Celebrity Death

Shelley Fabares died of pneumonia ... according to her family.

The actress's family confirmed the news Thursday to People. Shelley costarred with Elvis in multiple 1960s classics, including "Girl Happy" and "Clambake."

As we reported ... Shelley died on Saturday at her home in Los Angeles while surrounded by her loved ones.

Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend was allegedly sliding into another woman's DMs just a few short months before Hayden died.

Here's the deal ... Page Six published a story Thursday reporting on alleged messages Brian sent to an unnamed Greenville, South Carolina woman in March ... roughly 5 months before Hayden's tragic death in Greenville.

This woman allegedly met Brian at the downtown nightclub the Cat's Pajamas on March 28 ... though she admitted to P6 she was "heavily intoxicated" the night she allegedly met Brian and didn't remember much.

On March 29, Brian allegedly DM'd the woman, "Great meeting you last night pretty lady. I owe you a date. I’m heading to [C]ity Tavern for a slushie in a bit you should join."

CNN made a pretty big blunder during their coverage of Dolly Parton's death ... showing a pic of an impersonator instead of the real deal ... and now the cable news giant is apologizing.

The embarrassing flub went down Tuesday night ... CNN was airing a montage of Dolly photos, and they mistakenly included an image of Las Vegas impersonator Kelly Vohnn.

The photo hit airwaves during "Laura Coates Live" ... about 12 hours after Dolly's family announced the iconic artist's death ... so it wasn't like CNN was rushing to put together a TV package here.

Actor Samuel Monroe Jr. -- best known for his role in "Menace II Society" -- is dead after a battle with meningitis, according to his family.

Sam's mom, Joyce Patton, told TMZ ... the actor died around 10:24 PM PT on Wednesday at a hospital. She also announced his death on Facebook, saying "today God called him home" and asking everyone to pray for his family, especially his 3 kids. 

In April, Sam was hospitalized with a severe case of meningitis and MRSA pneumonia -- a serious lung infection -- as well as other medical issues.

The thing is ... TMZ reached out to the hospital Thursday morning, and a rep told us that Sam had been discharged alive.

9/2/2026 1:01 PM PT -- Peter Cullen's cause of death has been revealed.

Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the 'Transformers' franchise, is dead.

The legendary voice actor's agent tells TMZ ... Peter died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home.

The cause of death is unclear.

Peter's family tells TMZ ... "Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family - and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide. His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember 'be strong enough to be gentle.'"

Daveigh Chase's friend and business manager rushed to court to object to the late actress' mom taking over control of her estate ... and he's raising serious concerns ... TMZ has learned.

John Ryan, who says he was Daveigh's business manager and friend, filed a declaration opposing her mom Cathy Chase's bid to be appointed as the administrator of her daughter's $400,000 estate.

As TMZ first reported, Daveigh's dad, John Schwallier, asked the judge to appoint a third party to take over … claiming his daughter and his ex-wife were estranged for years.

Harry Styles celebrated the life of Dolly Parton in a major way during his NYC concert Wednesday night, telling the crowd he loved the country music sensation and dedicating one song to her.

The British singer-songwriter hit the stage at Madison Square Garden and, at one point during his sold-out show, told the fans that he wanted to say a proper "thank you" to all of the musicians who inspired him over the years, including Dolly. As the fans screamed and cheered, Harry said, "Dolly, we love you, thank you so much."

Moments later, Dolly's famous 1974 song, "I Will Always Love You," played throughout the arena with Harry asking the audience to dance to the beautiful ballad. Harry's fiancée, Zoë Kravitz, was also in the crowd to show her support for Dolly.

9/2/2026 12:24 PM PT -- Tim Curry's cause of death has just been revealed.

Tim Curry -- the legendary film and TV actor best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ the actor -- who had been plagued with serious health issues for more than a decade -- passed away late Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded to his house at 11:23 PM Tuesday night. We're told there is no foul play suspected in the case.

