Celebrity Death

Natalie Desselle-Reid -- a prolific actor known for roles in "Eve," a 'Madea' film and 'B*A*P*S' -- has died after a battle with cancer ... one she'd kept private.

The veteran comedic actor passed away Monday morning. A family member tells TMZ she died of colon cancer after having been diagnosed earlier this year. We're told she was in hospice care in her final days, and was surrounded by family when she went.

An official statement reads, "It is with extremely heavy hearts that we share the loss of our beautiful Natalie this morning. She was a bright light in this world. A queen. An extraordinary mother and wife."

Actress Holly Robinson Peete also shared the news, writing ... "Just absolutely decimated by this news... Actress Natalie Desselle, a bright shining star passed away this morning. I got to know her when my mom was managing her.  She will be so missed...sending out prayers to her children and husband." She added, "💔🙏🏽😢 Rest In Peace, Sweet Girl🙏🏽"

Natalie was perhaps best known for her sidekick role opposite Halle Berry in the 1997 comedy film "B*A*P*S" in which she played the hilarious role of Mickey. She also starred on the sitcom "Eve" for three years, playing Janie Egins -- as well as having starred in Tyler Perry's "Madea's Big Happy Family" as Tammy.

Her acting credits go well beyond that though -- NDR also played a prominent character on the TV shows "For Your Love," and "Built to Last."

Her other big-screen credits include "How to Be a Player," "Set It Off," "Divas," "Gas" and quite notably ... the made-for-TV movie "Cinderella," featuring Brandy ... in which Natalie played the evil step-sister, Minerva.

Natalie leaves behind her husband, Leonard, and 3 children. She was 53.

Naya Rivera's ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, is sending holiday greetings to anyone and everyone this year -- except to 2020 itself ... which claimed Naya's life.

Ryan posted a photo this weekend showing him and the son he shares with Naya, Josey, decorating a Christmas tree. Young Josey is reaching up to place the star on top while his dad hoists him up high with a Santa hat.

His caption ... "#HappyHolidays to all. You, you, and even you, all of ya. Hope you get nothing but happiness✨💫🎅Except you. I'm talking to you, 2020. #f***2020."

It's both cheeky -- because of how hard this year's been on everyone -- but also deeply personal. Ryan and the rest of the Rivera family have been devastated by the death of Naya this summer.

You'll recall ... she took Josey out to Lake Piru in Ventura County, where the two of them boarded a boat and went out on the water. After several hours, a search crew was sent out after the boat never returned -- and they only found Josey, with no sign of Naya.

It was later discovered she drowned -- this after several days of rescue teams and professional divers scouring the lake.

Naya's own family -- including Ryan -- made multiple trips out during the rescue effort ... and it's clearly still weighing on her ex. An especially tough 2020 for Ryan, no doubt.

David Lander, the actor who played Squiggy on "Laverne & Shirley" has died, TMZ has learned.

David's wife, Kathy, tells us he died Friday at around 6:30 PM at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. ... as a result of complications from multiple sclerosis, which he battled for 37 years. Kathy, their daughter Natalie and her husband were at David's bedside when he passed.

David had his sights set on acting at age 10. He studied at the High School for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Tech and NYU.

He had a great career, but the pinnacle was absolutely "Squiggy," which he played during the show's run from 1976 to 1983. The yang to his yin was Lenny, played by Michael McKean.

The 2 guys actually met at Carnegie University in Pittsburgh ... that's where they developed the 2 characters.

They both appeared in Steven Spielberg's "1941," and in Robert Zemeckis's, "Used Cars."

They also voiced an animated TV series, "Oswald," which ran for 2 years beginning in 2001. Their voices brought the penguin cousins Henry and Louie to life.

Whitney Collings -- one of the early members of TV's "Bad Girls Club" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Whitney's mom revealed the sad news on Facebook, writing ... "I am completely broken and will never get over this. Life is so unfair. She was kind with a big heart."

We don't yet know what caused Whitney's death, but we're told she passed Thursday morning in a hospital near Boston ... her hometown. The medical examiner currently has Whtiney's case and will determine the cause and manner of her death.

Being from Boston was a big part of her persona on 'BGC' back in 2008-09 when she appeared on Season 3 of the show ... as you can see.

She was only 21 when she was on the reality series, and was known as a straight-shooter with a temper ... but also for her sense of humor.

