Comedy

Leslie Jordan, the beloved actor and comedian has died.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Jordan was driving in Hollywood Monday morning when it's suspected he suffered some sort of medical emergency and crashed his BMW into the side of a building.

Leslie was famous for his work on popular TV shows like "Will & Grace," "Hearts Afire," "The Cool Kids," "Call Me Kat" and "American Horror Story."

LJ became a social media sensation during the pandemic, with his silly video posts helping him skyrocket from about 80,000 Instagram followers to a whopping 5.8 million. He told us on "TMZ Live" his secret was just being himself -- a silly, funny, goofy, happy-go-lucky senior citizen.

Following his viral pandemic fame, Leslie appeared on CNN's New Year's Eve 2021 countdown, ringing in 2022 with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

Leslie also acted in movies, including ... "The Help" and "Ski Patrol" and he made guest appearances in tons of TV shows like "Murphy Brown," "Ugly Betty," and "Boston Public."

On Sunday, Leslie posted a video on Instagram of himself singing a hymn.

The last time we saw Leslie out in public was pretty recently ... our photogs got him just last month, gauging his reaction to Elton John and Britney Spears releasing a new song together.

Leslie was 67.

RIP

Peyton and Eli Manning, along with Steelers legend Jerome Bettis, did their very best impression of Egon, Ray, Winston and Peter ... going to The Bus' alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, searching for a ghost in a hilarious Ghostbusters skit!

The three NFL legends came together for a special Halloween mashup episode of Peyton's Place and Eli's Place on ESPN+ (produced by Omaha Productions) -- where they became parapsychologists from the classic ghost-chasing movie -- and headed to South Bend, Indiana on the hunt for the ghost of George Gipp.

Gipp was an ND running back under Knute Rockne between 1917 and 1920. You may not recognize the name "George Gipp," but you've heard the phrase ... "win one for the Gipper." George is the Gipper.

In 1925, GG was sick and on his deathbed, when he famously delivered this line to his coach, telling him to use it to motivate the players.

"I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Sometime Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, ask them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy."

In the skit, Peyton, Eli and Jerome head for campus in the Ghostbusters' Ectomobile ... all while rocking the GB iconic jumpsuits.

Bettis wasn't feelin' the threads at first ... but Eli had a hilarious response for the former Notre Dame star.

"What?!" Eli said, "Did you think we'd be wearing a crop top or something?"

Peyton also jokes about Eli losing his spot on the ManningCast to Bill Murray -- who played Dr. Peter Venkman in the Ghostbusters movies.

Andy Dick is facing a felony burglary charge in California after getting arrested yet again ... this time cops say he was stealing power tools from someone's garage.

The Santa Barbara Police Department tells TMZ ... officers busted Andy on Oct. 13, after responding to a report of a burglary in progress at a home.

Andy had removed several power tools from a home under construction, according to cops ... and they say they caught him red-handed trying to flee the property. The homeowner told police they don't know Andy, and he definitely didn't have permission to be there.

Since then, the Santa Barbara County D.A. has charged Andy with first-degree residential burglary, and he's pled not guilty -- however, one week later, he's still locked up.

Interestingly enough, Dick posted a video from inside an abandoned house just last week ... so it's possible it's the same one he was busted inside.

We're told he is in the Santa Barbara County Jail waiting for someone to bond him out. His bail was set at $50K.

It's the second arrest for Andy in the last 6 months ... as we first told you, he was busted in May and accused of sexual battery and the arrest was live-streamed.

The woman who accused Chris D'Elia of threatening to share intimate videos of her just took an 'L' ... a judge denied her request for court-ordered protection from the comedian.

D'Elia maintained from the beginning, he'd never met her Caroline Schmitz -- and Schmitz had threatened him and his family on multiple occasions through messages on social media ... yet she was the one who filed a restraining order against him.

Chris was in court Wednesday with his attorney Andrew Brettler -- Schmitz was a no-show -- and the judge denied the request for a permanent restraining order.

TMZ broke the story ... Schmitz was originally granted a temporary restraining order against Chris last month, claiming they met back in 2017 and hooked up several times. She says from there, Chris allegedly contacted her on OnlyFans in May, threatening to post intimate videos she'd recorded and telling her she needed to leave Los Angeles.

