RIP

Lea Michele had her first public outing after the tragic death of BF Cory Monteith ... to celebrate the birth of a friend's baby.

The "Glee" star has been grieving privately since news broke that Monteith had been found dead last month in a Vancouver hotel ... after OD'ing on heroin.

The "Glee" cast is finally beginning to heal after Cory Monteith's death -- so says the late actor's co-star Jane Lynch ... who tells TMZ, she found new comfort during today's special memorial organized by Monteith's gf Lea Michele.

Lynch was out in L.A. when we asked about the memorial -- co-organized by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy -- where the cast and crew gathered to say their final goodbyes to the late actor, sharing memories and music. Lynch gave a glowing review.

As we reported, 31-year-old Monteith died from a heroin overdose at a Vancouver hotel on July 13.

10:10 AM PT Farina's cardiologist confirms the actor "had a small cancer 13 years ago that was treated and cured with surgery." He adds Dennis recently had a recurrence of the cancer and was getting treatment.

However, the doc is clear that the death was caused by the blood clot in Farina's lung ... not the cancer.

"Law & Order" star Dennis Farina was suffering from cancer when he died ... this according to the 911 call placed just days before his death.

During the call -- placed early Saturday morning -- a woman in Farina's home says the actor needs oxygen, and describes him as a "cancer patient" who is having an extremely hard time breathing.

It has never been reported that Farina was diagnosed with cancer.

As we previously reported, the actor passed away Monday in Scottsdale from a blood clot in his lung, which would explain his breathing difficulties.

Farina was 69.

Dennis Farina -- who starred as Det. Joe Fontana on "Law & Order" -- died today in Scottsdale, Arizona after suffering a blood clot in his lung. He was 69.

Farina is a Hollywood legend -- who appeared in tons of classic films and TV shows including "Get Shorty," "Snatch" and "Midnight Run." He also appeared in HBO's series "Luck."

Farina -- who was born in Chicago in 1944 -- is survived by his 3 adult children from his marriage to Patricia Farina. They divorced in 1980. He also has two granddaughters and four grandsons.

Farina's rep says the actor is also survived by "the love of his life of 35 years, Marianne Cahill." It doesn't appear the two were ever married.

Before he became an actor, Farina was a cop with the Chicago Police Department from 1967 to 1985.

Story developing ...

There were no words ... "Glee" star Dianna Agron refused to answer questions about Cory Monteith's death Saturday ... this just moments after leaving a concert dedicated to her fallen co-star.

Our photog spotted Dianna -- who played one of Cory's love interests on the show -- leaving the Roxy in L.A. She had been there with fellow "Glee" kids Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz to watch co-star Chord Overstreet perform.

Before the show started, Chord dedicated the gig to Cory, reportedly shouting out "I love you buddy." He then sang "Billionaire" ... one of the first songs he performed with Cory on "Glee".

"Glee" creator Ryan Murphy finally broke his silence on Cory Monteith's tragic death ... addressing both the actor's desire to get clean and what will happen to his character on the show.

Murphy spoke to several media outlets Saturday -- one week after Cory OD'd on heroin.

Ryan said, "It’s always sad and shocking when somebody so young dies, but one of the things that made it even more upsetting is that so many of us who knew and loved him were actively involved in trying to get him better."

He added, Cory was working hard as well, recently telling him, "I want to get better."

But it wasn't easy ... Ryan recalled the last time he saw Cory (in June in Fire Island). He said he felt something was off, "I honestly couldn’t tell what was going on with him. He didn’t seem quite himself, but when I confronted him he claimed he was clean."

As for the fate of "Glee" -- whose season was delayed two weeks -- Ryan says Cory's passing will be addressed in episode 3 ... which will be a tribute to the actor and deal with the death of his character, Finn.

Jay Z and Beyonce have made it clear -- they believe justice was NOT served in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin ... they spent Saturday protesting the laws which allowed his killer to walk.

Photos of the superstar couple showed up on Instagram ... of Jay and Bey in NYC, protesting against "Stand Your Ground" laws ... the law in FL which allowed George Zimmerman to claim self-defense in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon.

J & B were seen posing with Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and Al Sharpton. Al reportedly told the crowd of protesters the famous couple was there ... but didn't want to speak and didn't come for a photo op.

Justin Timberlake and Jay Z honored Trayvon Martin Friday night ... dedicating the song "Forever Young" to the 17-year-old shooting victim.

Jay and Justin kicked off their "Legends of the Summer" tour this week -- and during their closing number Yankee Stadium in NYC -Jay shouted to the audience, "Everybody put a cell phone and light it up ... let's light the sky for Trayvon Martin tonight in here."

The new season of "Glee" will premiere 2 weeks behind schedule ... due to the death of its star Cory Monteith, this according to FOX.

