RIP

Anna Gordy Gaye -- Marvin Gaye's ex-wife and older sister to Motown founder Berry Gordy -- died early this morning in Los Angeles ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the family tell us Anna died at home from natural causes. Family members discovered she had died around 3AM.

Anna and Marvin got married in 1964, and she was a huge influence on his career. She co-composed two hits on his classic "What's Going On" album.

Marvin said his hit song "Pride and Joy" was inspired by his courtship of Anna back in the early 60s.

They had one child together -- Marvin Gaye III -- and eventually divorced in 1977. While they were estranged ... Marvin wrote "Anna's Song." It was released in 1978.

Anna was 92 years old.

Johnny Lewis -- who died in a murderous rampage in 2012 -- left behind a young daughter who's being cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars by Lewis' father ... so says the baby mama who's battling the family in court.

Lewis -- who starred in "Sons of Anarchy" -- died in Sept. 2012 after killing his 81-year old landlady, dismembering her cat and then falling to his death from the roof of her home.

Diane Marshall-Green filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- seeking to remove Johnny's dad, Michael, as administrator of the Estate. She claims Michael refuses to recognize 3-year old Culla Mae as Johnny's sole heir ... even though Johnny signed a declaration of paternity.

Court docs show Lewis was worth about $41K when he died.

Marshall-Green claims Michael is denying Culla her rightful inheritance ... and has refused to fork over $37K Johnny owed in back child support.

Sources close to Marshall-Green tell us ... if Culla Mae gets the money ... it will go into a trust account.

Flavor Flav is begging the judge in his speeding case for mercy ... because if you can't speed to your mom's funeral ... when can you?

Flav says he was late for the funeral earlier this month ... when he was pulled over for driving 79 in a 55 zone. When the cop learned he was driving on a suspended license, Flav was arrested and taken to jail.

The rapper accuses the arresting officer of having no respect for life ... even in the face of death.

Flavor Flav has what he believes is a solid excuse for beating his speeding ticket ... he was racing to his mother's funeral.

Flav -- aka William Drayton -- went to court in NY today for his speeding case ... and yes, he had to remove the clock he wears around his neck before he could go through the metal detectors.

Flav was stopped in Hempstead, NY Jan. 9 for driving 79 in a 55 MPH zone. He told troopers he was on his way to his mom's burial. But officers discovered he had 16 different license suspensions -- all stemming from unpaid tickets. He was arrested ... then released.

Jenni Rivera's former manager is on a rampage after the late singer's family published Jenni's biography -- claiming she's the REAL author ... and now, the manager wants at least $10 million.

Laura Lucio filed a lawsuit against Jenni's estate and family, claiming she managed Jenni since 2004 ... and during that time, she and Jenni co-authored the singer's bio --- "Mi Vida Loca" ("My Crazy Life").

Laura claims the book had several publish dates which were pushed back for different reasons -- and Jenni's sudden death in a freak plane crash in 2012 ultimately derailed the project.

Fast forward to July 2013 -- Laura claims Jenni's family somehow found the book on Jenni's computer and published it under a new title "Unbreakable" ... without so much as consulting Laura, let alone paying her.

Laura claims 95% of the book is her writings -- and under the deal she struck with Jenni, she's owed 40% of the book's profits. So far, Laura claims she's gotten squat.

Laura's now suing for at least $10,000,000. A rep for Jenni's estate says the family plans to fight the lawsuit.

An actress from Martin Scorsese's first film was hit by THREE CARS before she died in 2012 -- one of which dragged her 600 feet ... and her husband is now suing everyone involved in the accident.

Zina Bethune's husband Sean is suing Independent Taxi, one of its cabbies, as well as two other drivers ... claiming it's their fault Zina was killed on Forest Lawn Drive on February 12, 2012.

Zina -- who starred in Scorsese's 1967 debut film "Who's That Knocking at My Door" -- had just exited her car to help an injured animal on the side of the road ... and Sean recounts the tragedy that unfolded.

According to Sean, a taxi driver immediately collided with Zina, causing his left side view mirror to break. Sean says the driver left Zina in the middle lane of traffic while he retrieved his mirror, failing to assist Zina in any capacity as she lay in the roadway.

Soon after, Sean claims Zina was hit by a second car ... which dragged her body 600 feet.

At that point, Sean says a THIRD car then ran over Zina ... and when that driver pulled over, she noticed the taxi driver attempting to leave the scene ... so she blocked him. Zina didn't survive the accidents.

Justin Bieber is suffering from the same delusion that Michael Jackson once embraced -- putting on a false air of confidence when behind the scenes their lives are falling apart.

You'll recall the scene with MJ back in 2004 ... after his arraignment on child molestation charges. Michael famously jumped on his SUV and waived and smiled, trying to convince everyone things were ok.

Justin did the same thing Thursday as he left jail ... after being busted for DUI and resisting arrest.

As much as both of them protested ... Michael and Justin had the same Achilles' heel -- drugs. Michael was hooked on a pharmacy of prescription drugs, and Justin has an enormous problem with sizzurp.