James Corden has at least 2 NYC restaurant owners in his corner ... they say he's been a model customer, despite some alleged nasty behavior at other establishments.

While James was briefly banned at Big Apple hotspot Balthazar, the owner of some of NYC's top restaurants tells us JC was always super polite and cordial at his restaurants.

Stratis Morfogen has opened 40 restaurants over the years in New York, and he says James is one of the most pleasant and funny guys he's ever served -- to the point where Stratis says he can't even imagine James being mean.

When Stratis hosted and catered a 2018 post-Grammys event for Bruno Mars and Atlantic Records at his Brooklyn Chop House restaurant, he says James was there singing songs with bartenders and yukking it up with staffers at the bar. He also notes James was a gracious tipper.

James is also being defended by famed restaurateur Todd English ... who tells us every time he's served Corden, the comedian's been "absolutely lovely" to everyone in the joint.

Todd, who's been the head chef at Tony Awards afterparties, says James was always "incredibly personable" to him and his staff who traveled from Todd English's Olives in Las Vegas.

As we reported, James was called out this week by Balthazar owner Keith McNally, who accused Corden of being a "cretin of a man" for what he claims was abhorrent behavior at his highly acclaimed establishment.

McNally initially banned James from the restaurant, but says Corden called him up and apologized ... and the ban's since been lifted.

Stratis tells us he was shocked McNally would rip James on social media, because he says he's never heard any of his restaurateur friends talk about James in a negative light.

'SNL's cold open Saturday night was a hilarious gag on the January 6th Committee's closing arguments, but one line produced a gasp from the audience -- when 'Donald Trump' asked someone during the insurrection if the rioters made good on their threat to hang Mike Pence.

The casting was fantastic ... from Kenan Thompson who played Chairman Bennie Thompson, who introduced "a team of monotone nerds to do a PowerPoint."

'Liz Cheney' explained she's as tough as she is because she has "Big Dick Cheney energy!"

Then 'Rep. Jamie Raskin' read from the ominous message board with questions the day of the attempted coup, including ... "Is there a shuttle from LaQuinta Inn to coup?" and "Am I at wrong Washington? I see space needle."

Maybe the most hilarious part was video of the Capitol bunker, where 'Nancy Pelosi' and 'Chuck Schumer' were hunkered down. Pelosi -- played remarkably by Chloe Fineman -- was a bad ass, while Schumer was obsessed with getting lunch and sucking up to Pence!

Conan O'Brien can break out the bubbly ... because he just accepted an offer on his oceanfront home.

Conan's been on the hunt for a buyer since July. He had listed the property in Carpinteria, CA, just south of Santa Barbara, for $16,500,000.

Conan's 2,142 square foot pad is just steps from the sand ... it underwent an extensive remodel after he and his wife Liza bought it back in 2015 -- at the time they plunked down $7.9M for the property.

The house has panoramic ocean, island and coastline views ... there's a large deck with a built-in BBQ, plus a sunset view deck with private stairs down to the beach.

The main house has two bedrooms, a gym and a detached, 2-bedroom guest house with a wraparound deck. The garage has a Tesla charging station too!

For those salt lifers ... there's an outdoor shower and storage area for surf and paddle boards ... essentials for life at the beach.

Conan and Liza are upgrading in the same area, reportedly plunking down $23M.

Actor Ray Buffer is being accused by a San Diego comic book store of stealing some pricey comics ... and the store says security footage appears to show him stuffing 'em up his shirt.

Southern California Comics in San Diego alleges it has Ray on video stealing $600 worth of comic books, and the store filed a police report with SDPD and is handing over evidence to police, including their security footage.

SDPD tells TMZ police took a report for petty theft and are investigating the incident.

The comic book store says it got even more evidence -- which it will be turning over to police -- after warning other stores about Ray in a Facebook post before he had been identified.

The owners tell us Metropolis Comics in L.A. sent them some eerily similar security footage from when Ray was there. In that video, the owner confronts him after seeing him pull the same move, and this time he puts the comics back and leaves as the owner threatens to call police.

Ray, who has appeared in TV shows like "ER" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," deleted all of his social media accounts after the comic book store posted the video online.

Bookstores are always on edge about this kind of theft, because some comics are worth a lot of money -- we've reported about rare comics getting auctioned off for large sums. That's why most stores have such great security cameras.

