Celebrity Death

Steve Cash -- known to his millions of fans as the guy behind the "Talking Kitty Cat" videos on YouTube -- is dead by suicide ... TMZ has learned.

The social media star died Thursday morning from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Steve's wife, Celia DeCosta Cash, wrote on Facebook, "I just lost my best friend, my sidekick, my lover, my mentor, my absolute everything. It hurts me to share this. Please understand, give the family time to grieve, but know that Steve is no longer in pain."

Steve was open with his fans about his mental health battles. Back in September, someone replied to one of his posts saying, "You've been so active on social media lately that at first I thought you were hacked."

Steve replied, "Nah, just bipolar. I'm on a manic up right now. When I go back into depression I'll vacate everything."

He started his sketch comedy series (think "Garfield") on YouTube in November 2007. He voiced every episode in which he talks to his cats as if they were humans. The short but popular videos drew tons of fans ... with 2.43 million subscribers.

In nearly two decades, Steve racked up more than 770 MILLION views and counting. His most popular video is the "Bad! Bad! Bad!" episode from 4 years ago ... with 17 million views. His last video was posted on December 30.

Brian Dennehy -- the veteran actor whose career spanned 5 decades on the stage and screen -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Dennehy died Wednesday night in Connecticut ... we're told he passed of natural causes and there will not be an official autopsy.

The actor's career began in the '70s with a run of small guest roles on TV shows like "Kojak," "M*A*S*H," "Lou Grant" and "Dallas" ... before landing a recurring role on "Dynasty" in 1981.

That led to his big breakout movie role the following year -- playing Sheriff Teasle in Sylvester Stallone's Rambo action flick, "First Blood."

He'd go on to star in several films in the '80s and '90s, including "Silverado," "Cocoon," "The Belly of an Architect," "Best Seller," "Presumed Innocent" and "Romeo + Juliet."

Brian's most notable comedy role came in 1995, when he played Big Tom Callahan in the classic Chris Farley-led laugh-fest, "Tommy Boy."

In more recent years, he voiced the character Django in "Ratatouille" and appeared on the hit show, "The Blacklist." All in all, he has nearly 200 film and television credits to his name ... and he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in 2001 for the TV movie, "Death of a Salesman."

Dennehy was also an accomplished theater actor, winning 2 Tony Awards for Best Actor ... his first for "Death of a Salesman" a couple years before his TV role, and the second for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" in 2003.

In fact, the last time we saw him in 2013, he was in L.A. doing a play ... and he had some good jokes.

Brian's survived by his wife and 5 children. He was 81.

RIP

Roy Halladay's dad told investigators he was worried the abuse of prescription meds played a role in his son's fatal plane crash back in Nov. 2017 ... this according to new docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

NTSB officials say in 2 separate interviews with Halladay's father shortly after the fatal flight -- he told them he was worried the ex-Philadelphia Phillies ace might have been abusing Rx drugs.

Investigators claim Halladay's father told them Roy had "enrolled in an in-house detox program for an addiction to Lorazepam" a couple years prior to the accident ... and he told officials he was "concerned that Roy was abusing prescription medications, and that may have played a role in the accident."

As we previously reported, an autopsy revealed Halladay had zolpidem (the generic name for Ambien), as well as morphine in his system at the time he crashed his plane in the Gulf of Mexico.

The tests also came back positive for amphetamines.

Investigators say Halladay's dad told them Roy was suffering from anxiety and depression around the time of the accident.

According to the report, Halladay's dad also told officials he believed back pain, shoulder surgery and anxiety were the only medical ailments the former pitcher suffered from.

There's more ... officials also claim Halladay's father told them Roy often took risks while flying ... saying, "Mr. Halladay had a feeling that his son did not appreciate the dangers involved with flying."

Roy -- who was 40 at the time of the crash -- had tweeted about a conversation with his father just days before the accident, writing, "I keep telling my dad flying the Icon A5 low over the water is like flying a fight jet!"

"His response...... I am flying a fighter jet!!"

Officials also included new photos of the wreckage after it was pulled from the water -- which shows the aircraft was essentially reduced to scrap.

Shaquille O'Neal says he's still so emotional about the death of Kobe Bryant, he will NOT watch the 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony because it will simply make him too sad.

Kobe is set to be formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August -- the ultimate honor for one of the greatest players of all time.