However, her time as a "bad girl" was cut short after she was kicked out of the house due to a physical altercation.

We're told Whitney was 33.

Goodbye, Stadio San Paolo ... hello, Diego Maradona Stadium!!

The City of Naples has announced it will officially change the name its soccer stadium to honor legend Diego Maradona, who spent 7 years playing there.

Maradona -- who passed away at age 60 on Nov. 25 -- led the Napoli team to 2 Serie A titles during his run with The Blues from 1984 to 1991.

(Watch some of the highlights below, just NASTY stuff).

Despite the fact he's from Argentina, Maradona clearly made an impression on the locals -- who fell in love with the guy.

In fact, just HOURS after Diego's death ... Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris proposed the resolution to rename the stadium after Maradona.

The resolution went to the Naples City Council, which ultimately voted to approve the name change ... which should now officially happen soon.

The death of ex-Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh was tragic enough, but now his family is shocked because they believe he might not have written a will for his reported $840 million net worth.

Tony's father, Richard, and brother, Andrew, are asking a Clark County, Nevada judge to appoint them special administrators of Tony's estate. No shocker there, but in the docs, obtained by TMZ, they claim he didn't have a will in place when he died the day after Thanksgiving.

Tony's fam says they're "unaware of the existence of a fully executed estate plan" and "have a good faith belief" that Tony, who was unmarried and had no kids, died without leaving a will. The family's asking for access to Tony's accounts and safe deposit box to see if there are any estate planning docs in them.

The family also says a special administrator is needed to tend to Tony's "business obligations and commitments that require funding from assets that are presently frozen."

Forbes estimated Tony had a net worth of $840 million before he retired as Zappos' CEO earlier this summer. Tony, who made his initial fortune after selling his internet advertising company to Microsoft in 1998, died last week after sustaining injuries suffered during a house fire in Connecticut.

Hugh Keays-Byrne -- the actor who impressively played the bad guy in both the original "Mad Max" and "Mad Max: Fury Road" 36 years later -- has died.

Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan announced the Australian actor's passing and hailed him as "an unsung hero of Aussie cinema" -- adding he's "continually floored" Hugh played the main villain in both 'Mad Max' movies.

It's true -- Hugh became famous for starring opposite Mel Gibson in the 1979 film as the central antagonist, Toecutter ... then returned to face off against Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy as Immortan Joe in 2015.

As you'd imagine ... he's the only actor to appear in both flicks, and he and director George Miller had a very good working relationship over the decades. Miller also cast Hugh in the scrapped DC movie, "Justice League: Mortal."

That's not all he's known for though -- Keays-Byrne also starred in several British and Australian projects, including "Stone," "The Chain Reaction" and "Resistance."

He had more than 50 acting credits to his name spanning nearly 5 decades.

So far, Hugh's cause of death is unknown. He was 73.

Rafer Johnson -- a decorated Olympian and American hero -- has died, TMZ Sports has confirmed. He was 86.

Johnson passed away Wednesday morning at his home in Sherman Oaks, CA surrounded by his family.

Johnson lived such an amazing life as an athlete, actor, philanthropist and hero -- it's hard to pick where to start when telling his story ...

How about this ... he was one of the brave men who tackled and subdued gunman Sirhan Sirhan seconds after Robert Kennedy was assassinated back in 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A.

In fact, Johnson ripped the gun away from Sirhan and hid it in his own pocket to prevent any more violence.

As an athlete, Rafer won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics in Rome ... four years after he won silver in the same event at the 1956 Olympic Games.

He was a 2-sport athlete at UCLA -- running track and playing basketball.

And get this ... he was such an insane athlete, the L.A. Rams selected him in the 28th round of the 1959 NFL Draft as a running back despite never playing a single down of college football!

After his storied career as an athlete, Johnson became an actor -- appearing in a bunch of movies including "Wild in the Country" with Elvis Presley, "Pirates of Tortuga" and even the 1989 James Bond flick, "A License to Kill."

Rafer was also a key figure in launching the Special Olympics in 1968 -- and co-founded the California Special Olympics in 1969.

Johnson served on the CSO board of directors for 2 decades before joining the Board of Governors.

Oh, and he also worked for the Peace Corps!

Johnson married his wife Betsy in 1971 and they had 2 children together -- daughter Jennifer Ann Johnson and son Joshua Ray Johnson.

