RIP

The man who skippered Michael Jackson's "This Is It" rehearsals blamed the pop star for the predicament that led to his death.

Kenny Ortega, the tour's director and producer, testified in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial this morning that Michael called the shots, adding, "I don't think he was being very responsible."

Ortega -- who was called as a witness by AEG Live -- testified he was not responsible for MJ's health. Ortega told the jury that Michael was squarely in charge, and made it clear that the singer and Conrad Murray called the shots when it came to MJ's well-being.

Ortega's testimony is critical, because Ortega is linked to AEG and had day-to-day contact with Jackson. Katherine Jackson is trying to show AEG called the shots and hired Dr. Conrad Murray. Ortega is clearly taking issue with Katherine.

Sean Sasser -- who famously dated "Real World" star and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora back in the '90s -- has died after batting a rare form of lung cancer.

Sasser frequently appeared on MTV's "The Real World: San Francisco" ... and participated in a commitment ceremony with Pedro, before Zamora passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 1994. Sasser was HIV positive.

Judd Winick -- who also appeared on the show with Sean and Pedro -- broke the news of Sean's passing on his Twitter page Tuesday night ... saying:

"Our friend Sean Sasser has died. Our love goes out to his family & husband Michael. We will miss u so much."

Sasser was 44.

8:18 AM PT Rihanna's rep tells us the singer paid the bill in full, and the allegation that there's an outstanding balance is "completely false."

Rihanna sent her grandma out in grand style ... and now the funeral company has sent her a lawsuit.

Clara Brathwaite died in June, 2012. Her body was sent to Barbados for burial, and Rihanna wanted a party, complete with tents, multi-media large screens, huge exotic floral arrangements -- the whole kit and caboodle.

But parties/funerals come at a price ... and the company that threw grandma's final shindig claims the grand total was more than $150,000, and Rihanna paid only about a quarter of that and refused to pay more.

The lawsuit claims Rihanna claimed the bill was exorbitant and she refused to pay the balance. The funeral home claims Rihanna's demands came at a hefty price.

So far no comment from Rihanna's camp.

And now ... a verse from our song about the worthless piece of garbage who stole James Gandolfini's Rolex:

We hope you burn in hell ...
You gutter punk slime.
We hope your eyeballs melt ...
So you can't tell time.

Don't worry, there's more ... and the music is awesome.

Check out the clip.

Ding dong ... one of the last remaining Munchkins from the "Wizard of Oz" movie has passed away.

Margaret Pellegrini reportedly died this morning around 7AM near her home in Phoenix, AZ after suffering a stroke. She was 89.

Standing at 3 ft. 4 inches, Pellegrini played multiple "Munchkin" parts in the movie, including a "sleepyhead" and a Munchkin villager.

Pellegrini was one of three surviving Munchkins from the 1939 classic film, leaving only two behind: 93-year-old Jerry Maren, and 95-year-old Ruth Duccini.

R.I.P.

James Gandolfini suffered an indignity after he died in Rome -- someone apparently stole his expensive Rolex watch within hours after he died ... TMZ has learned.

We've obtained an insurance form filed by James' people. According to the form and family sources, someone stole a $3,000 Rolex submariner watch from James' hotel room on the day he died.

The insurance form says there was no damage to the room and there's no mention of forced entry. There's no suspect listed on the form ... but the implication is that someone may have pilfered the item during the commotion following the heart attack that killed the actor.

The form doesn't specifically describe the type of submariner that was stolen, but they vary wildly -- some are diamond encrusted, some are platinum and some are gold.

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.