Celebrity Death

Harambe the gorilla has been dead for exactly 5 years, and the interest in his life and death has not subsided a bit.

A photo of the beloved ape is being auctioned off as an NFT as a way of memorializing his passing.

Harambe was killed after a child entered his enclosure and he began dragging the child around. The Cincinnati Zoo's Dangerous Animal Response Team decided there was a life-threatening situation they had to abate and shot him dead.

There was considerable controversy over the decision to shoot Harambe, particularly since Harambe did what apes do ... he was the true victim.

Social media has not forgotten Harambe, who was 17 when he was killed. He had celebrated his birthday the day before his death.

One of the real singing voices behind the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli has died at the age of 66 after a battle with COVID-19 ... according to his daughter.

John Davis' daughter, Jasmin, revealed her dad died May 24 with a post that read, “My dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus.” She continued, “He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music. He gave so much to the world! Please give him the last round of applause. We will miss him dearly.”

The Milli Vanilli duo the public came to know was made up of members Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The pair won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after their wildly successful "Girl You Know It's True" album dropped the year before.

However, after wildly successful year -- including multiple #1 hits and tours -- Fab and Rob and their producer came clean that it was all a front. They didn't actually sing the songs they'd released, and it was really Davis' voice, and a few others, on the records.

Perhaps the most infamous moment for the pair came during a live performance for MTV in 1989 when the track for "Girl You Know It's True" skipped on a loop, leaving the duo on stage embarrassed.

From there, it was all downhill for Morvan and Pilatus ... they eventually gave up their Grammy, and lawsuits and demands for refunds came flooding in from fans.

Davis attempted to form his own group with one of the original ghost singers, but couldn't repeat the group's success.

Tawny Kitaen's family and closest friends gathered to remember the late actress one last time, with an intimate celebration of life in the town where she died.

Tawny's brother, Jordan Kitaen, tells TMZ ... her memorial service was held Monday at her ex-husband Chuck Finley's home in Newport Beach, CA. We're told about 100 people attended, including the 2 daughters she had with Chuck.

As you can see, the program for Tawny's memorial service remembered her as a "loving mother, daughter, sister, friend, artist ... and now our angel." The back of the program featured one of her paintings.

There was a musical element too ... we're told her nephew, Leo, played "Let It Be" on the violin and her friend, Victoria Shaw, sang an acapella version of "Never Alone."

TMZ broke the story ... 59-year-old Tawny died May 7 in Newport, not long after her father had passed. Jordan told us the loss of their dad was too much for Tawny to handle.

The man who voiced Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" got what he always wanted after his passing -- a Broadway tribute.

Samuel E. Wright's daughter Dee tells TMZ ... her father's death has been very emotional for the family, but they're also overjoyed that one of his wishes came true.

As we told you ... Sam was a veteran theater actor who starred in several popular Broadway shows -- including originating the part of Mufasa in "The Lion King." Dee says he always joked with the family, "When I go, I want my name up there!" ... referring to the theater marquees.

Well, on Tuesday after news broke of Wright's death, Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre honored him by doing precisely that.

Sam's daughter adds ... the fam's actually in good spirits, which she says may seem odd ... but it's a testament to his joy and positivity.

Dee also says the outpouring of support they've seen on social media from his fans and actors he worked with has been overwhelming.

Wright's public wake will be held Friday in Walden, NY for fans to come and show their love ... something the family feels is the best gift they can give him.

Eric Carle, the artist and author who created one of the best-selling children's books of all time, is dead.

The man behind "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" died Sunday, according to his family. Eric's son, Rolf, told the New York Times the famous author died at his summer studio in Northampton, MA, as a result of kidney failure.

Eric illustrated more than 70 children's books during his career, which amazingly didn't start until he was in his late 30s. He's most famous for 'Hungry Caterpillar,' which was published in 1969 and went on to sell a whopping 55 million plus copies.

All told, Carle's publisher, Penguin Random House, says his books have sold more than 170 million copies.

Carle says 'Caterpillar' is meant to be a story of hope for children as they enter kindergarten ... and it's known for its colorful illustrations and a modest 224 words. The book's been translated into more than 70 different languages.

Eric's also known for his illustrations in the 1967 children's book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" He did the drawings for his friend, Bill Martin Jr., who authored the book.

