Celebrity Death

Quavo's dropped another Takeoff tribute track ... one that seemingly puts a cap on the Migos legacy while honoring his slain nephew at the same time.

The superstar rapper dropped a new song and video Wednesday entitled "Greatness" -- and it compiles clips of him playing basketball with Cordae, behind-the-scenes footage of his recent Grammys tribute and older images of Takeoff during the group's come-up days.

Quavo also answers questions about the Migos' future later on the track, "Came in, swept the game like a storm with the muthaf***ing flow, n***a, Take did that/ So don’t ask about the group, he gone, we gone, young n***a it can’t come back, damn!"

He also hoists up the group's collective chain they all copped to celebrate the release of 2021's "Culture III" album.

News of the legendary group's conclusion comes as little surprise to fans, especially considering the story TMZ broke about the Grammys -- Quavo and Offset had a backstage spat ahead of the Takeoff tribute.

Nipsey Hussle's pal Cowboy is satisfied with the sentence that came down on the rapper's murderer, but still believes the wound left by Nip's death is one that will never heal.

We got Cowboy outside the DTLA courthouse where the judge gave Eric Holder 60 years to life. He told us it's a big win for those closest to the superstar rapper, but he also filled us in on why it's a bittersweet moment.

While the sentencing brings an end to the tragic saga of Nipsey's murder ... Cowboy says he'll still have Nipsey's family's back -- just as he did through the trial -- because they all made an impact on his life.

As we reported, Holder was handed his lengthy sentence Wednesday after a jury found him guilty last year of 1st-degree murder. He gunned down Nipsey back in 2019.

We also got activist Najee Ali after Holder's sentencing, and he echoes Cowboy's feelings ... saying any amount of time behind bars could never bring back Nip, but he too calls 60 years fitting for the crime.

Nipsey Hussle's killer, Eric Holder, was sentenced to 60 years to life behind bars, a sentence that came months after a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of 1st-degree murder.

Remember ... Holder gunned down Nipsey in broad daylight back in 2019, and the brutal details were outlined at trial, with prosecutors telling the jury Holder kicked Nipsey in the head after riddling his body with bullets, claiming it was proof the attack was personal.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney then told the jury Holder told Nipsey, "You're through," to which the rapper replied, "You got me."

As we reported, Holder shot 2 other people while committing Nipsey's murder ... and he was also found guilty of 2 counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, 2 counts of assault with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Holder may have to keep his head on a swivel in prison ... he was previously jumped by inmates in county jail while waiting for his transportation to court. Holder suffered a big gash to the back of the head that required staples, and the injuries delayed his trial.

Friends of Hayden Panettiere's brother, Jansen, became alarmed something was wrong with the actor after he no-showed a business meeting ... racing to his apartment to find him unresponsive.

We've obtained a police report from Jansen's death investigation detailing the moments leading up to the discovery of his body. Jansen's friends informed investigators he was supposed to be at the meeting on Sunday -- and when he didn't show up, they thought something might be wrong.

One of Jansen's friends went over to his apartment, and found him sitting upright in a chair, unresponsive, called 911 and started CPR.

Hayden and Jansen's dad, Skip, told cops he spoke with his son Saturday night and he sounded "okay."

TMZ broke the story of Jansen's death ... at this time, there's no foul play suspected, and final results from his autopsy and toxicology report won't be completed for several weeks.

Richard Belzer -- famous for his work on 'Law & Order' and in the standup comedy world -- has died ... this according to his close comedy pals.

News about Belzer's death spread like wildfire Sunday morning, with none other than Laraine Newman -- an original 'SNL' cast member, who worked alongside Belzer from the mid-'70s through the '80s -- confirming the latest.

She wrote, "I'm so sad to hear of Richard Belzer's passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest."

Comedian Marc Maron also sent his condolences, calling him an original and "one of the greats." Other tributes are pouring in from all over showbiz, although details about his passing haven't been officially released just yet.

Belzer was most known for portraying Det. John Munch on 'Law & Order: SVU', dating back to 1996. He'd starred in over 300 episodes of the fan-fave cop series ...  playing the quick-witted and razor-sharp Munch for several years. His character was written off in 2016.

His famous police character had also existed even before 'SVU' came around ... Munch had existed in another TV universe -- namely, on the classic hit 'Homicide,' where he starred opposite Ned Beatty, Daniel Baldwin and other big actors for seven straight seasons.

Prior to his stint in network TV, Belzer was a renowned comedian ... as we mentioned, he appeared on 'SNL' during its inception period -- but he also did a lot of standup and sketch comedy on his own, plus ... he hosted variety shows/specials as well.

