RIP

Knoxville went to his blog this weekend ... and explained why he froze up while speaking at Ryan Dunn's memorial service last week ... saying he tried his best, but "What came out were the mumblings of a man trying his best not to cry."

Knoxville writes, "Here is what I wished I could have told everyone then."

During the painfully honest blog, Johnny explains how much he loved Dunn -- he loved Dunn's "hair trigger laugh reflex ... Dunn was a great listener ... a great friend ... "as loyal as they come."

But midway through the tribute, Knoxville expresses his discontent with Dunn ... saying, "I'm becoming upset now because this isn't right, goddamnit. Ryan, I had to go wake up Madison and tell her you were gone. Do you know how hard that was?!! She loved you so much and I know you loved her, so why, buddy? Rocko will never get to know you like she did, nor will my daughter that is coming in October. I cry a lot about that."

Knoxville -- who refers to Dunn as his "brother" -- closed the post by saying, "I don't know what else to say right now, so I will close with I love you, Ryan. I have a lot of emotions swirling, but I want you to know I love you so very much."

Falk -- who suffered from Alzheimer's disease -- was 83.

A rep for the family tells TMZ, "Peter Falk, 83-year-old Academy Award nominee and star of television series, 'Columbo', died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home in the evening of June 23, 2011."

The rep continued, "Peter Falk is survived by his wife, Shera, of 34 years and two daughters from a previous marriage."

In addition to "Columbo," Falk starred in "Princess Bride," "Brigadoon" and "The Great Race."

Peter's wife, Shera and daughter Catherine were locked in a legal battle in 2009 over the creation of a conservatorship for Peter and who would control it. In the end, the judge appointed Shera conservator.

UPDATE: John Finnegan -- Falk's "Columbo" co-star -- tells TMZ, he fell literally FELL DOWN when heard the news ... “I have known Peter for over 60 years ... He was like a brother for me, he kept the food on the table. He was the best, great!"

Police Chief Michael Carroll told reporters an accident reconstruction team determined the speed of the crash after inspecting the accident scene. Officials say Dunn's car collided with a guardrail at high speed, crashed in the woods and burst into flames.

According to Carroll, the crash was catastrophic -- claiming he's "never seen a car destroyed in an automobile accident the way this car was ... even before it caught on fire."

The pics show Ryan and his friends drinking at around 1 AM at a bar called Barnaby's of America in West Chester.

After downing at least 3 beers and 3 shots in 4-hours ...Ryan hit the road in his Porsche 911 GT3.

At around 2:38 AM, Ryan crashed -- killing himself and his passenger, Zach Hartwell.

In addition, we're told the coroner is performing an autopsy on Ryan's unidentified passenger -- who was also killed in the fatal car crash this morning.

As we previously reported, friends claim Ryan had upwards of six drinks before getting behind the wheel ... and driving off a Pennsylvania highway.

Dunn arrived to a bar called Barnaby's of America in West Chester, PA around 10:30 PM ... to hang out with a small group of male friends.

One of the friends tells TMZ ... Dunn had 3 Miller Lites and 3 "girly shots" between 10:30 PM and 2:10 AM -- nearly a 4 hour span -- but he was "not too drunk to drive."

But according to another person who was inside the bar that night, Dunn was "wasted" -- and "had a lot to drink."

Johnny continued the post saying, "RIP Ryan , I love you buddy."

Knoxville and Dunn famously goofed off in the "Jackass" films together -- and from the sound of the tweet -- it appears they were pretty close.

TMZ also spoke with Jeff Tremaine -- who starred and directed the "Jackass" movies -- who told us, "I feel like I lost a brother. Ryan Dunn was family and we are all deeply devastated."

Wee Man has also tweeted -- "RYAN DUNN-- a super awesome memory was at the J RODY walston & the business show!!! I MISS YOU BUD!! You were always a happy kick-ass dude!!"

34-year-old Dunn appeared in all of the "Jackass" movies -- famously shoving a toy car into his rectum in the first flick back in 2002.

Dunn and an unidentified person both died in the crash which happened around 3 a.m. at Route 322 and New Street in West Goshen Township. It's unclear who was driving the car.

We're told the car caught fire in the crash -- and hours later, a tow truck was called to the scene to remove the charred wreckage.

Just hours before his death, Dunn posted a photo on Twitter showing himself drinking with friends.

Clemons, known to fans as the Big Man, was the most famous member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. His music cut through on songs like "Born To Run," "Thunder Road," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," and "Dancing In The Dark"... and on and on.

Bruce Springsteen released a statement, saying, "Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years."

The statement continued, "He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

Ziskin -- who was known as one of the most influential women in Hollywood history -- was working on the fourth installment of the "Spider Man" franchise at the time of her death.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 -- Ziskin teamed up with other women in the entertainment industry to form the nonprofit "Stand Up to Cancer" -- which has raised $200 MILLION to fight the disease.

Seven months after Irons died in a Dallas hotel room, Andy's family released a statement today explaining Irons died from a heart attack caused by the hardening of his coronary arteries. The family says they spoke with a prominent forensic pathologist who explained Irons had a genetic predisposition to early development of heart disease ... which was SOLELY responsible for the heart attack.

However, the toxicology report and the autopsy from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner note a second cause of death -- "acute mixed drug ingestion."

Leona Helmsley's famous dog inherited $12 million when the Queen of Mean died in 2007. Although a judge slashed that amount to $2 million, which was placed in a trust, that was enough to provide the pooch with $8,000 a year for grooming, $1,200 for food and a full-time security guard -- something that became necessary after Trouble received dozens of death threats.

According to the New York Daily News, what remains in the trust will now go to the charitable trust Leona and her hubby left behind. Turns out the dog's death was a secret for months -- she died in December, 2010.

Leona loved the dog more than many of her own flesh and blood. She cut several grandchildren out of her will entirely.

According to his lawyer, Kevorkian passed away at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan, where he had been hospitalized for the past two weeks because of kidney and heart problems.

Kevorkian was believed to have assisted in 130 suicides and was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999. He was sentenced to 10-25 years in prison, but was released in 2007.

Barbara Sinatra dropped the info in her new memoir: "Lady Blue Eyes: My Life with Frank" -- saying Frank "always smelled like lavender" and "made [her] feel special."

She also recounts the singer's alcohol use -- writing, "Gin, I think, made him mean. So when I'd come out of my room and see the gin bottle on the bar, I'd turn right around, go back in my room, lock the door, because I didn't want to deal with it."

RIP.

The actress gained an Emmy nomination in 1986 for her role as Anne Huxtable on the famous sitcom.

In addition to The Cosby Show ... Taylor also made frequent appearances in the 80's as the country-loving grandmother "Harriet" on "Sesame Street".