Both kids were also star athletes at UCLA!

For those interested in making a donation in Rafer's honor, the family asks to go through The Special Olympics Southern California Rafer Johnson Tribute Fund -- which can be accessed here.

Lionel Messi was just hit with a fine for his in-game tribute to late soccer legend Diego Maradona -- but it only amounts to $725.

... which is NOTHING to a rich guy like Messi.

The 33-year-old captain paid homage to his fellow Argentinian after scoring the final goal in Barca's 4-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday ... by ripping off his shirt to reveal a Maradona #10 jersey from his Newell’s Old Boys days.

It was an emotional moment for Messi ... who blew a kiss to the sky and hugged his teammates following the goal.

The tribute drew a yellow card due to Messi removing his shirt ... which resulted in a 600 euro fine handed down Wednesday. Messi can appeal ... and given the circumstances, he may have a shot at getting the decision overturned.

Messi was close pals with Maradona ... and grieved the loss after his passing on Nov. 25.

"A very sad day for all Argentines and for football," Messi said at the time. "He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal."

"I keep all the beautiful moments lived with him and I wanted to take the opportunity to send my condolences to all his family and friends. RIP."

WWE legend Pat Patterson -- the man who created the "Royal Rumble" -- has died, the organization confirmed. He was 79.

"WWE extends its condolences to Patterson’s family and friends," the company said Wednesday in a statement.

Patterson -- who considered himself wrestling's "first gay superstar" -- was a key part of WWE for decades, widely known as Vince McMahon's right-hand man.

He began wrestling in the 1950s -- and finally joined up with WWE in the late '70s, where he famously engaged in a series of awesome matches with Sgt. Slaughter. Pat became the company's first Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion in 1979.

Patterson later became a color commentator for WWE -- and continued to work in the ring and in the booth until he retired in 1984.

At that point, Patterson joined McMahon as a WWE exec -- and in 1988, he pitched the idea for the Royal Rumble.

In his book -- "Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE" -- Patterson explained how the Rumble came to be.

"The first Royal Rumble was on January 24, 1988, in Hamilton, Ontario. The difference between WWE’s Royal Rumble and a traditional over-the-top rope battle royal is that the participants come into the match at two-minute intervals -- not all at the same time at the beginning of the match. I wanted to create something special."

Pat famously came out as gay during a 2014 episode of "WWE Legends House" ... opening up in front of guys like Roddy Piper and Jimmy Hart. It was a powerful moment.

Patterson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.

RIP

The tributes are already pouring in ...

Vince McMahon -- "Pat Patterson was more than the first Intercontinental Champion & father of the Royal Rumble Match. He helped lay the foundation for WWE as we know it. His mentorship shaped careers, his creativity sparked innovation and his friendship lifted spirits. Love you, Pat. We miss you."

The Rock -- "Rough phone calls to get this morning to tell me, our dear family member, Pat Patterson who was my pro wrestling mentor and father figure has passed away."

"He was also responsible for calling Vince McMahon when I was training to become a pro wrestler (my $7 bucks days) and said, 'Vince you gotta see this kid work in the ring.'"

"Vince flew me to RAW a few weeks later and I had my first match EVER in Corpus Christie, Texas. The rest is history and years later, here I am writing this post."

Triple H -- "No words can describe what he gave to us. His body as an in-ring performer, his mind as a storyteller, and his spirit as a beloved member of our large WWE family. I will miss him for so many reasons ... it’s never goodbye, it’s see ya down the road. Love you, Pat. Abooze."

Shane McMahon -- "I can not express how crushed I feel right now with the loss of Pat Patterson. A true member of my family, mentor and dear friend. I love you Pat. God speed."

Jim Ross -- Just heard of the passing this morning if the great, Pat Patterson. True legend of the pro wrestling business.  A wonderful mentor who taught me so much. RIP old friend."

A female Spanish soccer player says she's getting death threats for protesting a tribute to Diego Maradona ... who she considered to be a pretty horrible person.

24-year-old Paula Dapena -- a midfielder for Viajes Interrías FF -- sat on the pitch with her back turned during a planned moment of silence for Maradona before Saturday's match. The rest of her team stood up.

