Celebrity Death

Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales is finally fessing up to having an affair with a staffer who committed suicide last year by setting herself on fire.

The embattled GOP rep sat for an interview with conservative talk show host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo that was released Wednesday night. During their chat, Gonzales acknowledged having the affair with his staffer, possibly violating the rules of the House of Representatives.

Gonzales said he had a lapse in judgement and made a mistake, noting "there was a lack of faith" and he has now taken "full responsibility for those actions." Despite his philandering, Gonzales says he has reconciled with his wife Angel, with whom he shares 6 children. The Congressman added ... God has forgiven him and his faith is as strong as ever.

A lawyer for "American Idol" alum Caleb Flynn’s two daughters is asking a judge for a restraining order against the singer, in order to preserve their financial security ... TMZ has learned.

The kids' guardian made the move as Caleb remains locked up on a murder charge over the death of his wife -- the kids' mother, Ashley Flynn. According to the papers, the restraining order should prevent Caleb from transferring any assets ... including money that may have been left behind by Ashley.

Lou Holtz, one of the most accomplished college football coaches of all time, has passed away at the age of 89.

"Louis Leo 'Lou' Holtz, legendary college football coach, Hall of Famer, bestselling author, and one of America’s most influential motivational voices, has passed away at the age of 89 in Orlando, Florida, surrounded by family," his family announced in a statement.

"Holtz is remembered for his enduring values of faith, family, service, and an unwavering belief in the potential of others. His influence extended far beyond the football field through the Holtz Charitable Foundation and the many players, colleagues, and communities shaped by his leadership."

The West Virginia native began his coaching career back in 1960, serving as an assistant for the University of Iowa. From there ... he bounced around the country before landing a head coaching gig with William and Mary University.

"Deadliest Catch" cameras were rolling when deckhand Todd Meadows fell overboard off the coast of Alaska last week ... but his mother tells TMZ, she doesn't want the show to profit from her son's passing.

Angela Meadows tells us, "We don’t want to see any footage from the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death. We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat."

In fact, Angela says the family has asked for footage of Todd crabbing, so that they can watch him do what he loved and "have the videos for memories."

"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" is officially back in production and cameras were rolling as the cast addressed the devastating recent death of Mary Cosby's son ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the show tell us filming for Season 7 resumed Tuesday after briefly being paused in the wake of Robert Cosby Jr.'s sudden death. We're told the women -- minus Mary -- gathered at one cast member's home for their first group shoot of the new season.

We're told the cast discussed Robert's death on camera, marking an emotional return to production.

Harry Styles says it seemed like other people felt entitled to his grief after Liam Payne died ... because a public expression of his feelings was expected from him.

The singer-songwriter sat down with Zane Lowe for an interview on his Apple Music podcast ... and, he opened up about his late One Direction bandmate.

Styles tells Lowe he was grieving on his own right after Liam died in October 2024 ... but, he soon found himself in the bizarre situation of having some people "own part of your grief."

Rebecca Gayheart is getting back into the world after her husband Eric Dane passed away ... taking her younger daughter, Georgia, out for a sushi dinner Tuesday.

The two were spotted walking into Sushi Park, a popular spot the rich and famous tend to frequent in West Hollywood ... somber looks on their faces as they walked up to the second-floor eatery.

Rebecca wore a stylish tan coat and jeans ... 13-year-old Georgia kept it casual in a black hoodie and matching sweatpants.

Dennis Hopper’s family is locked in an intense legal battle … with the late actor’s daughter claiming his widow interfered with a binding deal to manage the Dennis' image rights and legacy.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Hayward Luxury -- a luxury goods brand founded by Hopper’s daughter Marin Hopper -- claims Victoria Duffy Hopper worked behind the scenes to derail a signed contract that gave Hayward the right to control Dennis Hopper's various trademarks and rights of publicity.

The suit says after Dennis Hopper died in May 2010, the Hopper Art Trust was created to promote and manage his artwork -- including photographs, paintings, and sculptures -- along with his intellectual property.