'SNL' decided to tap into all the s**t that's going down in the U S of A with a game show called, "So You Think You Won’t Snap."

The game is all about temptation ... hurling problematic news stories to mild-mannered, chill contestants and seeing if they reach a breaking point ... and there are stakes!

Contestants who are off the bottle are challenged with a big glass of wine. A flight attendant becomes a potential human punching bag, and a hot iron sits on a table ready to scorch a man's face. In other words, high stakes.

Watch for yourself ... from Biden to Kanye and everything in between -- it's just too much to bare.

Tommy Chong sees President Biden's weed possession pardon as a big step forward in the world of cannabis ... but he isn't ready to celebrate until the government removes marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug -- pointing to his past legal trouble.

The comedian told us ... Biden's decision shows he's got the pulse of America ... but thinks a rescheduling would be a HUGE win for everyone involved in legitimate weed sales.

Tommy thinks marijuana sales will someday become the biggest industry in the world ... so rescheduling it could further validate the legitimacy of the biz.

He's a fan of Biden, and says he'll gladly vote for him again ... but he thinks the Prez can do more, especially regarding anti-paraphernalia laws, which got Tommy locked up back in 2003.

Tommy was sentenced to 9 months in a federal lockup, after pleading guilty to selling bongs through a family-owned business. He tells us he had no choice but to cop a plea.

Bill Maher cut to the chase Friday night ... calling out intolerance Americans now have for those with whom they disagree ... intolerance that has led us to stop mingling with anyone who is not like-minded.

The "Real Time" host said what's simply true ... lots of Americans will only f**k with people whose views align with theirs, and they just can't believe any right-thinking person could embrace opinions contrary to theirs.

Bill goes down the road with an example -- Arizona's Republican Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, who not only believes Trump won the 2020 election, he "can't find anyone who voted for Joe Biden." In other words, dude's living in a Trump bubble, and does not associate with anyone outside of it. He literally knows no one who voted for Biden.

Of course, Maher then swings to the left, and says the same is true there. His example is hilarious, so we'll spoil it. He invited someone to a party at his house and that person declined the invite because another guest supported Trump, saying he/she wouldn't "breathe the same air" with a Trumper. Bill said there's a word for such people -- ASSHOLES!!!

The point being ... we have become so tribal ... both sides have fundamentally different realities, and that paves the way for hatred and contempt.

As he said earlier in the show, even watching the news -- especially cable news -- has become downright dangerous ... the "realities" portrayed on both sides are so skewed, it's impossible for viewers to believe any sane person can have an opposing belief.

A white comedian is in hot water after being accused of using the n-word multiple times during his performance on a Carnival Cruise.

A woman, who was a passenger on the ship, posted a short clip on TikTok last week that's since gone viral ... showing comedian Rob O'Reilly onstage -- but the video by itself isn't what's upsetting.

The on-screen caption reads, "So on Carnival Cruise right now and they are perfectly fine hiring someone who uses the N-word multiple times in his show and when the issue was raised he said and I quote ‘if you’re offended get tf out.'”

He was met with mostly cheers when telling those offended to leave -- but you can still hear some people in the crowd clearly still upset.

She didn't capture his alleged use of the slurs on camera, but she eventually posted an update, clarifying they weren't allowed to record during O'Reilly's set -- a common regulation at comedy clubs.

She was so offended, though, when he used the n-word "casually" during the performance ... so, she snagged the quick clip and called him out online.

Carnival has responded to the incident ... saying the company doesn't tolerate what went down -- adding O'Reilly's been booted from all upcoming performances and is no longer welcome on Carnival cruise ships.

Rob has quite the resume, up to this point -- he's appeared on "Last Comic Standing," "America's Got Talent," and was even a correspondent for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

People online were applauding the TikToker for calling out O'Reilly -- some have even found old tweets of his ... mostly ones that joke around about race.

Roy Wood Jr. could soon get a serious promotion over at Comedy Central ... we're told he's in the running to take over for Trevor Noah as the next host on "The Daily Show."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Comedy Central executives view Roy as someone who could potentially become the next face of 'TDS' ... for several reasons.