Beyond his esteemed work with Dick Wolf and co. ... Belzer had several other acting credits under his belt. Some other famous shows he'd been on include ... "Moonlighting," "Miami Vice," "D.C. Follies," "Monsters," "The Flash," "Nurses," 'Lois & Clark,' "The X-Files," "Arrested Development," "The Wire," "30 Rock," "American Dad" and many, many more.

His film resume was impressive too ... he'd starred in "Scarface," "Fame," "Fletch Lives," "The Bonfires of the Vanities," "Species II," "Man on the Moon," "The Puppet Masters" and others.

The last we got Belzer in the street, he was shooting jokes from the hip ... talking conspiracy theories and showing off that legendary dry humor he was known for. Super nice guy.

Belzer is survived by his wife, Harlee, and his extended family. He was 78.

Tim McCarver -- a two-time World Series champ who went on to become one of MLB's most famous broadcasters -- has sadly died.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon ... calling the baseball legend "an All-Star, a World Series Champion, a respected teammate, and one of the most influential voices our game has known."

"All of us at Major League Baseball are grateful for Tim's impact on sports broadcasting and his distinguished career in our National Pastime," the commish added. "I extend my deepest condolences to Tim's family, friends and the generations of fans who learned about our great game from him."

MLB.com reported the cause of death was heart failure. He was 81 years old.

Tim got his start in the MLB in 1959, when he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a teenager. The catcher went on to become a full-time player in 1963, before he earned his first All-Star selection in 1966.

In 1967, he finished second in MVP voting -- just behind Orlando Cepeda and just ahead of Roberto Clemente.

Tim won two World Series with the Cardinals -- but eventually left the org. for Philadelphia in 1970. He went on to play for the Expos and Red Sox, before finishing his career with the Phils.

He ended his playing days after the 1980 season ... finishing with a career .271 batting average, 97 home runs and 645 RBI.

Following his playing career, McCarver became one of baseball's most popular analysts for FOX, calling games alongside Joe Buck from 1996 to 2013. Prior to his work at FOX, TM also worked for NBC, ABC and CBS.

At CBS, he famously had water thrown on him by Deion Sanders over some previous comments he had made about the two-sport star.

In 2012, McCarver was eventually given the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award. He had just retired from broadcasting last year.

Raquel Welch, who paved the way as both an actress and international sex symbol has died ... TMZ has learned.

According to family members, Raquel died this morning after a brief illness.

Welch first rose to fame for her back-to-back roles in "Fantastic Voyage" and "One Million Years B.C." -- both in 1966.

Welch only had a handful of lines in 'B.C.' but it was her wardrobe -- a simple and skimpy deerskin bikini -- that catapulted her to sex symbol status.

From there, Welch's profile blew up, and she was one of the most sought-after female stars throughout the '60s and '70s ... taking home plenty of hardware in the process, including a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her 1974 role in "The Three Musketeers."

Welch was named one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" in an issue of Empire magazine in 1995 ... and was ranked #3 in Playboy's "100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century."

She also appeared on "The Cher Show" in 1975 and performed "I'm a Woman" with Cher.

Raquel was married 4 times throughout her life -- James Welch ('59-'64), Patrick Curtis ('67-'72), Andre Weinfeld ('80-'90) and Richard Palmer ('99-'04) -- with 2 kids, Tahnee and Damon Welch.

Raquel was 82.

Jerry Jarrett, one of the greatest promoters in wrestling history and the father of current AEW star Jeff Jarrett, has passed away. He was 80 years old.

Jerry got his start in the business in the 1960s and 1970s ... working as a referee and wrestler, holding several regional National Wrestling Alliance belts during his career.

In 1977, Jerry defected from the NWA ... and founded his own promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, where he rose to stardom with Jerry Lawler.

Jerry and Lawler were quite the duo ... and enjoyed success working together, eventually forcing the promotion of NWA Mid-America to sell their territory to Jarrett.

Jerry was influential in the careers of Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ... giving both superstars a chance to make a name for themselves under his CWA promotion.

Jeff's father's legendary career as a promoter includes stints with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he worked as a consultant.

After WWF purchased WCW ... and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) went bankrupt, Jerry launched Total Nonstop Action (TNA) with Jeff in 2002.

Jerry was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009.

David Jolicoeur -- also known as Dave and Trugoy the Dove, who was one of the three founding members of De La Soul -- has died.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ the rapper passed away Sunday at a hospital in Maryland. No other details, including a potential cause, have been released ... but we're told his death appears to be from natural causes, and that he was battling an undisclosed illness.

De La Soul's official social accounts have yet to say anything about Dave -- ditto for the other two members and their own pages ... Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) and Vincent Mason (Maseo).