Hayward says it struck a deal in 2018 with the trust to purchase certain intellectual property rights tied to Hopper, claiming Hayward paid around $800,000 in the first few years of the agreement to invest in the rights it had purchased.

A new interview is revealing more details about the accident that killed "Deadliest Catch" deckhand Todd Meadows last week ... as the incident was "unfortunately" caught on camera, according to Meadows' bunkmate Trey John Green III.

Green told Us Weekly, “Discovery is done filming, but there was a producer and a deck cam guy on the boat for the past two months filming for Season 22 of the show. It was filmed, unfortunately.”

He continued ... “There is a deck cam as well that records 24-7, everything, and it caught everything from the incident as well.”

One week after Robert Carradine took his own life, his family will be able to get a little more closure, TMZ has learned.

According to a report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office, obtained by TMZ, Robert's body has been released back to the family after determining his cause of death to be suicide by hanging.

As we reported, the actor died in a hospital in L.A. on February 23 at age 71.

Katherine Short died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head ... according to her L.A. County Dept. of Public Health death certificate.

We broke the story ... LAPD officers and LAFD firefighters responded to Katherine's Hollywood Hills home last week where they found her dead. Sources told us at the time Short took her own life.

According to her death certificate, she's been cremated.

Katherine -- the eldest child of Martin Short and Nancy Dolman -- was found behind a locked door in the home ... and a note was found on the scene. The contents of the note are still unknown to the public.

Rebecca Gayheart is celebrating her daughter's Sweet Sixteen ... less than two weeks after her husband Eric Dane died.

The actress took to Instagram to celebrate Billie's 16th birthday Tuesday ... posting a series of throwback photos on her IG Story.

Rebecca and Eric have two daughters together ... Billie and 13-year-old Georgia.

Former NASCAR driver Chase Pistone -- a second-generation racer who carried one of stock car racing’s historic family names -- has died at 42.

Pistone came up through the short-track ranks before climbing into national competition ... racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series. While he may not have been a household name at the Cup level, he carved out a respected career as a gritty competitor and later as a team owner and mentor.

In recent years, Pistone focused heavily on developing young talent through his Chase Pistone Inc. Legends program ... fielding competitive Legends and Late Model cars that routinely contended for wins. Within grassroots racing circles, he was known as much for teaching and coaching as he was for driving.

His brother, Nick, shared the heartbreaking news on Facebook … writing, “Well, my young brother and best friend is gone. I’m broken-hearted and don’t know if I’ll ever get over this. I miss you Chase already and I hope you are in a better place.”

Eric Dane’s cause of death has been released ... he died from respiratory failure.

According to People, the late actor's death certificate also named amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- commonly known as ALS -- as an underlying cause.

The "Grey’s Anatomy" star announced in April 2025 he’d been diagnosed with the degenerative disease.

He described his brutal journey to get answers -- bouncing between specialists and enduring countless tests before a neurologist finally confirmed the devastating diagnosis.

TMZ Sports has obtained the dispatch audio from Dominiq Ponder's fatal crash ... with responders detailing the scene following the tragic accident that took the Colorado quarterback's life.

The audio, from Broadcastify, is from early Sunday morning ... when the 23-year-old's 2023 Tesla was found near Baseline Road in Boulder County.

The dispatchers are heard relaying information ... with responders initially believing there was a fire on the side of the road from a blown-up transformer. It was later discovered that the flames were caused by a car crashing into the pole.

Rumors Quentin Tarantino was killed in a missile attack in Israel are all just BS -- and TMZ has learned the film director's family is just fine!

A source close to Quentin tells TMZ … “Quentin is alive and well and his family is all good too," despite speculation on X that he was blown up during an Iranian missile attack on Israel.

Over the weekend, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran, killing the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with other top government officials. Iran retaliated, firing ballistic missiles at Israeli and American bases around the world.