RIP

Multiple bottles of prescription pills were found in the El Segundo, CA hotel room where R&B singer Vesta Williams died ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We're told "several bottles" were discovered -- some empty.

Law enforcement sources tell us officials first received a call related to Vesta's death around 6PM Thursday night.

Sources tell us the death is being treated as either an accident or suicide, but not a homicide.

The coroner won't know if drugs played a part in her death until the toxicology reports are in -- and that could take 6 weeks.

R&B singer Vesta Williams -- best known for her 1989 hit "Congratulations" -- was found dead in an L.A. hotel room yesterday ... TMZ has confirmed.

Loads of Vesta's celebrity friends have posted messages on Twitter about the news -- including actress Jackeé Harry who wrote, "...just received truly devastating news: R&B great, and my friend of many yrs, Vesta Williams (@vesta4u), has passed away. #RIPVesta"

53-year-old Williams had a string of R&B hits in the 80s and 90s including "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "You Make Me Want To (Love Again)."

Dolores Hope -- Bob Hope's widow -- has died. She was 102 years old.

Dolores married Bob Hope in 1934 and the couple was married for 69 years, until Bob died in 2003. Sources tell us Dolores died this morning.

Friends of Dolores tell TMZ, she was quite the character, frequently drinking bourbon and entertaining almost to the end of her life.

Dolores was a devout Catholic, who drove herself to mass everyday at 7 AM, and when she could no longer drive a chapel was constructed on her Toluca Lake estate so she could worship.

Dolores' rep, Harlan Boll, tells TMZ, she loved children and veterans and would do anything for her charities.

Bob and Dolores Hope met 78 years ago in a New York City nightclub -- and they've got one more date together.

Frances Bay -- famous for playing Adam Sandler's grandma in "Happy Gilmore" -- passed away Thursday at the age of 92 ... her agent confirms.

Bay spent most of her life as a housewife -- deciding to pursue a career as an actress in the 1970's -- when she was already in her mid-50's.

In addition to playing the grandma on "Happy Gilmore" -- she also guest-starred as the Fonz's grandma on "Happy Days".

It's been 15 years to the day since Tupac Shakur was shot to death -- but his mother is still coping with the rapper's untimely end ... claiming she feels the same pain now she felt back in 1996.

A rep for Afeni Shakur tells TMZ, she's spending the anniversary of Tupac's death with family and friends in Northern California -- mourning her son's passing.

According to the rep, Afeni feels like it was just yesterday that her son was shot dead -- and the pain hasn't subsided even a little.

R.I.P.

DJ Mehdi -- a world famous DJ and music producer who's worked with Daft Punk and Chromeo -- has died after reportedly falling off of a roof.

34-year-old Mehdi -- real name Mehdi Favéris-Essadi -- was a big time French hip hop and electro producer. So far, no details from the accident have been released.

Moments ago, Chromeo tweeted, "We lost our brother. No words."

Drake also posted, "Damn...RIP MEHDI.

11:58 AM: A rep for DJ Mehdi's PR company tells us ... Mehdi was on a plexiglass mezzanine with several other people, when it collapsed ... killing Mehdi and sending 3 others to the hospital.

So far, no word on the condition of the other people injured in the collapse.

We're told the event was a birthday party for another DJ friend of his named Riton.

Andy Whitfield -- who left the show "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma -- died today in Sydney, Australia. He was 39.

Whitfield's wife issued a statement, saying her husband died on a "sunny Sydney morning" in the "arms of his loving wife."

Chris Albrecht, President and CEO of Starz (which aired "Spartacus"), released a statement saying, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend andcolleague, Andy Whitfield. We were fortunate to haveworked with Andy in 'Spartacus' and came to know that the man whoplayed a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life."

Cliff Robertson, who won an Oscar in 1968 and became known to modern audiences for his roll as Uncle Ben in the "Spider-Man" movies, died yesterday. He was 88.

Robertson famously portrayed John F. Kennedy in the movie "PT-109," the first movie to portray a sitting president.