But, Shaq admits he can't muster up the strength to watch -- mostly because he can't handle another bout of soul-crushing sadness after Kobe passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.

"Still miss him. Still think about him every day," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq."

Shaq says on the "scale of sadness" with 10 being the worst, he's finally at a "2" right now ... and watching the HOF ceremony "would bring me back to a 7, 8, 9 and I can't right now."

O'Neal continued, "It would be great if his wife gave a speech or his mom or dad give a speech but I'll see that afterwards. I'm not gonna watch the ceremony."

He also floated the idea of having a Kobe hologram at the ceremony -- saying it would be "nice" to have a Kobe-gram "sitting next to everyone else."

Kobe's Hall of Fame class is pretty stacked -- he'll be inducted along with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

Howard Finkel -- one of the most famous announcers in the history of pro wrestling -- has died, WWE confirms. He was 69.

Details surrounding his death are unclear at the moment.

The Fink (as he was lovingly called) had been ring announcing since 1977 -- when he was hired by Vince McMahon, Sr. for the WWE's predecessor, WWWF.

He became a full-time staffer in 1979 and went on to become WWE's longest-serving employee.

Besides that famous voice, Fink was involved in a bunch of WWE storylines over the years involving superstars like Mr. Perfect, The Million Dollar Man, CM Punk and more.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

"WWE extends its condolences to Finkel's family, friends and fans," the org. said in a statement.

Stephanie McMahon also weighed in -- saying, "In what has already been a tough week for our @WWE family, today we lost our 1st ever employee and WWE Hall of Famer, @howardfinkel."

"Howard’s voice is iconic & recognized by generations of fans. He will be missed. #RIPHowardFinkel Thank you for everything."

RIP, Fink.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and 5-time champion Willie Davis has passed away at age 85, the Hall announced Wednesday.

Davis -- who won Super Bowls I and II under legendary coach Vince Lombardi -- quickly blossomed into one of the best defensive ends in the league after the Cleveland Browns traded him to the Packers in 1960.

“It is with great sadness the entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Willie Davis," Hall CEO David Baker said in a statement.

"Willie’s extraordinary athleticism was an undeniable factor in Green Bay’s winning tradition of the 1960s under Coach Lombardi. He helped the Packers through an unprecedented championship run and to two Super Bowl victories."

Davis racked up 5 First Team All-Pro selections, made the Pro Bowl 5 times, and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

New York Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner has died, his family confirmed. He was 63.

Hank had been battling an illness for a while -- but according to the NY Post, it was NOT related to COVID-19.

Steinbrenner was reportedly surrounded by family at his home in Clearwater, Florida when he passed. Hank is survived by his brother, Hal, and their two sisters, Jennifer and Jessica. He also has 4 children with his ex-wife.

Hank famously took over much of the ownership duties after his father, George Steinbrenner, passed away in 2010. In recent years, his brother, Hal, has taken over the role of "boss."

But, while Hank was in charge, he was known for being big and brash like his dad -- never afraid to speak his mind in public.

In fact, Hank famously made headlines back in 2008 when he took aim at the rival, Boston Red Sox.

"Red Sox Nation?" What a bunch of bush*t that is," Steinbrenner told The New York Times' Play magazine.

"That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.

"Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."

Funny, we feel like that's the quote Hank would want to end this post -- so we'll leave it at that.

RIP

Vanessa Bryant is reflecting on one of the most special days of Kobe's career ... wishing she had more time with the NBA legend on the 4-year anniversary of his retirement.

After 20 seasons in the NBA, Kobe finally hung it up on April 13, 2016 -- Mamba Day -- and went out in true Bryant fashion by dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz.

Vanessa went to social media Monday to explain why the special day was more about family than basketball.

"My husband worked his ass off for 20 years," Bryant said on Instagram. "Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time."

"He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives."

Vanessa goes on to list how many accomplishments Kobe had in the 3 years and 9 months they shared of his time away from basketball.

"We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time."

Kobe and Gianna -- along with 7 others -- were killed in a helicopter accident back in January ... and Vanessa wishes she could change what happened that fateful day.

"I wish I could back to that morning, every day. I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless."

Since his passing, Kobe has been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and will be formally inducted later this year.

Danny Goldman -- the actor best known for voicing Brainy Smurf in "The Smurfs" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Goldman died at his home Sunday night in front of friends and family while in hospice after suffering a couple of strokes around New Years ... this according to his longtime agent, Doug Ely. His death is not related to COVID-19. Ely took to Facebook to give his decades-long friend a touching tribute.