Carle was 91.

"School of Rock" star Kevin Clark, who played the drummer, is dead after a motorist hit him while he was cycling around Chicago ... TMZ has learned.

The professional drummer -- best known as Freddy Jones, aka Spazzy McGee -- was riding his bicycle on the Northwest Side of Chicago early Wednesday morning when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata ... according to police.

Kevin was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead at 2:04 AM CT ... according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Kevin's sister says he was riding his bike home at the time of the accident. Police say a 20-year-old woman was driving the car that struck and killed Kevin. She was not arrested, but has been issued citations.

As we first reported ... Kevin caught up with Jack Black back in 2018 for an impromptu 'SoR' reunion during a Tenacious D set in Chicago.

Kevin gave Jack a custom shirt from his own band, Dreadwolf, and JB threw it on immediately.

"School of Rock" was Kevin's only movie credit, and he once told us he only got the 2003 role because he could actually play the drums.

Clark was 32.

RIP

Howard University is cementing Chadwick Boseman's legacy into its campus -- putting his name on a college, and securing some financial backing from a Disney bigwig.

HU announced Wednesday that its College of Fine Arts would be named after Chadwick, who graduated from Howard in 2000, and had deep ties to the higher-ed facility and the college that will now bear his name.

According to Howard, Chadwick was one of a few people back then leading the charge to keep the College of Fine Arts from being folded into the larger College of Arts & Sciences ... literally hitting the ground with protests and other activism to preserve the COFA's integrity.

Turns out, his efforts worked ... because not only was the College of Fine Arts left alone as a stand-alone school, but it's now going to be juiced up big time in light of the renaming.

Disney Chairman Bob Iger is heading up a fundraiser that seeks to help pay for a new state-of-the-art facility for the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts -- which will house an endowment in Chadwick's honor, plus a lot of other helpful resources for those looking to get into entertainment and/or broadcasting ... including serving as the HQ for Howard's radio and TV stations.

Chadwick had been back to visit Howard a few different times over the years after graduating, and he was even delivered the commencement speech in 2018.

His rich ties to the campus are exactly why fellow alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates called the college bestowment "perfect" ... which his family said CB would be "overjoyed" with.

His widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman, also said, "Chad was a very proud Bison — both Howard and Ms. Rashad played integral roles in his journey as an artist. The re-establishment of the College of Fine Arts brings this part of his story full-circle and ensures that his legacy will continue to inspire young storytellers for years to come."

The City of Oakland really came through on its promise to pay tribute to late comedian Paul Mooney ... by declaring May 19 will henceforth be known as "Paul Mooney Day."

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife proposed the resolution to name a day after Mooney and recognize him for his "uncompromising social and political commentary and iconic contributions to Black arts and entertainment."

The resolution calls Paul "an Oakland treasure—a trailblazing comedian, writer, producer, film and television actor with a career spanning four decades" and says his legacy is "a shining example of the talent in Oakland."

Councilmember Fife tells us the city council passed her proposal unanimously Wednesday, so May 19 -- the day Mooney died -- will now be named in his honor for years to come.

As we first told you ... Oakland officials were looking to honor Paul even before he passed away, but that mission sadly became more urgent last week. Fife says after Mooney died, she made a number of calls to people he was close with about how to do it ... including comedian and Oakland native, Luenell.

DMX's first posthumous album is going to be named after his youngest son -- something that had been in the works before he passed ... and it's now happening thanks to a longtime collaborator.

The CEO of Ruff Ryders Inc., Joaquin Dean, tells TMZ, X's newest album -- the first to hit shelves since his passing -- is going to be titled "Exodus" ... but fans might not have realized it was an idea X had kicked around at length before he died.

We're told DMX had been working on this album for the past year ... as he was growing closer and closer to his 4-year-old, whom he shared with his widowed fiancee, Desiree.

Dean says X had expressed to his lifelong friend Swizz Beatz -- who helped produce "Exodus" -- he wanted to name the project after his boy. So, to fulfill that wish, Swizz made the call to honor X's wish.

In addition to the title, there are two tracks on the album that reference X's relationship with his son -- including a track called "Exodus Skit" and "Letter to my Son (Call Your Father)." "Exodus" also happens to be the final tattoo DMX got before his passing.

