Celebrity Death

Shawne Merriman tells TMZ Sports he's feeling pretty crappy today after learning Chargers owner Alex Spanos died ... saying, "Just really sorry for the loss, man."

Spanos -- who bought the Chargers back in 1984 -- passed away Tuesday morning at 95 years old ... just several weeks after his wife, Faye, died at 92.

"I sent text messages this morning to the family," Merriman, an ex-Chargers superstar, tells us.

"Very sorry to hear that. Alex Spanos has done so much for the organization."

Though Alex relinquished control of the Bolts to his son, Dean, in '94 ... Shawne says Alex and the rest of the Spanoses played huge roles in his development as a man after drafting him in 2005.

In fact, Shawne tells us the Spanoses are like family to him ... and he's hurting for them.

"Just want to send my love and condolences to the Spanos family."

George W. Bush also released a statement on Spanos' passing Tuesday, saying, "Alex was one-of-a-kind ... He was a wonderful citizen and friend, and the Bush family will miss him."

George Taliaferro -- known as the "Jackie Robinson of Football" after becoming the 1st black player drafted by an NFL team -- died Monday ... his alma mater, Indiana University, confirmed.

He was 91 years old.

Taliaferro was a superstar at IU back in the late 1940s ... playing running back, quarterback and punter -- and garnering All-American honors three times.

When he left the school in 1949, the Chicago Bears picked him in the 13th round ... becoming the first-ever black man to be drafted into the league.

Taliaferro made three Pro Bowls in 1951, 1952 and 1953 ... and finished his career with 1,300 receiving yards, more than 2,000 rushing yards and 1,633 passing yards.

"All of us at Indiana University are deeply saddened by the passing of George Taliaferro," IU said in a statement.

"The 'Jackie Robinson of football,' he went on to become the first African-American player to be drafted by the National Football League, where he excelled at a remarkable seven positions and earned Pro Bowl honors in three of his six seasons."

"A man of enormous talent, courage and determination that helped him shatter racial barriers and earn a special place in the annals of our state and its flagship public university."

Audrey Wells -- the writer of "Under the Tuscan Sun," "A Dog's Purpose" and the just-released film "The Hate U Give" -- has died ... according to her reps.

Wells died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Her husband, Brian, released a statement saying, "Over the last five and half years, Audrey fought valiantly against her illness and she died surrounded by love. Even during her fight, she never stopped living, working or traveling, and she never lost her joy, wonder and optimism."

She's survived by her husband and her daughter Tatiana.

Audrey's career as a writer in Hollywood began in 1996, when she penned "The Truth About Cats & Dogs." She went on to write the screenplay for "George of the Jungle" the following year, before writing and directing "Guinevere" in 1999.

She was also the director of 'Tuscan Sun.'

Her latest movie, "The Hate You Give," is a drama tackling racial tension and police violence in America. It opened Friday in limited release.

Audrey was 58.

"The Bachelor" contestant Cristy Caserta -- who was only 38 -- died unexpectedly Thursday after suffering an apparent seizure ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Caserta was attending a class at a school in Sunrise, FL when she suddenly fell forward at the desk where she was sitting. Her alarmed classmates immediately called 911.

We're told Cristy went into cardiac arrest as emergency responders arrived and administered CPR. She was transported to nearby Westside Regional Medical Center where they continued efforts to save her, but she was pronounced dead.

Cops say they do not suspect foul play and no drugs were found on Caserta -- it appears she died as a result of the sudden seizure. An autopsy will be performed Friday to determine the official cause of death.

Cristy appeared on Season 15 of "The Bachelor" ... the one fans know as Brad Womack's second shot at finding love. She was sent home the first week.

11:01 AM PT -- Fuller's brother called 911 after the RB collapsed to the ground and told the operator it appeared he was having a seizure.

The caller said Fuller had "passed out" -- though it's unclear if he was conscious at that point.

C.J.'s brother and other family members desperately tried to help Fuller -- following the operator's instructions -- and begged for an ambulance to be sent over quickly.