Ely wrote, "Danny was truly one of a kind. He always had strong opinions and didn't mind telling you about them. He was incredibly funny. He loved to root for the little guy and help wherever he could. He had a huge heart. We lost a good one today. He will be missed."

Goldman's acting credits date back all the way to 1963 with a stint in "General Hospital." He later landed roles in "Young Frankenstein" as a young medical student who questioned Gene Wilder.

Goldman also landed roles in "MASH" and "Busting Loose" but he reached stardom voicing Brainy Smurf when "The Smurfs" debuted in 1981 as a Saturday morning cartoon series on NBC. Brainy Smurf -- easily one of the most identifiable characters with his trademark thick glasses -- was known to never back down from sharing his smarts.

He'd hold on to that role until the series ended in 1989 but the show's popularity kept the series on the air via USA Network, the Cartoon Network and now the Boomerang channel.

Tarvaris Jackson -- who famously backed up Russell Wilson in Super Bowl XLVIII -- has died in a car crash.

He was only 36.

We're told Jackson was involved in a wreck late Sunday night in Alabama, where he grew up.

Russell Wilson tweeted about his former teammate early Monday morning -- saying, "TJack... you will be missed. Praying for your family...Love you man."

Recently, he had been working as a quarterback coach for the Tennessee State football team.

"My heart is so heavy with hurt hearing of the passing of Coach Jackson,” said TSU's athletic director, Teresa Phillips. “We were blessed with him for a short time but he did make an impact with our young men in this one season at TSU."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his young family and all who knew and loved him."

Added TSU head coach Rod Reed, "We are devastated. He was an awesome young man and he will be missed by our players, our staff and the TSU family."

Jackson was a stud football player in high school -- and later played at Arkansas before transferring to Alabama State, where he balled out for 3 seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Jackson in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft, with head coach Brad Childress calling the QB a "diamond in the rough."

Jackson spent 4 years in Minnesota before signing with the Seahawks, Bills ... and then a 2nd stint with the Seahawks, where he served as Wilson's backup until 2015.

We spoke with Jackson's former Vikings teammate, Bryant McKinnie -- who spent 5 seasons with TJ -- about the passing of his longtime friend.

Edmonton Oilers star Colby Cave has died following a brain bleed he suffered earlier in the week -- this according to his loved ones.

The Cave family made the sad announcement Saturday, saying Colby had passed away in a hospital he'd been in for the past few days. The families -- speaking for both Colby and his wife, Emily, said ... "Both our families are in shock but know our Colby was loved dearly by us, his family and friends, the entire hockey community and many more. We thank everyone for their prayers during this difficult time."

Colby was airlifted to a hospital in Toronto Tuesday for emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst that was putting pressure on his brain. After the surgery, he was placed in a medically induced coma -- and had been in an unresponsive state since.

It's been reported that Colby's family wasn't able to visit him in the hospital due to COVID-19 concerns. Upon hearing about his passing, the NHL community at large mourned Colby's death, including NHL honcho Gary Bettman.

The commish said, "The National Hockey League family mourns the heartbreaking passing of Colby Cave, whose life and hockey career, though too short, were inspiringly emblematic of the best of our game." He continued, "Undrafted but undaunted, Colby was relentless in the pursuit of his hockey dream with both the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins organizations. An earnest and hardworking player, he was admired by his teammates and coaches. More important, he was a warm and generous person who was well-liked by all those fortunate enough to know him."

His team also paid tribute, throwing up posts and clips of his first goal and other highlights. He came to the Oilers in 2018 and played for them for two seasons. He'd played for the Boston Bruins before that, as well as several other minor league hockey teams.

Colby's wife posted a very emotional remembrance of her husband, writing ... "My heart is shattered. The amount of physical, mental, and emotional pain I am in when I think about never seeing, touching, or holding you again is unbearable. You are and will always be my person, my hero, the greatest thing to happen to me. I never dreamed of being a widow before our first wedding anniversary."

Emily added, "Although, every cell in my body is lost without you, I promise to continue to make you proud. You were the best friend, husband, doggy daddy, and oh how I wished to see you as a baby daddy. I’ll see you again soon, Colb."

Dieter Laser -- the German actor best known for playing the evil Dr. Heiter in "The Human Centipede" -- has died.