The network issued a statement saying the show will premiere on September 26 -- it was originally scheduled to debut on September 13.

Sources tell us ... producers have been meeting to discuss how to phase out Cory's character. We're told producers wanted to give the cast and crew time to grieve Cory's death.

As a result, production has been pushed back to early August.

Katherine Jackson testified in her wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live ... it's devastating to hear witnesses and lawyers refer to her dead son as "lazy" and a "freak."

She said, "It's hard to sit here in court and listen to all these things ... My son was sick and nobody was trying to help him."

When she met Dr. Conrad Murray -- the man who killed MJ with a fatal dose of Propofol -- she said she immediately thought the doc WASN'T the right person to care for her son.

She said, "My son needed another doctor."

Katherine is trying to prove AEG was negligent in hiring and supervising Dr. Murray, and is therefore responsible for the singer's death.

Ex-WWE star Doink the Clown died from a toxic overdose of morphine and hydrocodone ... this according to officials in Collin County, Texas.

TMZ has obtained the autopsy report for Matthew Wade Osborne -- whose body was discovered at his girlfriend's home on June 28.

According to the report, the medical examiner discovered "high levels of the opiates morphine and hydrocodone" in Osborne's system at the time of his death.

FYI -- hydrocodone is the key ingredient of the painkiller Vicodin.

The medical examiner expains, "I am of the opinion that [Osborne], a 55 year old white man, died as a result of toxic effects of opiates."

The ME says Osborne also suffered from heart disease, which was a "significant and contributory factor" in his death.

Katherine Jackson may have suffered a legal blow over some jokes her son Michael told years before his death -- specifically, that he didn't want to be a crotchety old moonwalker.

We've just gotten our hands on a portion of a transcript from Katherine's deposition in her wrongful death case against AEG Live. Katherine says she was surprised when Michael agreed to do the "This Is It" tour because "he was always making a joke about he don't want to be doing the moonwalk on stage when he's 50 years."

Katherine's video deposition was just played for the jury.

Joke or no joke ... you can bet AEG is going to use this to convince the jury that Michael's shelf life as a performer was limited. Translation, he wouldn't be making a lot of money by doing concerts.

Cory Monteith had a very strong guardian angel by his side ... his girlfriend Lea Michele, who essentially controlled Cory in life and even death.

Sources connected with both Cory and Lea tell TMZ ... Lea swooped in when Cory died and immediately took over planning his memorial and other matters connected with his death. We're told Cory's mom is not involved at all in the planning -- it's all Lea.

Everyone agrees ... Lea always had Cory's back and tried protecting him as much as she could, especially when it came to his substance abuse. We're told Cory -- who was sweet but naive -- got banged around in Hollywood by what one relative called "a zoo of piranhas" and when Lea became his girlfriend she fiercely protected him.

As for Cory's drug and alcohol problems ... Lea laid down the law in the United States and did everything she could to keep him from relapsing. When he did relapse earlier this year, she was the one who took the lead and engineered the plan to get Cory in rehab.

We're told Lea's problem was that when Cory went to Canada ... all bets were off.

"Glee" is going full steam ahead without Cory Monteith -- and TMZ has learned, the show's writers have called an emergency meeting today to figure out how to work him out of the story.

Sources close to production tell us, “Glee is definitely not canceled. If you look at the dollars and cents of the show and that it was very much an ensemble with new kids being added last year when some graduated. It’s clear that the show wasn’t about one character."

Our source says producers are taking their cue from shows like "8 Simple Rules" and "The West Wing," which have also suffered real-life deaths ... the lesson being: one character doesn't make or break a show.

Cory Monteith did NOT die from a new strain of deadly heroin that has been going around the Vancouver area -- this according to the coroner.

A police dept. 40 miles from Vancouver had issued a release warning a "toxic' mixture of heroin and fentanyl has caused a spike in heroin ODs.

The coroner who did the autopsy on Cory tells TMZ ... NO FENTANYL was found in Cory's system.

Cory Monteith's body was cremated Tuesday in Vancouver following a private viewing with his family and girlfriend Lea Michele, TMZ has learned -- but Cory's father wasn't invited ... and he's heartbroken.

Cory's dad Joe Monteith -- who is divorced from Cory's mom Ann -- tells TMZ ... he was informed of the cremation after the fact, adding he's "totally devastated" he didn't get a chance to see Cory's body.

We're told Cory's body was released yesterday to his mom, and she decided to hold a viewing at the hospital with Lea and Cory's brother Shaun. Following the viewing, we're told Cory's mom decided to have him cremated.

Cory's dad tells us, "I always loved both my sons and am going to miss Cory very very much. I'm saddened at the fact that I couldn't have been there to see my son before he was cremated."

As for Cory's alleged heroin use ... his dad says he's "shocked."