Celebrity Death

Josh Grisetti -- the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" standout who apparently died by suicide last week -- died from a gunshot wound ... according to a new report.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department coroner told Page Six the cause of death Thursday ... and the outlet also states the coroner's report notes multiple bilateral temporal calvarial fractures and a brain injury -- indicating a severe injury to the head.

Rob McClure -- Josh's costar in the hit musical "Something Rotten!" on Broadway back in 2015 -- posted about his late friend earlier this weekend ... stating Josh took his own life. Rob served as Josh's best man at his wedding.

Claude Lemieux's wife was concerned about his behavior in the months leading up to his death ... with officials detailing a confrontation about the late NHL star's sobriety hours before he took his own life.

Officials released the incident report on Claude's tragic death on May 28 ... in which his son, Brendan Lemieux, explained the family had noticed a change in his dad's behavior over the past year -- and they were concerned he might have relapsed after 12 years of sobriety.

When Claude's wife, Deborah, confronted him on May 27 about her concerns, the report states he acknowledged he relapsed ... and Deborah told him to leave the home at 10:30 PM.

Hal Williams -- the actor who famously played Officer "Smitty" Smith in the 1970s hit TV show "Sanford and Son" -- has died, according to his rep. 

His manager, Zna Portlock Houston, tells TMZ ... Hal died from natural causes Wednesday morning at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA, noting that he had some health issues.

Houston said Hal felt tired upon his return two days ago from Ohio, where he attended a reunion celebrating "Sanford and Son" with former castmate, Howard Platt, who played Officer Howard "Hoppy" Hopkins.

Actress and musician Taylor Momsen is pouring her heart out over the sudden death of her bodyguard and closest friend, Mason Haynes ... and it's clear the two were super tight.

Mason -- a longtime celebrity bodyguard who protected members of the Kardashian family and several other A-listers, including Taylor -- died in a traffic accident on July 4, just two days before what would have been his 53rd birthday.

Taylor says she's struggling to process Mason's death ... and she shared several pictures of them together while she was on tour, highlighting how close they became.

In her lengthy IG post, Taylor says ... "When someone knows every dark secret about you and never judges, spends 24 hours a day with you seven days a week, you form a bond that is hard to explain."

The 'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill died suddenly earlier this week ... and now TMZ has learned his cause of death.

Philip Grenz, Neill's manager, tells TMZ ... the actor died of pneumonia ... prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.

In addition to running his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks, the Ireland-born actor had filmed 4 projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which we're told will be released within the coming months.

Mason Haynes -- a longtime celebrity bodyguard who protected members of the Kardashian family and several other A-listers -- is dead.

A GoFundMe created for his family says Mason died in a traffic accident on July 4, just two days before what would have been his 53rd birthday.

Mason spent years working in close protection ... with the Kardashians among his first celebrity clients. He previously said he had worked with Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Kanye West ... along with Kevin Hart, Nicki Minaj, Charlie Puth and Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton.

Sam Neill was battling a severe illness before his tragic death ... at least according to one of his costars on a previous project.

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople" star Rima Te Wiata told the New Zealand Herald ... Sam had pneumonia, but she did not share anything else about his health issues. They worked together on the 2016 film.

As TMZ reported ... Sam passed away in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, and his death was described as "sudden and unexpected." The Ireland-born film and TV star had recovered from a rare and aggressive blood cancer just this year, revealing in April he was cancer-free. His cause of death was not released.

"Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill tragically died this week ... and now we know more about the plans for his funeral.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... a private service for family and friends will be held in New Zealand -- but no public service or celebration of life will take place. We're told the beloved actor never liked a big fuss to be made about him in life ... and that will be honored in his death.

As TMZ reported ... Sam passed away Monday in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, and his death was described as "sudden and unexpected." The Ireland-born film and TV star had recovered from a rare and aggressive blood cancer just this year, revealing in April he was cancer-free. His cause of death was not released.

Lindsey Graham's Washington, D.C. home has been crawling with FBI agents since he died ... and, so far, there are no signs something nefarious happened ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... "There has been no new evidence to suggest any foul play."

Our sources also say Graham's death falls under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department, but the FBI is lending a hand.

We're told ... "MPD is the lead and FBI has offered and provided assistance, as is routine."

Gruesome details on the death of James Handy have been revealed in the medical examiner's report ... which describes an intense altercation between the "Top Gun: Maverick" actor and his girlfriend's son, Michael Gledhill.

According to the ME ... James and Michael got into a verbal altercation on June 4 outside the front porch of the girlfriend's home.

The report says things got physical ... with Michael mounting James before dragging him to the side of the house, going back inside to retrieve what "appeared to be a knife" ... then returning and stabbing James to death.

Daveigh Chase was cremated after she passed away last month ... and her mother took possession of her remains.

We've obtained the former child star's death certificate from Los Angeles County ... and it shows she was cremated. Her final place of disposition -- the final resting place -- is listed as her mother Cathy Chase Schwallier's residence.

An autopsy was not performed, according to the document ... and the cause of death doesn't come as a surprise either -- it's listed as AIDS, which we learned from the L.A. County Medical Examiner a couple of weeks ago.

Daveigh Chase's mom revealed her daughter, who was living in an RV near Skid Row when she died, left behind a massive amount of money ... TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Cathy Chase asked the court to appoint her as the administrator of the late actress' estate. She said Daveigh had no children and was never married. 

She said her daughter left behind $400K in personal property. Cathy said Daveigh’s dad, John Schwailler, lives in Vegas and in the Philippines, but she doesn’t know his address overseas. 

Blake Garrett -- best known for his role in "How to Eat Fried Worms" -- died from a fentanyl overdose ... TMZ has learned.

According to the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's summary report, obtained by TMZ, the former child actor died from acute fentanyl toxicity ... with the manner of death ruled an accident. The report also notes Garrett died at a sober living house in Tulsa.

As TMZ first reported, Blake died back in February at just 33 years old. Blake's mom, Carol Garrett, told us at the time he'd recently been diagnosed with shingles ... and she believed he may have accidentally overdosed while trying to manage the pain after three years of sobriety.

9:35 AM PT -- Steven Spielberg released a statement on the passing of Sam Neill.

Sam Neill -- the iconic actor of famous films such as "Jurassic Park," "The Hunt For Red October" and "The Piano" -- has died, his family said.

Neill passed away Monday in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, and his death was described as "sudden and unexpected," according to his family's statement posted to Instagram.

The Ireland born movie star had recovered from a rare and aggressive blood cancer just this year, revealing in April he was cancer-free. His cause of death was not released.

Lindsey Graham's Senate seat is staying in the family ... with his sister officially tapped to take over after the longtime South Carolina senator's sudden death.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced Monday that Darline Graham Nordone will serve out the remainder of her late brother's term ... just hours after President Donald Trump publicly threw his support behind the move, urging she be appointed to fill the vacancy.

Darline may be new to elected office, but she's no newcomer to Lindsey's political orbit. The mother of two was one of his closest advisers, regularly appeared in his campaign ads ... and during his 2015 presidential run, Lindsey even joked she'd be his first lady because he never married.

Legendary director Steven Spielberg is "saddened" by Sam Neill's death ... and he has nothing but good things to say about his classic "Jurassic Park" lead.

In a statement to multiple outlets, Steven says ... "I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park."

The director also says, "Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children."