8:20 AM PT -- A source extremely close to Fuller tells us the football star had gone to physical therapy to rehab his knee in the hours before his death ... and it was clear something was wrong.

We're told Fuller tore his ACL playing in a flag football game roughly 2 weeks ago and had surgery to repair the injury at the end of September.

Fuller went to physical therapy for the first time on Wednesday (10/3) as part of his recovery and completed a full session without issue.

When he arrived back to his home, we're told he "went to the ground" and asked for water -- clearly feeling something was wrong.

People close to C.J. called for an ambulance and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

There are rumblings Fuller's death was a direct result of complications from the knee surgery -- but we're told that hasn't been determined yet.

We spoke with the coroner who told us a death investigation is underway.

7:58 AM PT -- We spoke with the Pickens County coroner who tells us there is death investigation underway but she notes, "Nothing suspicious."

Ex-Clemson running back C.J. Fuller -- a key player on Clemson's 2016 National Championship team -- has died, the school has confirmed.

He was only 22 years old.

The cause of Fuller's death is unclear. We're working on gathering information.

Fuller played in 43 games for the Tigers -- and proved to be a talented and capable back on the field. Off the field, Fuller had issues ... he was arrested back in March for allegedly robbing someone at gunpoint in South Carolina.

Clemon's coach Dabo Swinney issued a statement saying, "Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with C.J.'s family."

"I've known C.J. a long time and watched him grow up through the Easley rec leagues [in South Carolina] all the way through Easley High School. I'm proud of what he accomplished as a Clemson Tiger, most of all his accomplishment of being a Clemson graduate."

"Our deepest condolences and the thoughts of our program are with his family this evening. May he rest in peace."

Fuller's former Clemson teammate Shaq Lawson (who now plays for the Buffalo Bills) also commented on social media ... saying, "My brother I am hurting right now."'

"Somebody wake me up from this nightmare. My brother was supposed to come see me tomorrow. I love you bruh until we meet again."

Mac Miller's life will be celebrated with a gigantic show in Los Angeles featuring some of music's biggest acts who also happened to be the rapper's biggest friends.

An announcement for "Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life" just dropped ... and names on the ticket include Travis Scott, SZA, Chance The Rapper, John Mayer, Schoolboy Q, Ty Dolla $ign, Miguel and many, many more.

Proceeds from the show will benefit The Mac Miller Circles Fund and will go down Halloween night at The Greek Theatre.

Mac's mom, Karen, made the announcement for the show, saying, "Thank you to all the artists, friends and partners for helping to bring this all to fruition .. in honor of wonderful Malcolm .. who is in all of our hearts."

Mac died at his home in Los Angeles September 7 of an apparent drug overdose.

Burt Reynolds fans and car enthusiasts alike paid their respects to the late '"Smokey and the Bandit" star ... by rolling up in the classic ride he made famous.

Thousands of people attended Long Island's Motor Mania car show Saturday at Eisenhower Park, which featured a ceremonial parade of 100 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams to honor Reynolds and his iconic 1977 film. It's called the "100-Trans Am Salute."

Several of the drivers also paid homage to Burt by going all out and dressing like the Bandit ... and rocking a stache. It's probably time to retire the Rebel flag license plates though.

The memorial was organized by the car show's host, Butch Yamali.

As we reported ... Burt's personal car collection hit the auction block at the Mandalay Bay Saturday, including a 1978 recreation of the iconic Pontiac in "Smokey and the Bandit."

Cops have made an arrest in the shooting death of 20-year-old LSU basketball player Wayde Sims.

According to the Baton Rouge Police Department ... Dyteon Simpson was taken into custody Saturday morning after admitting to shooting Sims. He's been charged with 2nd degree murder.

Police Chief Murphy Paul told reporters at a press conference Sims suffered a gunshot wound to the head after intervening in an altercation between his friend and Simpson.

Simpson left his glasses at the scene, which were recovered by cops and used to test DNA ... which found a match with Simpson.

Chief Paul says ... "Simpson was questioned and admitted to being in possession of a weapon, admitting to being on the scene and admitted to shooting Wayde as well." The investigation is ongoing.