"Shipping Wars" star Roy Garber's beloved cat won't be a casualty in the wake of the his death ... TMZ has learned it's already en route to a home filled with other cute creatures.

Garber's cat Muffy was a fixture on the show ... he refused to travel without her. So it's no surprise ... the friendly feline was at Roy's side when he passed away last week ... according to his girlfriend.

We're told Texas authorities got in touch with Roy's family and made arrangements to ship the cat back to Roy's home state of New Hampshire to live with his mom.

One of the stars of the A&E show "Shipping Wars" died Friday night after suffering a heart attack ... TMZ has learned.

Roy Garber -- a popular character on the hit show -- was rushed to a hospital in Texas after suffering a heart attack and passed away shortly after -- this according to his long-time girlfriend.

Sources close to the family tell us Roy had a heart condition for some time.

A rep for the show says they are "deeply saddened by the loss of a member of the A&E family."

He was 49-years old.

Playboy playmate Cassandra Lynn had indulged in large amounts of cocaine and booze before she was found dead in a bathtub ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Sources familiar with the investigation tell us ... Cassandra had flown to L.A. on January 14 and was the guest of a celebrity photographer. We're told Cassandra complained when she landed she was not feeling well.

The photog took her to a fitting and then a photo shoot in the afternoon and she continued to complain she wasn't feeling right.

Sources say they went to the photog's home in the early evening and partied. According to our sources ... the photog told law enforcement they had sex and did large amounts of coke and guzzled lots of champagne.

Their party ended at around 11 PM.

We're told at some point early the next morning the photog woke up, went to the bathroom and saw water running onto the floor. He then discovered Cassandra in the bathtub, pulled her out and attempted in vain to resuscitate her.

Yesterday was a bad day for sitcom stars ... TMZ has learned Cindy Brady's cat died -- just like The Professor from "Gilligan's Island" and Dave Madden from "The Partridge Family."

Susan Olsen's cat -- Sacha Baron Kitteh -- got seriously ill back in December ... and passed away Thursday after battling valiantly for a month.

Following the death ... Olsen asked an org she works with to set up a donations page for anyone looking to make a contribution in Sacha's honor.

Beyonce has cut Kelly Rowland out of her life -- and it was truly the unkindest cut of all.

Check out this photo (above) Beyonce posted on Instagram last night ... in honor of Aaliyah's 35th birthday.

But here's what you don't see ... Kelly Rowland ... who was in the pic when it was snapped in 2001 at the MTV Movie Awards, mere months before Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash.

An actress who played a Munchkin in the "The Wizard of Oz" has died at age 95 ... and now there's just one surviving little person from the flick.

Ruth Robinson Duccini -- who stood 4 feet tall -- was the longest surviving female Munchkin ... she died of natural causes today at a hospice center in Las Vegas.

Duccini received no screen credit for her role as a Munchkin townsperson -- she was one of 124 little people cast in the movie.

The actor who played the Professor in "Gilligan's Island" has died ... TMZ has learned.

Russell Johnson, who played Professor Roy Hinkley, died of natural causes at his home in Washington.

Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, just posted on Facebook, "My 2 favorite people are now gone. The professor past (sic) away this morning. My heart is broken."

The other person who died is Bob Denver, who played Gilligan. He died in 2005.

Johnson was on the show from 1964 to 1967. Johnson was not in the original opening of the show. He and Mary Ann were referred to as "The rest." But Denver insisted that they be included and that happened later.

Wells went on: "Russell was a true gentleman, a good father, a great friend, and 'the rest.'"

Johnson was married -- this was his third wife. He passed away in hospice, surrounded by his wife and 2 kids.

Johnson was 89.

The only surviving members of the original cast are Mary Ann and Ginger, played by Tina Louise.

Dave Madden -- who played "The Partridge Family's" aggravated band manager on the 1970s TV show -- has died after a long illness at age 82 ... TMZ has learned.

Madden played Reuben Kincaid on the show ... who was often bedeviled by the antics of the Partridge kids, particularly Danny, played by Danny Bonaduce.

Dave's former agent tells TMZ ... he died of congestive heart and kidney failure early this morning.

Madden also appeared on another popular 70s TV show, "Laugh-In" and was the author of a couple books, including a book of memoirs published in 2007.

We're told Madden died in Florida ... where he lived with his wife.

Playboy Playmate Cassandra Lynn was found dead in her friend's L.A. home Wednesday ... and police are investigating the death as a possible overdose, law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We're told Lynn's friend found her floating in a bath tub. The friend then called police, reporting a possible OD. When paramedics arrived they could not revive her. Foul play is not suspected.

Lynn -- Miss February 2006 -- was 34.

Cassandra was pretty active on Twitter ... her last real tweet was three days ago.

Her Twitter updated automatically with her horoscope ... her latest reads: "Unspoken obligations prevent you from doing what you wish today ... No matter what you do now, you might not feel completely fulfilled. Working harder isn't the answer, but neither is escape." Eerie.