RIP

L.A. TV icon Huell Howser -- best known for hosting the wildly popular travel show "California's Gold" on KCET -- has passed away at age 67.

A rep for KCET tells TMZ, Howser died in his Palm Springs home early Monday morning of natural causes ... details surrounding his death have not been released.

He hosted his Cali travel show for 18 seasons -- and only recently retired in November after completing over 440 episodes.

Fun fact: Howser also appeared on two episodes of "The Simpsons" ... Matt Groening was a huge fan.

Jack Klugman's cause of death was prostate cancer according to the actor's death certificate ... TMZ has learned.

The document also states Klugman died at his home in the San Fernando Valley. His wife Peggy was by his side.

Klugman -- who died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve -- was most famous for playing Oscar Madison on the legendary TV show "The Odd Couple" ... followed by the title role on "Quincy, M.E." in the 70s and 80s.

The actor had already beat cancer once in the 80s -- and although the throat cancer battle cost him his voice, he eventually trained himself to speak again.

The 32-year-old son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was found dead Sunday night.

Sheriff's Homicide Detectives were sent to a home on the 22600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 11:30pm last night, where they found the body of Scott Sterling.

The coroner's office says he died of a possible drug overdose, but the cause of death will be confirmed by an autopsy.

No other details were immediately available.

Scott's father, Donald, bought the Clippers in 1981 for $13 million.

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf -- the commander of U.S. forces during the first Iraq conflict -- has died in Tampa, Florida.

Schwarzkopf became popularly known as "Stormin' Norman" during 1991 Gulf War that booted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces out of neighboring Kuwait.

Operation Desert Storm lasted just over a month as Schwarzkopf's international coalition made quick work of the Iraqi troops.

Schwarzkopf had retired in Tampa where he held his last assignment as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command.

Schwarzkopf was 78 years old. Cause of death is unclear, at this point.

Side note about "Stormin' Norman" -- aside from his military success he was also largely responsible for Katie Couric's rise to fame.

Fontella Bass -- famous for her epic,1965 hit song "Rescue Me" -- died Wednesday in Missouri. She was 72.

According to Fontella's family, the singer passed away in a St. Louis hospital from complications she suffered following a heart attack three weeks ago. Bass also had several strokes since 2005.

The R&B star scored a ton of hits over her career -- including "You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone)" and "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" -- but none as big as "Rescue Me."

She's survived by her four children.

Ryan Seacrest tells TMZ ... the countdown to 2013 will be a special one, because he'll be honoring his late friend and mentor ... the great Dick Clark.

Seacrest was leaving a birthday lunch at Cecconi's in West Hollywood when we asked him how he felt about this year's NYE show .... the first one since Dick passed away back in April.

"I miss him," Seacrest told us ... adding, "I'm excited about New Year's though to celebrate him ... it'll be a fun night."

Clark hand-selected Seacrest to take over the main hosting gig on New Year's Rockin' Eve after he suffered a stroke back in 2004.

Charles Durning -- the 2-time Academy Award nominee who was known as the "King of the Character Actor" -- died Monday at his home in New York.

The 89-year-old actor appeared in a TON of movies during his incredible career -- including "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "The Sting," "Tootsie," and "Dick Tracy."

According to Durning's agent and friend Judith Moss, Charles died of natural causes.

Before he became a star, Durning was a soldier in the U.S. Army -- and even stormed Normandy on D-Day during WW2.

Durning was the only member of his patrol who survived the Battle of the Bulge -- but he suffered serious injuries in the fight, followed by a mental breakdown.

Durning -- who received 3 Purple Hearts for his service -- had explained, "There's only so much you can witness."

Durning is survived by his wife and 3 children. And like a true American hero, Durning will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Jack Klugman -- who famously portrayed Oscar Madison on TV's "The Odd Couple" back in the '70s -- died yesterday at the age of 90.

According to Klugman's family -- the actor had been convalescing for a while, but died unexpectedly. Klugman's cause of death has not yet been determined.

But Klugman was tough as nails -- in fact, he battled throat cancer back in the '80s and lost his voice, but later trained himself to speak again. Pretty bad ass.

As an actor, Klugman appeared in some iconic movies and TV shows -- including "12 Angry Men" and the 1959 musical "Gypsy. He also appeared in several episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and starred in "Quincy, M.E."

Lee Dorman -- the bassist for the acid rock band Iron Butterfly -- was found dead at his home in Orange County, CA earlier today ... TMZ has learned.

70-year-old Dorman was an original member of the group -- and played during their famous 17 minute recording of the rock classic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... officers responded to Dorman's home around 10 AM this morning ... and he was found sitting in his car.

We're told cops do not believe there is anything suspicious about his death.

Dorman reportedly had a history of heart problems -- and according to some reports, the medical issue forced him to retire from music.

Story developing ...

"Workaholics" star Jessie "Jet Set" Hudson -- who played the character Jet Set on the show -- died suddenly in L.A. last week after suffering what appeared to be a heart attack.

According to reports, Hudson stopped by a convenience store in Pasadena shortly before midnight on December 13th and purchased Alka Seltzer, a bottle of water, and some milk.

The store clerk said Hudson was sweating and was in such a hurry, he left without getting his change. When the store clerk followed Hudson outside to give him his money, he found Hudson slumped over in his car.

