was allegedly jaywalking in Venice Friday night when he was clipped by one vehicle and then struck by another. We're told Bean died at the scene and both vehicles stayed after the incident. Cops are currently investigating whether the collision was criminal or an accident.

Bean's career began in the 1950s... he frequently made guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson.

Bean was a frequent guest on the game show "To Tell The Truth" and made appearances on versions of the show from the late '50s through 1991. He also made appearances on "Super Password" and "Match Game."

He also made regular appearances on TV ... with a role on two episodes of "7th Heaven" in 2003, "How I Met Your Mother" in 2007 and "Modern Family" in 2016. Bean was in the 2018 film "The Equalizer 2" as an elderly Holocaust survivor.

Orson was 91.

RIP

The Rock shared the moving eulogy he delivered for his father's funeral.

Rocky "Soulman" Johnson died last month, and Rock wanted his fans to know what his dad meant to him.  He said, “Man, I wish I had … I wish I had one more shot. I wish I had one more shot to say goodbye … to say I love you, to say thank you, but I have a feeling he’s watching. He’s listening.”

And, he went on ... “I was on my way to work, the other day on Jan. 15 and I was just pulling into work and we were shooting that day and it was the very first day of production,” he said, going on to tell the story of how his wife Lauren called to tell him that “something’s going on with your dad.”

“Lauren was with our babies, she was with my mom and she said, ‘You know, I really can’t talk… I think you should call Cora though’, so of course I called Cora,”

Soulman passed away from a heart attack on January 15 at age 75. He started the National Wrestling Alliance in the '60s and joined the WWE in the '80s.

Rocky and Tony Atlas became the league's first African-American tag team champions as The Soul Patrol.

The NTSB says an initial investigation into the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash shows no outward evidence of engine failure.

The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings into the Jan. 26 crash saying it appears the engine was working at the time of the crash because there was a cut tree branch at the crash scene.

The NTSB report says the helicopter's instrument panel was completely destroyed in the wreckage.

The main wreckage was 127 feet from the impact site -- and that's where investigators found both engines, the entire fuselage, portions of the cockpit instrument panel and other key pieces of the aircraft.

According to the report, the pilot's final transmission to the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SCT) was to let the controller know he was trying to climb to 4,000 feet to get above the thick fog/cloud layer.

However, radar data collected by investigators shows the aircraft only reached 2,300 feet before trying to make a left turn. Eight seconds later the aircraft began descending (while trying to turn) at a VERY high rate of speed, dropping at rate of 4,000 feet per minute before crashing into the mountain.

As we reported ... NTSB officials said Kobe's Sikorsky S-76 chopper was NOT equipped with a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), nor was it outfitted with a flight data recorder (FDR) or cockpit voice recorder (CVR).

In the seconds prior to crashing, the pilot, Ara Zoboyan, took the helicopter from 1,200 feet to 2,000 feet within a matter of seconds. It appeared he cleared one hillside, only to strike the next when it crashed at about 1700 feet. Photos taken by a mountain biker on a nearby trail show the intensity of the crash.

In the days following the crash, a team of NTSB investigators combed the crash site ... rummaging through debris. The agency released drone footage showing most of the aircraft in tiny pieces.

All of the parts were shipped to Arizona, where the NTSB reassembled the aircraft.

The NTSB says it will release its final report in 12 to 18 months. That one is expected to include findings, recommendations and probable cause for the crash.

As we told you, the NTSB says back in 2006 it recommended the FAA require all helicopters carrying 6 or more passengers to have TAWS, and for all rotorcraft to have an FDR and CVR. The FAA didn't mandate either.

Michael Douglas is among the many celebs who poured in from afar to bid Kirk Douglas goodbye at his funeral.

Michael, his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Steven Spielberg are among the many who are at the funeral Friday morning at Westwood Memorial in L.A. You can also see Kirk's wife, Anne Buydens, arriving as well.

As we reported ... the legendary actor died Wednesday. Michael announced, "To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard of us all to aspire to."

Kirk, who earned Oscar nominations as an actor and producer, served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.