Dapena told local media she felt it was "hypocritical" to honor Maradona ... just days after her league did not hold a moment of silence for domestic violence victims on Wednesday's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

FYI -- Maradona had been accused of domestic violence back in 2014, but he had adamantly denied ever striking a woman in his life.

"It [Maradona's death] totally overshadowed that day," Dapena said. "We went from putting the spotlight on the death of women due to this cause to talking only about Maradona and what an idol he was for everyone."

Dapena added, "For me, from a football standpoint, Maradona had spectacular skills and qualities. But as a person, he left a lot to be desired."

Maradona's personal issues are pretty well known -- drugs, booze, alleged mafia ties and much, much more.

Dapena now says the protest has led to terrifying ramifications ... claiming both she and her team are receiving death threats.

"It's not just me that has been harassed on social media but also my teammates," Dapena told AS. "We have also received death threats and messages such as 'I'm going to find your home address and go there and break your legs.'"

Dapena also called all of the responses "horrible" ... but added, "Keeping a minute of silence and paying homage to him is against me. I could not do it."

As we previously reported, Maradona -- widely viewed as one of the greatest soccer players ever -- died on Nov. 25 after he reportedly suffered a heart attack.

Dave Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in 'Star Wars,' has died.

Dave's agent, Thomas Bowington, said ..."It’s with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and millions of fans around the world, to announce that our client Dave Prowse MBE has passed away at the age of 85.”

Dave played the iconic villain in the original 'Star Wars' trilogy.

Prowse was born in 1935 in Bristol, England. Before acting, he was immersed in the world of bodybuilding, even competing in Mr. Universe competitions. He was so strong, Jack the Ripper -- that was Dave's stage name -- would shred phone books as a test of strength.

Even in his bodybuilding days, he hung out with famous folks, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno. He also trained Christopher Reeve for "Superman."

Dave's shining moment was shrouded in costume ... playing Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. He was recruited by George Lucas, because he was a well-known bodybuilder and he had seen him in 'Clockwork Orange' and it seemed to fit the vibe. Dave actually auditioned for the roles of both Darth Vader and Chewbacca. Lucas offered him either role.

When asked why Dave chose the role of DV, Dave said, "Everyone remembers the villain." True that.

There was a problem, however -- Dave's British accent. His voice was dubbed over by James Earl Jones in post-production.

He almost instantly became an iconic figure when the first 'Star Wars' hit in 1977.

In addition to 'Star Wars,' Dave appeared in "The Saint," "Doctor Who," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "A Clockwork Orange" and a bunch of horror films.

Dave said back in 2014, “Many people will know me for being the ultimate screen villain, Star Wars’ Darth Vader. But being a “goodie goodie” and heading up the Green Cross Code campaign, helping to save thousands of lives has always been the ultimate honour.”

Dave was married for 57 years to Norma Scammell and had 3 kids. He was 85.

RIP

Pet owners showed some serious love to Kobe Bryant in 2020 -- with Mamba-inspired pet names up BIG over the past year, new data shows.

The famous dog-walking site Rover.com has crunched the numbers for its annual list of the most popular pet names ... which shows fans are honoring the NBA legend by passing on his name (and nickname) to their beloved furry family members.

The name "Mamba" is up 111% from 2019 -- the biggest spike.

"Black Mamba" is up 58% and "Kobe" is up 16%.

The site says the name "Gianna" is also up 20% from 2019, which Rover suspects is also connected to fans paying tribute to Bryant's daughter, Gigi.

Other notable increases ... Rover says the name LeBron is up among dog owners. Michael Jordan is up big with cats.

Neymar is one of the top trending athlete-inspired dog names of 2020 -- with a 58% increase.

They also note Tom Brady is seeing a surge in pet name popularity ... probably from people in Tampa?!

Obviously, the rise in Kobe-inspired names comes from people looking to honor Bryant following his death back in January.

As we previously reported, BabyCenter is also seeing a surge in people naming their human children after Kobe and Gianna as well.

The name Kobe vaulted from #595 on the list in 2019 to #216 in 2020 -- "far and away the biggest riser on the list for boys in 2020."

As for Gianna, her name among newborns rose from #76 to #24 (seriously, #24).

Lil Yase -- an up-and-coming Bay Area rapper -- was shot and killed this weekend in what amounts to a mysterious murder with no explanation thus far ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Yase tell us ... he was, indeed, shot early Saturday morning -- and his body was discovered somewhere in the southern section of the East Bay ... which is miles away from where he was last seen.