Dispatch audio obtained by TMZ reveals police responded to a death investigation at his home. The Los Angeles Fire Department says they were called earlier in the night over a medical emergency ... and the subject was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ricky Schroder is getting flamed for his distasteful tribute to Dolly Parton ... using her death to criticize her politics.

The actor posted a picture he took with Dolly years back ... and he just couldn't stop himself from making it controversial.

In the caption, Ricky says ... "I didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support…but Loved her anyway. Thank you for choosing me, Dolly, to be your Movie Daddy."

Chris "Block" Gordon's crash was so severe that a caller immediately urged dispatch to get a helicopter ready ... TMZ has learned.

According to 911 audio obtained by TMZ, a caller reports a wreck on the drag strip at KD Motorsports Park in South Webster, Ohio, and says fire crews are already on scene and repeatedly pleads for a chopper.

Dispatch records obtained by TMZ show the call came in shortly after 8 PM Saturday. Air medical transport was requested minutes later, but dispatch was told the helicopter had an estimated 40-minute ETA.

Miley Cyrus doesn't want to get into the specifics about how she feels now that her godmother, Dolly Parton, has passed away ... though she notes she'll forever have an angel watching over her.

The singer-songwriter posted about the country legend's passing on social media Wednesday ... saying it doesn't feel right to express the depth of her feelings for Dolly in a public forum -- because sacred moments like these are supposed to be private.

She then writes, "What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis. 🦋."

Dolly Parton's inner circle scrambled to bring her closest family and friends to Nashville to be by her side as her health took a dire turn over the weekend ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Dolly's team was coordinating travel for loved ones after her hospitalization, as the hours passed and it became increasingly clear her condition was worsening.

We're told those closest to Dolly initially hoped she would recover and be released from the hospital, as she had in the past when suffering health setbacks ... but that changed as the weekend went on and the situation became more serious.

Tim Curry fans have at least one more movie to look forward to ... because TMZ has learned he finished filming his final role before he died.

It was reported in early June, Tim was set to star in "STREAM 2: Sudden Death" as the role of Lockwood in the upcoming project ... and we spoke to the film's director, Michael Leavy, who told us Tim finished all of his scenes.

Michael tells TMZ ... he's shocked and devastated that Tim is now gone -- adding he was a "true cultural icon" and an honor to work with. He says the whole team feels incredibly fortunate that Tim will forever be linked to the franchise.

Tim Curry didn't go out nearly as much in recent years after a massive stroke made it hard for him to get around ... but he did treat himself to a pub outing with some pals a few days after he turned 80.

Photogs captured Tim getting out of a red van with the help of a caregiver ... who wheeled him into a popular North Hollywood pub on April 23 ... 4 days after his 80th birthday.

We're told Tim met with some friends, shared a few laughs, then left the establishment.

9:55 AM PT -- Miley Cyrus just posted about the death of her godmother, Dolly Parton.

As the world continues to mourn the loss of Dolly Parton, fans have noticed she died on a day that her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, previously said was "important" to her.

Miley made the revelation during her 2023 ABC special "Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)" ... explaining that August 25 has significance to her personally and professionally, which is why she released her 2023 single "Used to be Young" on the date.

But there are plenty of other connections. She released her career-transforming hit "Wrecking Ball" on August 25, 2013 and gave her iconic and controversial 2013 MTV Video Music Awards performance the same day.

Debbie Clark -- a former cast member on "American Gladiators," better known as "Storm" -- is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Her brother, Steven, tells TMZ ... Debbie died Monday at her home in Boston. She had a pacemaker, and it gave out. Family was home at the time.

Her son Crayton tells us her pacemaker stopped working due to her overworking herself ... adding she passed away in his arms as they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive. Clayton says paramedics tried to resuscitate her, but she had already died. He was living in the same apartment complex as Debbie, so that he could spend time with her and take care of her.

He believes Debbie died from cardiac arrest. He's started a GoFundMe to be able to spread her ashes with her mother.

The show posted the tragic news to its official Facebook account ... noting she was "an exceptional athlete" before she became a Gladiator -- excelling in basketball, soccer and track.