He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1968 for his portrayal of a mentally disabled man in the movie "Charly."

Former L.A. Kings hockey player Pavol Demitra -- a 3x NHL All-Star -- was one of 43 people killed when a plane carrying a Russian hockey team crashed outside of Moscow this morning.

Russian officials say TWO people on board survived the crash -- a crew member and a player named Alexander Galimov.

The plane was carrying a team called the "Lokomotiv Yaroslavl" -- which was en route to Belarus for the season opener -- when it crashed shortly after departing from an airport 150 miles outside of Moscow.

Several former NHL players are believed to have died in the crash along with 36-year-old Demitra -- including Karel Rachunek, Josef Vasicek, Brad McCrimmon, Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev.

A man was found dead at the home of Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith -- the victim of an apparent drowning.

The fully-clothed body of 37-year-old Engram Lamar Crenshaw was found at the bottom of Smith's pool at 9:30 AM Sunday. He was last seen at around 2 AM.

Crenshaw was a friend of Smith's and at his home for a party, in which about 100 people attended, including 4 or 5 other Houston Texans players.

Apparently no one noticed Crenshaw was missing until people in the house woke up just after 9 AM.

When Jani Lane's body was discovered at an L.A. hotel earlier this month, no one at the scene wanted to go near him... even to check if he was still alive -- this according to the 911 call obtained by TMZ.

According to the caller -- a lady at the front desk -- housekeepers discovered the body ... but no one would touch it to check for a pulse.

The dispatcher replies, "It would be nice to know if we can help him" -- but the hotel staff at the Comfort Inn hotel in Woodland Hills, CA still refused.

Amy Winehouse's family claims no illegal drugs were present in the singer's system at the time of death ... but there's a gaping hole, because they made no mention of prescription drugs.

A source close to the family would not comment on any prescription drugs, even though he and the rest of the family were categorical on illegal drugs.

The family says they have seen toxicology reports which discount illegal drugs. The family did acknowledge Amy had been drinking at the time of her death.

"Uncle Frank" Potenza -- the silver-haired ex-cop who charmed audiences on his nephew's show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", died early this morning ... reps from the show have confirmed.

Uncle Frank spent 20 years as a New York City police officer -- before eventually becoming a staple on Kimmel's late night show in 2003.

The show released an official statement on Frank's passing -- saying his "kindness and humor" will be missed.

The show has not revealed Frank's cause of death.

Uncle Frank was 77.

Motown legend Nickolas Ashford -- part of the singer-songwriter duo Ashford and Simpson -- who penned several iconic hits, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" -- died yesterday after a battle with throat cancer.

In addition to "Ain't No Mountain", Ashford co-wrote several songs with his wife Valerie Simpson -- including, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", "Solid (As a Rock)," "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "I'm Every Woman."

The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Ashford and Simpson in 2002 -- calling them "one of the most prolific and versatile musical couples in recording history."

Ex-Warrant singer Jani Lane was carrying a note in his pocket on the day he died which read, "I am Jani Lane" ... but TMZ has learned Jani wasn't the person who wrote the note.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jani had no official ID on him when his body was discovered at a Los Angeles motel on August 11 -- and we're told he hadn't been in possession of an ID for a while.

We're told the note contained a phone number for a person close to Jani -- and police contacted that person after Jani's body was discovered.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... investigators have confirmed the note was written by one of Jani's friends -- and that person had placed a similar note on Jani in the past. Cops have been in contact with that person.

However, the note has infuriated members of Jani's family -- who tell us whoever had written the note was CLEARLY aware that Jani had a substance abuse problem ... and should have helped Jani seek treatment instead of simply tucking a piece of paper into his pants.

It's unclear if the same person who wrote the note also checked Jani into the Comfort Inn -- but sources tell us it appears the room where Jani was discovered was not purchased by Jani himself.

Law enforcement sources tell us there is no criminal investigation into the death -- and so far, investigators believe Jani's death was either accidental or due to natural causes.

An autopsy has been completed -- and results from the toxicology tests are expected soon.