Paramedics arrived on scene moments later and pronounced Hudson dead, claiming all signs pointed to a heart attack.

A rep for Comedy Central tells TMZ, "All of us at Comedy Central and within the ‘Workaholics’ family are deeply saddened to learn of Jet Set’s sudden passing."

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel begged Jovan Belcher to put down his handgun and not kill himself during a tense standoff on December 1st ... telling the player, "You're taking the easy way out."

The Kansas City PD just released new documents from the murder/suicide investigation ... in which witnesses describe the sad moments before the NFL linebacker shot himself in the head.

Belcher had driven to the Chiefs practice facility after shooting the mother of his child Kasandra Perkins at their home ... and, while carrying a handgun, had a conversation with Chiefs GM Scott Pioli in the parking lot.

According to witnesses, Belcher told Pioli ... "I'm sorry Scott, I've done a bad thing to my girlfriend already. I want to talk with Gibbs and Romeo."

He continued, "You know that I've been having some major problems at home and with my girlfriend. I need help! I wasn't able to get enough help. I appreciate everything you all have done for me with trying to help ... but it wasn't enough. I have hurt my girl already and I can't go back now."

According to witnesses, Crennel arrived to the parking lot and pled with Belcher to put the gun down ... saying, "You're taking the easy way out."

Crennel told cops Jovan briefly lowered the gun to chamber a round, then he blessed himself by making a cross sign on his chest ... and then he fired one shot into his head, killing himself.

During the investigation, witnesses -- including Crennel -- told police that Belcher and his girlfriend had been arguing about money.

In the report, cops say, "[Crennel] stated that he got the impression that Ms. Perkins wanted to live a better life and expected to live a better life because she was with an NFL player."

Crennel also told cops Jovan was "smart with his money and didn't live outside his means."

Amy Winehouse may not have died from alcohol poisoning ... this according to London officials who are launching a new inquest into the singer's death next month.

Authorities say ... the coroner who oversaw the autopsy when Winehouse died back in July 2011 did NOT have the proper prerequisites when she concluded the singer died from accidental alcohol poisoning.

According to local reports, Assistant Deputy Suzanne Greenaway had been appointed to the job by her husband in 2009 -- despite the fact she did not have the required 5 years experience with the London Law Society.

FYI -- Greenaway's husband just resigned from his role as the coroner for inner north London earlier this month in the wake of the scandal.

Winehouse's family says they are NOT behind the push for a new investigation.

Latin music star Jenni Rivera will be laid to rest next week in Long Beach, CA ... and TMZ has learned Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan and Edward James Olmos were invited to be in attendance.

Rivera's camp tells TMZ ... Jenni had very specific plans for how she wanted her funeral to go down. We're told she wanted Vendela roses at the service, Bella Rosa roses to be buried with her, and she requested wanted butterflies released at the end of the service.

A public memorial will take place on Tuesday in Long Beach and a more private one on Wednesday.

As for the celebs invited to attend the private service on Wednesday ... Snoop and Jenni were set to do a song together before her untimely passing, Estefan was a longtime friend of Rivera's, and Olmos co-starred and produced her debut film, "Filly Brown."

The company that owned the plane that crashed and killed Latin music star Jenni Rivera is under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, who seized two other planes owned by the company earlier this year.

The planes were seized from Starwood Management in Texas and Arizona, but the DEA gave no more details.

Christian Esquino, who runs Starwood, told The AP yesterday that the DEA has been investigating him for more than 20 years ... but has yet to prove a single drug-related charge.

While that is true, Esquino was indicted on drug charges in the 1990s and eventually pled guilty to conspiring to conceal money from the IRS and was sentenced to five years in prison. He only served about five months.

Esquino said Rivera was considering buying the plane from Starwood for $250,000 and the flight was offered as a test ride.

Jenni Rivera's family is DISGUSTED that crash scene video showing the gruesome remains of the Mexican singer has hit the Internet ... and now they want the scumbags responsible to be brought to justice ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, officials have already arrested two Mexican police officers, at least one of whom is believed to have leaked images of the crash scene to the media -- including shots of mangled body parts.

Additional leaked footage from the scene has spread like wildfire across the Internet -- showing more body parts ... including a severed foot with painted toenails.

The video hasn't been confirmed to be authentic -- but the Rivera family believes it's real based on the items shown in the video, as well as the remains.

Sources close to the Riveras tell TMZ, the family is appalled that anyone would even think about leaking something like that ... and they shudder to think that one of the first responders might be responsible.

We're told the severed foot was the most painful part to watch because "Jenni was very particular about her feet and toes."

Family sources tell us ... the Riveras are hoping to have all traces of the footage wiped from the web ... at least, as much as possible.

TMZ has obtained an image of the crash scene following the highway disaster that killed Dallas Cowboys star Jerry Brown last weekend -- and the Mercedes he was riding in had flipped upside-down.

As we previously reported, Brown's teammate Josh Brent was driving at the time of the accident in Texas Saturday morning. Brent was subsequently arrested on the scene for intoxication manslaughter.

TMZ has also obtained the 911 calls placed by a passing motorist just moments after the accident -- and according to one of the callers, "There was smoke everywhere."