As we reported ... Wayde was killed outside a Subway restaurant near Southern University's campus early Friday morning, about a 15-minute drive from LSU's main campus.

Marty Balin -- one of the founding members of Jefferson Airplane -- died Thursday, according to his rep.

The legendary Bay Area musician's family confirmed his passing, but isn't releasing a cause of death.

Balin's best known for forming the pioneering psychedelic rock band with Paul Kantner in 1965, which popularized the "San Francisco Sound" of the era. Marty was one of the vocalists in the band's classic lineup in the late '60s, which headlined 3 of the most famous rock festivals at the time ... including Woodstock.

He co-wrote several of their hits, including "Comin' Back to Me" on their breakthrough album "Surrealistic Pillow." He also sang backup vocals on "Somebody to Love."

Balin left the band, but returned in 1974 when they gained even more commercial success as Jefferson Starship. He wrote the band's 1975 hit, "Miracles."

He bailed once again in 1978 because he was tired of touring -- or perhaps because of his issues with bandmate and rival singer, Grace Slick -- and went on to pursue a solo career. After a couple reunion tours with Airplane and Starship, he left the bands for good in 2008.

Balin underwent open-heart surgery in 2016 in NYC and later sued the hospital for malpractice. He was 76.

XXXTentacion's murder happened in plain view of surveillance cameras, and the haunting video was played in public for the first time Thursday during a Broward County court hearing.

The video shows X walking into the motorcycle dealership in Pompano Beach, FL ... and you see two of the suspects follow him into the building. Later, his BMW is stopped on the street by the gun-wielding suspects.

Surveillance cameras recorded what we'd already known -- that X struggled with his assailants before they opened fire at point-blank range. One of them actually walked around to the passenger side and got into X's car before fleeing the scene.

As we reported, the suspects made off with a Louis Vuitton bag and $50k in cash.

WPLG was in court as prosecutors played the video during a discovery and bail hearing for Robert Allen -- one of 4 suspects charged with the June murder of the rapper.

LSU basketball player Wayde Sims was shot and killed near Southern University's campus early Friday morning, Baton Rouge PD confirms. He was just 20 years old.

Cops say the junior forward was shot at a Subway restaurant across the street from the SU's football stadium around 12:30 in the morning.

Sims was transported to a local hospital where he later died from the gunshot wound.

FYI, Southern University is also located in Baton Rouge ... about a 15-minute drive from LSU's main campus.

Baton Rouge PD released video of a violent altercation leading up to the fatal shooting ... and are trying to identify the person wearing a gray t-shirt and red pants seen toward the end of the clip.

“We are all devastated," LSU coach Will Wade said Friday morning. “We need your prayers for Wayde, for his family, for all of us. We are heartbroken.”

“Wayde Sims’ loss is simply unbelievable to us right now,” Joe Alleva, LSU's athletics director, added. “There are no words that can express our sorrow for his parents and family."

"He was such a lovable young man who was full of joy. We are circling around his teammates and friends who need all the love and support we can give them. We are praying for his family, for his parents. God bless Wayde Sims.”

"This is your worst nightmare as a coach," Wade said in a news conference Friday morning.

"Everybody liked him. Anybody he came in contact with you automatically just loved him and loved his personality. He was just a blast to be around at all times."

"Obviously, we're all still devastated and in shock about everything. But we're going to support Wayde's family and support our guys and slowly move forward from this."

LSU alum and former NFL star Marcus Spears shared his condolences, saying "Sick about the news of #WaydeSims of @LSUBasketball woke up to this, this morning and it’s heartbreaking for these young men to lose their lives at the hands of someone that shouldn’t make that choice for them! #RIP young Brah #Senseless"

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari released a statement Friday morning -- "Saying a prayer this morning for Wayde and the @LSUBasketball family. Very tough news to hear we've lost a young man just getting started. My condolences to his family, friends and teammates."

Philadelphia Sixers superstar Ben Simmons dedicated an Instagram post to Sims, saying "Gone too soon. Sending my prayers to the Sims family and everyone back home at @lsubasketball Nothing but positive things to say about you brother #lsuforever"

Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl added, "Devasted to hear of the passing of Wayde Sims. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the entire LSU community during this difficult time. Father God please take care of him!"