Kirk's survived by Anne, his 3 sons and seven grandchildren. He was 103.

Gayle King got set up to look like an insensitive troll because her network posted a salacious promo ... that's how some staffers at "CBS This Morning" feel anyway.

Sources connected to the show tell TMZ ... some of Gayle's coworkers are incensed over the backlash she's getting because a promo clip of her interview with Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant, included a question about his 2003 sexual assault case. Lisa pushed back, making it clear ... in her book, it's not relevant to Kobe's legacy.

We're told the staffers believe CBS never should have let the clip see the light of day.

Gayle was being shredded on social media after the promo ran, and she was beside herself, saying she was blindsided and making it clear ... she was going to make her displeasure known to the network. She did just that, and the network folded, saying it erred.

The staffers we spoke with say ... the interview is actually flattering to Kobe and covers his achievements in both life and career.

Fact is ... CBS and every other network chooses promos that sizzle ... promos that will draw people in, and often times it's the salacious stuff that gets put out. At CBS, you'll recall, they made lots of news when they released a promo with R. Kelly going off the rails, screaming uncontrollably. The difference between that and Kobe ... Gayle didn't look bad in the R. Kelly promo.

Our sources say CBS failed by not protecting its undisputed star of the morning show. They should have realized the promo -- out of context -- would subject Gayle to great criticism, but that didn't happen. CBS promises it won't happen again.

Our sources say staffers feel the network owes it to its talent to keep them out of messes like this, especially when King's full interview with Leslie painted a very nice picture of Kobe and his legacy ... and should have been the focus of any excerpts.

Our sources say the person who was responsible for the posting the clip has not been fired but feels awful about what transpired.

Kobe Bryant wasn't just a UFC fan -- he was a big investor -- and got a huge distribution check from the company just days before he passed away ... so says Dana White.

The NBA legend was famous for his business savvy off the court -- and White says part of Kobe's portfolio was an ownership stake in UFC and Body Armor, the official energy drink of the UFC.

White tells TMZ Sports ... that 2019 was the most successful year in UFC history which resulted in massive payouts for all of the investors.

"Kobe got a distribution from the UFC the Wednesday before the incident and he was so pumped up and excited and he said what everybody always says, 'I wish I had invested more!'"

White says he'll remember Kobe as a great dude and an important part of the UFC fabric -- and tells us the organization plans to honor Kobe on Saturday at UFC 247 in Houston.

As for the fight card, White says he's extremely fired up about the main event -- Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes -- telling us Reyes is a dangerous man with a real shot to beat the G.O.A.T.

And, if Reyes wins, there will no doubt be a rematch.

There's more ... after the controversy between Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith following the Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone fight, we asked if the two TV stars would be working together at UFC 247, Dana replied, "I don't think so."

Remember, Rogan said he was upset with the ESPN host for crapping all over Cowboy's "atrocious" performance during the UFC 246 post-fight show.

Smith said he felt like Cowboy quit -- to which Rogan essentially said Smith's opinion was uninformed and just plain wrong.

Conor McGregor felt Smith disrespected Cowboy and publicly called for Stephen A. to apologize.

Nick Gordon died of a heroin overdose ... according to his autopsy and toxicology report.

The report -- obtained by TMZ -- says Gordon was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. He was hospitalized for 7 hours before he died. There was also Narcan in his system ... a drug used to counteract the effects of an overdose.

As we reported ... Nick had some sort of black fluid foaming out of his mouth the day someone called 911 to say he wasn't breathing. A man claiming to be Nick's brother said Nick died of an apparent OD. The "black stuff" could support that conclusion ... given that black discharge is sometimes related to a foam cone that comes out of the mouth and nostrils after an opioid OD.

The 911 call came in as "cardiac respiratory" on New Year's Day. He had been rushed to the hospital where he died. Nick's brother, Jack Walker Jr., shared the news by writing, "GOD WHY DID I HAVE TO LOSE MY BROTHER ON NEW YEARS," and adding, "All I can do is cry."

As you know by now ... Nick was present when Whitney Houston's daughter and his girlfriend -- Bobbi Kristina -- OD'd in a bathtub in 2015.