Samuel E. Wright -- known by millions as the voice of Sebastian the crab in "The Little Mermaid" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Wright's hometown of Montgomery, New York broke the sad news on Facebook, saying ... "Sam was an inspiration to us all and along with his family established the Hudson Valley Conservatory."

The Town of Montgomery did not mention a cause of death, but added ... "On top of his passion for the arts and his love for his family, Sam was most known for walking into a room and simply providing PURE JOY to those he interacted with. He loved to entertain, he loved to make people smile and laugh and he loved to love."

All of those characteristics were on full display when he brought to life one of the most beloved characters from the legendary 1989 Disney film. Voicing Sebastian, Sam was responsible for singing 2 of its most popular songs -- both Oscar-nominated -- "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" ... the former won for Original Song.

Sam continued to work with Disney as the voice of Sebastian in "The Little Mermaid" sequels and a TV series, and also lent his voice in the 2000 movie, "Dinosaur."

Before his voice made him famous, Wright worked for more than a decade as an actor with roles on "Enos," "All My Children" and "The Cosby Show." He also costarred with Forest Whitaker in the underrated Clint Eastwood film, "Bird."

Wright was also known for his theater work, appearing in musicals like "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Pippin" and for originating the part of Mufasa for the Tony-award winning 'Lion King' musical.

He was 74.

Emotional moment after the Packers' workouts Tuesday ... star RB Aaron Jones was asked how he's doing in the wake of his father's death, and he couldn't help but tear up talking about it all.

Jones' dad tragically passed away at 57-years-old from COVID-19 complications in early April ... and the Green Bay tailback took it very hard.

He and his father, Alvin Jones Sr., were super close ... and Aaron told media members Tuesday he owes his entire football career to the man.

In fact, Aaron said every time he plays a snap in the NFL for the rest of his life -- it's now getting dedicated to Alvin Sr.

"The rest of my career will be dedicated to my father," the 26-year-old said. "I mean, he's the reason I started playing football. He's what kept me going so many times when, as a kid, you want to give up, he's what kept me going."

"So, like I said, I'm going to dedicate the rest of my career to him."

Aaron was asked several more questions about his father and how his Packers teammates were helping him get through the tough time ... and that's when tears started flowing from his eyes.

"I have a locker room full of brothers here who are making sure I'm OK," Aaron said. "So, some nights I'm there with them on their couch and different things like that."

"So, that's what this game is all about. Having your brothers around you."

William Shakespeare, the one famous for the COVID-19 vaccine, is dead ... 5 months after getting inoculated. The other Shakespeare's dead too, but you knew that.

The 81-year-old Englishman -- who went by Bill, btw -- died Thursday of an illness, which the BBC reports was unrelated to the vaccine.

As we reported, Bill was the first man, outside of clinical trials, to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine back in December when mass vaccinations began in England.

Jayne Innes, one of Bill's friends and local politicians, wants folks to honor him by getting vaccinated too. Innes says the "best tribute to Bill is to have the jab."

Bill got his shot at University Hospital Coventry, about 20 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the OG Shakespeare. He was an inpatient in the hospital's frailty ward when he got the vaccine.

Bill's shots followed 90-year-old Margaret Keenan's, the first person in the world to get jabbed. By all accounts, she's still fine and dandy.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave everything she had in her possession to her children and, interestingly enough, one of her trusted longtime employees ... TMZ has learned.

We've obtained a copy of the late Supreme Court Justice's will ... and it lays it out in precise detail who's getting what from her near $6 million estate. According to the docs, RBG is leaving the majority of her personal effects to her 2 kids, Jane and James Ginsburg, who she also made executors of her will.

Per the will, her personal property includes -- but isn't limited to -- any cars, furniture, books, art, sculptures, paintings, photographs, silver, porcelain, jewelry and clothes in her possession ... and all that stuff is lumped together and valued at $250,000.

She has other personal property that's worth about $5.5 million -- but there's no breakdown of what exactly that entails.

As for the third person in her life to receive a cut ... her housekeeper, Elizabeth Salas, to whom Justice Ginsburg left a cool $40,000 in cash. She was incredibly close to RBG, and even sat next to Biden when the Justice lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda last year. She reportedly worked for RBG for 22 years.