Dave was with DLS since the beginning, getting together in '87 and going on to crank out some of the most famous rap songs of all time. The group went on an incredible three-album run through the '90s -- with two of those being certified platinum and gold, respectively.

Some of their best-known tracks include ... "Me, Myself and I," "Eye Know," "The Magic Number," "Stakes Is High," "Ring Ring Ring," "Say No Go," "Breakadawn," "Oooh," "Buddy," "All Good," "Ghetto Thang," "I Am I Be," "Ego Trippin (Part 2)" and countless others.

De La Soul was unique in that they emerged in one decade, but seamlessly transitioned into another ... all while adapting their style and production to keep up with the times.

Three of their songs have been nominated for Grammys over the years, with one of those -- a smash hit collab with the Gorillaz in "Feel Good Inc." -- actually winning Best Pop Collaboration in 2006.

Their music has been hard to listen to in recent years ... for one reason or another, nobody has been able to stream their stuff on major platforms, but a deal was recently inked that'll finally allow their classic tunes to be played en masse starting next month.

Dave was 54.

Hollywood publicist and television personality Howard Bragman has died after a brave battle with leukemia.

Howard was set to attend a wedding in Mexico with his partner, Mike Maimone, this month -- but wanted to get checked out by his doctor before his travels for what he thought was a gum infection and mild fever.

Unfortunately, after testing, Bragman was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of leukemia a person can have -- and it progressed "explosively."

Howard was hospitalized on February 2 and died less than 2 weeks after.

Howard wasn't just a publicist for celebrities, but in a sense, he was a celebrity in his own right -- making regular television appearances on major networks. He was also an author, and his 'Where's My Fifteen Minutes?' offered real-life advice to those trying to get their company, cause or self-recognition in the world of publicity.

Howard's Rolodex of celeb clients was just as impressive, including the likes of Sharon Osbourne, Anthony Scaramucci, Steven Slater, Stevie Wonder, Chaz Bono, Don Lemon, Monica Lewinsky, Joe Manganiello, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard and Ricki Lake ... just to name a few.

Cody Longo, a young actor who made his mark in both film and television, including a role on "Days of Our Lives" has died ... TMZ has learned.

A family member tells TMZ Cody's body was found Wednesday in bed at a residence in Austin, Texas. We're told Longo's wife, Stephanie, was at work at a local dance studio and got an uneasy feeling when she couldn't reach him ... so she asked police to go and check on him.

Cops responded to the home, and when Longo didn't answer, they kicked the door down ... finding him dead in bed.

The family member tells us Cody struggled with alcohol abuse for years -- and went to rehab over the summer. At this time, an official time of death has not been released, but the family believes he relapsed and alcoholism is likely what killed him.

Longo appeared on 8 episodes of "Days of Our Lives" back in 2011, he was also in "Bring It On: Fight to The Finish" and episodes of "Nashville" in 2016. However, fans of "Hollywood Heights" will most remember him as Eddie Duran on the show ... he appeared on 78 episodes.

We spoke with Cody's wife, Stephanie, who tells us he was really working hard on himself to fight for his kids. She says, "He was an amazing father and the best husband. Our whole world is shattered."

He leaves behind his wife, a 7-year-old daughter, as well as a 5-year-old son and 1-year-old son.

Cody was only 34.

Drake will have to answer questions about XXXTentacion's murder, and the judge is threatening severe consequences if he misses a deposition.

Mauricio Padilla, the defense attorney for Dedrick Williams -- one of the 3 men accused of killing XXXTentacion -- persuaded the judge it's necessary for Drake to answer questions about his 2017 beef with the late "Look At Me!" rapper.

Drake was originally scheduled to be deposed on January 27, but failed to appear and now must sit for the deposition on February 24, via Zoom. If he misses that date, the judge says he better be in court on Feb. 27 or possibly be charged with contempt.

X and Drake have been intertwined through conspiracy theories for years -- mostly based on claims Drake bit some of his musical style, and one of X's IG stories. Four months before his June 2018 murder, X posted ... "IF ANYONE TRIES TO KILL ME IT WAS @champagnepapi IM snitching RN."

XXXTENTACION deleted the post and said he'd been hacked, but still ... Padilla's doing all he can to create reasonable doubt, and for now, the judge is allowing the far-fetched Drake theory to play out.

The trial began earlier this week as defendants Williams, Michael Boatwright and Trayvon Newsome all face life sentences for their role in killing XXX outside a RIVA Motorsports in June 2018.

Former Ohio State Buckeyes star wide receiver Dimitrious Stanley passed away this week, after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 48 years old.

Stanley -- who played for the Buckeyes from 1993-96 -- disclosed his diagnosis back in 2019 ... urging his friends and family to get tested for the disease.