Our sources tell us Yase was hanging out with his crew late Friday night at a recording studio in Marin County -- slightly north of San Francisco -- and left on his own at one point around 11:30 or midnight, telling his buddies he'd be right back.

We're told no more than an hour and a half later, word came in that Yase had been shot dead somewhere in the East Bay -- which is damn near an hour away by freeway, depending on what part of town you head to down there.

We're told folks in Yase's inner circle are dumbfounded -- as he had no known enemies and had done nothing they can see leading to something like this. Our sources say Yase might've played tough in his music, but in reality ... all he was really about was rapping, promoting his label (Highway 420 Productions) and labelmates, and gaming. That's it ... he had no beef with anyone anywhere, we're told.

He had just posted a photo of himself on Friday, showing his Thanksgiving festivities ... with a caption that read, "If my n**** trippin den I’m trippin it’s up wit UNK😤😈 #HappyThanksGivin🦃" It's his last post on IG -- and has since gotten tons of tributes from fellow artists in the Bay Area and beyond in the comments.

Yase started releasing music as young as 18 years old, but truly burst onto the scene with his single "Get It In" in 2015 -- which he went on to create a remix of that garnered even more national attention the following year.

He released a string of hits that racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube over the years -- including songs like "No Diss," "Demon," "What You Mean," "Yeah Yeah," "Furl," "Bum B****," "Mad," "Workin" and many others.

Yase collaborated with artists such as Yalla, A.B. Milli, Cash Kidd, G-Val, That Boy Tyson, Stunna June, IamSu!, Shoreline Mafia and several other musicians, both local and otherwise.

We've reached out to Alameda County to confirm Yase's body is in their possession, and if any suspects have been apprehended -- so far ... no word back.

Lil Yase -- a Sunnydale native -- was only 26 years old. RIP

Chadwick Boseman would have turned 44 this weekend, and to honor the late actor ... Disney worked a tribute into the opening of his landmark film with them.

Starting Sunday morning, "Black Panther" on Disney+ featured a new opening credits sequence which shows off the Marvel logo ... something done in all Marvel movies. Only now, when you watch 'BP,' you'll see Chadwick's face all over it.

Marvel posted the new opening credits for "Black Panther," and captioned it ... "Long live the King. #WakandaForever." There's photos and footage of Chadwick also embedded into the Marvel logo artwork, both from the film and in real life.

Disney honcho Bob Iger teased the new change in a tweet Saturday, saying that if you watched "Black Panther" late that night on their streaming service ... you'd see a surprise in honor of Chadwick's 44th birthday, whom they loved.

As we reported ... Chadwick died earlier this year from colon cancer -- an ailment he was battling privately and which really didn't come to light until he had passed.

The tributes have poured in from all over since then -- taking the form of creative art pieces, murals, tattoos, re-worked comic books, proposed statues ... and even action figure wakes that kids themselves put on to pay their respects.

Safe to say ... the remembrances will continue, as they should.

The death of soccer legend Diego Maradona has now triggered a criminal investigation, and his personal doctor appears to be in the crosshairs of the probe.

Police searched the office and home of Dr. Leopoldo Luque ... Diego's doctor. The raid followed several witnesses reportedly telling authorities they had seen Diego and the doctor fighting and shoving.

As we reported, Diego suffered a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires. His death has been ruled a "culpable homicide." The raid involves allegations of negligence.

Police in Argentina have searched the house and private clinic of Luque, just 4 days after Maradona's death.

Diego had a blood clot on his brain earlier this month and underwent surgery. He was also being treated for alcohol abuse.

As for why cops are interested in the doctor ... he reportedly allowed Diego to leave the hospital 8 days after surgery -- it's unclear if that's the foundation of the negligence claim.

Maradona had successful surgery on a brain blood clot on November 11 and was to be treated for alcohol dependency. Dr. Luque wasn't at Diego's home when he died, but he called emergency services to get EMT's out to the house.  It's unclear when and where the shoving match between the doctor and Diego occurred.

Diego's family feels strongly this was a homicide and demanded the investigation.

Now, his family and lawyers are demanding a probe into his death.

Soccer legend Lionel Messi honored Diego Sunday ... after scoring a goal, he ripped his shirt off, exposing Diego's legendary jersey.