Laser's death was revealed by his wife, Inge, who says he actually passed in Berlin back on February 29. His cause of death is unknown at this time.

The German star has more than 60 acting credits to his name -- including appearing in the Glenn Close film, "Meeting Venus," in 1991 -- but didn't achieve international fame until starring in the controversial horror film, 'Centipede,' in 2009. He also appeared in 'The Human Centipede III' in 2015.

Tom Six, director of the cult horror series, says of Dieter ... "He was a force of nature, a unique human being and an iconic actor. I’m so damn proud we created pop culture together."

Dieter was an acclaimed film and theater actor in Germany for years, though. He won a German Film Award in 1975 for his leading role in "John Gluckstadt." Almost 35 years later ... he won a Scream Award for Best Villain for playing the deranged 'Human Centipede' surgeon.

Laser's other notable credits over the years include the sci-fi TV series, "Lexx," and the 2003 thriller, "Baltic Storm."

Dieter was 78.

The boyfriend of former 'Voice' star Christina Grimmie -- who was shot and killed nearly 4 years ago -- is keeping her memory alive with a new song featuring her.

Stephen Rezza just dropped "Hard Mode" ... and we're told he got her family's okay to sample Christina for the track. Best of all for Christina's fans -- this is just the first of many new songs with her angelic voice.

Rezza's dropping a full album of his orchestral pop later this year, which is titled, "Songs for Christina." That's appropriate because every single track on it will feature either her vocals, her old music, or even voicemails from her.

It's a touching tribute to Christina. As we reported, back in June 2016, the singer -- who'd already appeared on "The Voice" -- was doing a meet and greet with fans in Orlando when a deranged man walked up and opened fire. He then shot and killed himself. Christina was only 22.

After her death, Stephen helped produced her posthumous album "All Is Vanity," which dropped in 2017. He then started working on "Songs for Christina" ... but that stopped when he suffered a seizure in 2019. Turns out he had an avocado-sized brain tumor. Surgeons successfully removed 95% of the mass.

Once he recovered, we're told Stephen had a new perspective and was determined to finish the album.

Stephen tells TMZ, "I almost never put these songs out. They're so personal I didn't think the world wanted to hear them. Next thing I knew I was on an operating table wide awake, skull open while my brain's being worked on. I almost lost everything. If I had died or lost the ability to make music, the only thing I would've truly regretted would've been never finishing this album for her."

BTW, Stephen's "Hard Mode" is now available on streaming services. It's about persevering when God flips the switch, and it's the only song on the album written after his operation.

Helluva way to persevere.

#RIPChristina

"5 championships. 5 NYT bestsellers. The Mamba strikes again."

Vanessa Bryant is celebrating Kobe's newest accomplishment -- his latest book in the Wizenard Series, "Season One" is a NYT Bestseller.

The book was released last week ... and follows the journey of a young hooper named Reggie, who faces incredible obstacles on his way to becoming a basketball star.

"My husband @kobebryant would have been so proud to see his work continuing on with The #Wizenard Series: Season One." Vanessa said on Wednesday.

Of course, it was a bittersweet day when the newest book was released after Kobe's tragic death, with the author, Wesley King, saying he was "grateful to see the words live on."

Bryant's other projects, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play," "Training Camp," "The Legacy And The Queen" and "Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof" are all also received the honor of being NYT Bestsellers.

Linda Tripp, whose recorded conversations with Monica Lewinsky led to President Clinton's impeachment -- is near death ... according to her daughter.

Allison Tripp Foley said late Tuesday, "My mommy is leaving this earth. I don't know myself if I can survive this heartache." In her FB post, Allison said she is at her mother's bedside, and she asked for prayers for "a painless process for the strongest woman I will ever know in my entire lifetime."

She has not revealed what illness, or medical crisis, 70-year-old Linda is battling. Allison did confirm to TMZ that it is NOT COVID-19.

Tripp is known as a whistleblower for turning over secretly-recorded conversations with Lewinsky to Ken Starr in January 1998. The recordings exposed Lewinsky's sexual relationship with Clinton.

Linda also told Starr about Lewinsky's infamous blue dress. She was working in the Pentagon when she befriended the 22-year-old White House intern and learned about her physical relationship with the POTUS. The rest is history.

Linda and her husband, Dieter Rausch, have 2 children -- Allison and Ryan.