Sims -- whose dad Wayne also played for the Tigers from 1987-1991 -- averaged 5.6 points and 3 rebounds a game last season. He was a high school prodigy and was named the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015.

Paul John Vasquez -- who played a bunch of minor roles in huge TV shows, including "Sons of Anarchy," "NYPD Blue" and "CSI: NY" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Vasquez tell TMZ ... Vasquez died Monday night from an apparent heart attack at his father's home in San Jose. We're told his dad found him unconscious and paramedics were called but they were unable to revive him. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Vasquez is the second actor from the popular TV show to have died in the last few months. We broke the story ... Alan O'Neill was found dead by his girlfriend back in June but no foul play was suspected.

Vasquez appeared in 2 episodes of 'SoA' back in 2011. According to his IMDB profile, Vasquez wrote the short film "Thug Alley" which was in pre-production. He was 48.

Asia Argento is breaking her silence on Anthony Bourdain's suicide … saying his death left a hole that can’t be filled, and anger was the only thing that kept her from taking her own life.

Tears streamed down Asia's face as she revealed her initial reaction to her boyfriend's death was anger. Anger because she felt he was "abandoning me, my kids."

Asia also told DailyMailTV -- in her first interview since Bourdain’s death -- her anger has now been replaced by an emotional hole that cannot be filled by anything.

Interestingly, Asia's initial interview -- which airs Monday and Tuesday -- comes just as CNN begins running the final 5 episodes of Anthony's hit show, 'Parts Unknown.'

What she says is also interesting because she had posted a cryptic message in the hours before Bourdain was found dead in a French hotel room. She was wearing a shirt that said, “F**K EVERYONE” and included the caption ... "You know who you are."

Asia's IG post led to speculation she got into an argument with Bourdain right before his suicide ... and there are rumors something happened that cut him to the core.

The drunk driver who killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson in February just got sentenced to 16 years in prison.

As we previously reported, 26-year-old Jackson and his Uber driver were hit by a pickup truck while they were standing on the shoulder of a highway in Indiana.

37-year-old Manuel Orrego-Zavala pled guilty to 2 counts of "DUI that causes the death of another" in July.

Today, he faced a judge in Indiana ... and was hit with the maximum penalty -- 16 years in state prison.

After his prison sentence, Orrego-Zavala -- who's a Guatemalan citizen in America illegally -- faces deportation.

The case became a national story when President Trump tweeted that it was "disgraceful" that Jackson was killed by a man who was in the U.S. illegally.

Die-hard Burt Reynolds fans down for a beer run to Texarkana and back in 28 hours can now do it with one of Burt's personal cars ... but it's gonna cost 'em a pretty penny.

The late actor's car collection is set to hit the auction block on Sept. 29 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Burt's personally-owned cars (titled and registered to Burt) are spectacular -- the 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is a recreation of the iconic Pontiac in "Smokey and the Bandit."

There's also another '78 Trans Am that's a recreation from the one used in "Hooper" and an '84 Trans Am that was used to promote the USFL Tampa Bay Bandits, which Burt, of course, owned. It's not just Trans Ams though ... a 1987 Chevrolet R30 pickup's also up for grabs. It's a recreation for the one used in 'Cannonball Run.'

The Pittsburgh Pirates held a moment of silence for Mac Miller before their game Monday -- honoring the late rapper with a tribute video on the PNC Park jumbotron.

Starling Marte, Colin Moran and the rest of the Pirates squad paused for a minute to honor Mac -- a Pittsburgh native who died of an apparent overdose earlier this month.

The Pirates' PA announcer said over the park's loudspeakers as a video of Miller in a Pirates jersey played, "Mac was a rapper, a singer, a producer and had a very bright future in the industry ahead of him."

"Locally, Mac is remembered as a hometown kid who sang about our city where his heart clearly remained."

"Our thoughts are with his parents, his grandmother and all of his family and friends who mourn his passing."