According to a GoFundMe set up by former Ohio State wide receiver Tyson Gentry, Stanley briefly went into remission ... but unfortunately, the cancer returned.

Stanley was famous for his incredible performance in the 1997 Rose Bowl ... catching a 72-yard touchdown to help Ohio State beat Jake Plummer and Arizona State, 20-17.

Stanley led the Buckeyes in receiving that season ... earning more than 800 yards and catching eight touchdown passes.

He went on to play professionally in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Arena Football League for the New Jersey Red Dogs.

Stanley also ventured into local TV during his post-OSU career ... providing analysis on "The Football Fever" on ABC 6.

Stanley's former co-host, Anthony Rothman, shared a touching tribute ... saying, "My heart is shattered. Best friend/brother Dimitrious Stanley has passed after an incredibly courageous battle against prostate cancer."

Burt Bacharach, one of the most prolific composers/songwriters in American history -- responsible for enormous hits like "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "I Say a Little Prayer" -- has died.

Bacharach died Wednesday at his L.A. home of natural causes, according to his publicist.

Bacharach and his composing partner, Hal David, were responsible for a string of Dionne Warwick hits, including "Do You Know The Way to San Jose," "Walk on By," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Don't Make Me Over."

Numerous artists covered his songs, including Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones.

Although the 8-time Grammy winner was largely considered a master of easy listening, his songs were covered by artists in all genres of music -- everyone from Luther Vandross to Marty Robbins to Elvis Costello and even The Carpenters recorded his songs.

Everyone knows the #1 hit, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" ... classic Bacharach.

He and David composed the score for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which included 'Raindrops.' They won 2 Academy Awards for the film's soundtrack.

Motown record label founder Berry Gordy tells us, "Over the years, no matter who Burt collaborated with, there was always a recognizable “Bacharach” sound and magic to his songs. He was a unique writer whose music always touched my heart. I will miss him, but I know Burt’s amazing legacy will live on forever."

Burt also wrote several hits with his one-time wife Carole Bayer Sager -- and, in fact, they also won an Oscar for "Best That You Can Do" ... the theme from "Arthur."

All told, he walked down the aisle 4 times, including a 15-year marriage to actress Angie Dickinson. He married for the last time in 1993 when he and Jane Hansen tied the knot.

He's survived by 3 children and Jane. Burt was 94.

Cardi B got roped into Offset and Quavo's fight backstage at the Grammys -- and part of her attempt to break it up was caught on video.

Entertainment Tonight obtained footage of Cardi shouting at 2 people -- her husband and his cousin/former rap pal, and you can clearly hear her screaming ... "Both of y'all's wrong! This is not right!!!"

She goes on to address someone specific in tense terms ... "No bitch, shut the f*** up 'cause you shouldn't have been talking." It's unclear who CB was referring to there.

Afterward, she came back and talked to an ET reporter ... who straight up asked her if she was back there settling some stuff. Cardi brushed it off, saying the only thing she settled was her outfit. Unfortunately for her and for Offset, the whole brouhaha was on camera.

This simply confirms what TMZ first reported ... a fight broke out backstage between Quavo and Offset, which multiple witnesses tell us was initiated by Quavo. Offset tried downplaying our story, tweeting out what seemed like a denial.

Charles Kimbrough -- a longstanding star on the sitcom 'Murphy Brown' -- has died.

His son confirmed the news to the New York Times, saying his father had passed almost a month ago ... way back on Jan. 11 in Culver City, CA. No other details about a cause of death were released.

The actor will certainly best be remembered as Jim Dial on the '80s/'90s hit show, where he played cranky veteran TV anchor, Jim Dial -- who delivered the news alongside Candice Bergen's Murphy, and who was shaped after Walter Cronkite and other legacy newsmen.

He starred on 'MB' for all 10 seasons, and he even got an Emmy nomination one year for his performance. Kimbrough returned to the role for a few episodes in the 2018 reboot as well.

Before TV, Kimbrough was a steady theater actor ... having starred in lots of Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including Stephen Sondheim's "Company."

Prior to his big break on 'Murphy,' Kimbrough had guest starred in a number of other hit TV series ... like "Kojak," "All My Children," "American Playhouse," "Spenser: For Hire," "Another World," "Hothouse" and more. He had also acted in several movies through the '70s and '80s.

It wasn't until the '90s that Kimbrough showed off a new skill ... voice acting. He lent his vocal talents to famous kids shows like "Dinosaurs," "Mighty Max," "Pinky and the Brain," "Recess," "Hercules," "The Angry Beavers," "Batman Beyond," and others.

Of course, he also famously voiced one of the gargoyles in 1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," playing Victor. He reprised this character for both the sequel and video game spinoffs.

Kimbrough is survived by his son, John. He was 86