Keep in mind -- what's listed here is simply RBG's probate estate ... we don't know if she had other assets in a private trust separately.

She was 87 when she passed.

Mark York -- best known for playing Billy Merchant in the early goings of "The Office" -- has died following an illness.

The actor died last week at Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio. His death came quickly after the illness surfaced, but the exact cause of death has not been disclosed.

York grew up in Ohio, but left for California to pursue acting ... he eventually landed small TV roles such as "CSI: New York" in 2004 and "Fighting Words" in 2007, but undoubtedly his most memorable gig was playing Billy Merchant in seasons 1 and 2 of "The Office."

Mark, a paraplegic since 1988, had some memorable moments on the show, but his funniest came in season 2, episode 14 in "The Injury" episode ... where Mark's character is brought in for Michael Scott's disability-awareness meeting.

More recently ... Mark had been working as an inventor and had recently secured 2 patents for his inventions. He was an avid Cincinnati Reds, Kentucky Wildcats basketball and Ohio State football fan.

He's survived by his brother, mother and father.

Mark was 55.

RIP

Chi Modu -- one of the most famous photographers in hip-hop history, documenting iconic shots from the 1990s -- has died.

An Instagram post announcing the sad news went up Saturday, with a caption that read ... "Our hearts are broken... We continue the fight ©💪🏾 The family request privacy at this time 📷." It was accompanied by a photo of him and his lifespan in years, 1966-2021.

The details surrounding his death weren't released.

Chi had snapped one of the most memorable batches of photos as it pertains to music -- shooting a variety of rappers in the '90s, which went on to grace the covers of memorable albums, as well as T-shirts and stills for years to come.

He's perhaps best known for photographing Prodigy and Havoc of Mobb Deep for the cover of their 1995 album, 'The Infamous' ... but he might be just as known for his black and white photo of a shirtless Tupac, with his hands up near his head and cigarette smoke blowing.

There are countless other legendary artists in his repertoire, including The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Nas, Diddy, LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Run-DMC, Q-Tip, Gang Starr, Geto Boyz, Redman, Dead Prez, Eminem, Fat Joe, Kris Kross, Mac Miller, Ty Dolla $ign, Common and Flavor Flav.

The list can go on forever -- but bottom line ... your favorite rapper has probably been shot at one point or another by Chi ... whose work is well-documented and seriously unmatched.

The guy started at The Source and was pretty much tasked with getting in with these acts that were bubbling at the time ... and sure enough, they gave him unprecedented access to document their work, lifestyles and their most intimate moments. All the photos made for sick shots, which goes without saying.

His photojournalism went beyond just hip-hop, BTW -- Chi traveled the world and snapped a wealth of pics in countries all over Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Chi's contribution to photography and music culture is unparalleled ... and his death is, frankly, shocking.

He was only 54.

RIP

Terrible news out of China ... where 21 elite athletes died during a 62-mile, ultra-marathon race when the group got caught in a freezing storm that appeared out of nowhere.

The event -- known as the Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon -- began Saturday morning when the weather was sunny and nice.

Most of the 172 runners had anticipated normal weather conditions and showed up to the race in shorts and t-shirts, typical running garb.

But, things took a sudden turn just after noon around the Yellow River Stone Forest -- when a freezing cold storm moved in, punishing the runners with a barrage of hailstones, rain and icy winds.

Some of the athletes reportedly recognized the deadly conditions and tried to seek shelter ... others apparently tried to push through it (remember, these athletes are some of the toughest people in the world).

According to reports, some of the runners began experiencing hypothermia -- and eventually, the organizers pulled the plug on the race.

Realizing the situation was turning deadly, a 1,200 person search party was dispatched to locate and rescue all of the athletes. Officials also used thermal-imaging drones to find the participants ... but it proved to be too late.

In total, 21 runners died from the weather. At least 8 more were hospitalized.

One of the dead has been identified as 31-year-old Liang Jing -- one of the top ultra-marathon runners in the world. He's survived by his wife and newborn baby.

Another victim is Huang Guanjun -- who won the marathon for hearing-impaired athletes at the 2019 National Paralympic Games in China.