Roy joined the show in 2015, the same year Trevor took over for Jon Stewart as host, and he's since become one of the show's most recognizable faces, not to mention one of their leading correspondents.

With that in mind, we're told CC execs view Roy as a natural fit to be promoted to host ... and there's precedent, as the show promoted from within when Trevor took the reins from Jon.

Our sources say Roy's contract is also coming up for renewal, and CC execs are anxious he may leave the show because Roy is in demand on the stand-up circuit and he's also gaining popularity from recent outside projects like "Confess, Fletch."

We're told CC wants to make sure Roy stays with the network, and promoting him to host could be the best way to keep him around.

Our sources say CC execs have made it clear to Roy they want to meet with him to discuss his future as his contract renewal looms ... but he's NOT been personally told he's even a candidate to replace Trevor.

The process of picking a successor, we're told, is in the infancy stage ... and there's talk the next host could well be a woman. Again, we're told no decisions have been made.

As we reported ... Trevor announced he was leaving the show on Thursday night's episode, with a CC source telling us TN felt the daily show was too much of a grind after 7 years at the helm.

It's interesting ... Trevor mentioned Roy by name at the opening of his farewell speech, saying Roy reminded him the other day Noah's 7-year anniversary was fast approaching.

Still, we're told it's unclear if Roy knew Trevor was leaving the show before the sudden announcement.

Bill Maher made a pretty compelling case that lots of rules against consensual sex in the workplace are not only ridiculous ... they're harmful.

The "Real Time" host challenged companies that require immediate notification if 2 employees are banging and prohibit sexual relationships between supervisors and their subordinates.

He concedes, if there's a workplace relationship between a superior and a subordinate, it should be watched ... but not banned.

As Bill says, work is where most people spend most of their waking hours, and that's also where they get to know people ... and sometimes they catch feelings and even fall in love.

He ticks off a list of people who have been fired for their consensual relationships. He points to former CNN honcho Jeff Zucker, who was fired for having a consensual relationship with a 49-year-old CNN executive -- as if the company needed to tell the 49-year-old exec it wasn't right because of a power imbalance, even though she didn't think it was a problem.

How 'bout this point he raises ... if these rules were in place back in the day, Barack and Michelle Obama wouldn't be married. He was a summer associate at a law firm and she was his supervisor.  Bill says she was literally banging the intern, and good for them!

He point out the hypocrisy ... Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde hooked up during the shooting of "Don't Worry Darling," and when you shoot a movie a director is not only boss, she's God.

There are reports Trevor Noah and Dua Lipa are "just friends." Really?

Now that we know Trevor's plan to exit "The Daily Show," which he announced Thursday, it seems kinda weird he'd have dinner with a casual friend the night before ... there are things to discuss with your closest allies when stuff like that is about to go down.

Well, it's possible they're just friends ... hugging and kissing on the street as friends often do.

Trevor sent shock waves in the TV world with his announcement he's leaving the show that made him super famous in America. As we reported, he has a ton of projects in the works, both in front of and behind the cam, and a daily show may have proved too much of a grind.

Both are unattached ... Trevor is no longer dating Minka Kelly, and Dua has Anwar Hadid in her rear view.

Trevor Noah has just rocked cable news and news itself ... he's leaving his gig on Comedy Central.

Trevor made the announcement Thursday, telling the audience his 7-year tenure is coming to an end ... and he made the announcement on his 7-year anniversary.

A Comedy Central source tells TMZ ... his decision has to do with his schedule, which is hardcore crazy ... and it's just too much of a grind for him to do a daily show.

Comedy Central says, "We are grateful to Trevor for our amazing partnership over the past seven years. As we look ahead, we're excited for the next chapter in the 25+ year history of 'The Daily Show.'"

It's unclear when Trevor will leave the show ... our Comedy Central source says Trevor and the CC team are working together on "a timeline for his departure."

TN has hosted "The Daily Show" since 2015, taking over for longtime host Jon Stewart on the satirical news program.

During his time as host, Trevor won a Primetime Emmy Award ... and was nominated for a bunch of other awards.

In 2017, Trevor extended his contract with Comedy Central through 2022 ... and now he's leaving altogether.

It will be interesting to see who Comedy Central tabs as the next 'Daily Show' host ... but one thing is for sure, they will have some big shoes to fill.