RIP

Rod Temperton, the songwriter behind several of Michael Jackson's hits, including "Thriller" ... has died after a brief battle with cancer.

The chairman of Warner/Chappell made the announcement Wednesday morning ... though it appears Temperton died days earlier. His family has already had his funeral.

"Thriller" producer Quincy Jones brought in Temperton to write or co-write "Thriller," "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life." He also penned "Off The Wall" and "Rock With You" for MJ.

The Brit was an established hitmaker before Jackson, writing hits for Heatwave, George Benson and Patti Austin and James Ingram.

He won a Grammy for Quincy's "Birdland" in 1990. He was also nominated for 2 Oscars for the 'Color Purple' soundtrack.

Temperton was one of those guys who might not have been a household name -- but he was a legend in the industry, and you know all his hits.

#RIP

Model Damaris Lewis -- who was a Prince backup dancer -- wants the opening of his museum to be pushed back out of respect for those who are still mourning ... like herself.

Damaris was one of Prince's muses in his final months and says she's not against the Paisley Park Museum altogether because she believes Prince's legacy needs to be honored. Her issue is timing.

She kinda got her wish. Paisley Park's gates were originally set to swing open to the public Tuesday, but the local city council put the kibosh on it out of fears Chanhassen, MN would be overrun with tourists. The council's now granted temporary approval for limited tours.

The families of Jenni Rivera's entourage members killed in her plane crash are tired of waiting for the multimillion dollar judgment they were awarded, so they've called in the big guns to collect.

We're told 7 family members of Jenni's publicist, makeup artist, hairstylist and lawyer have retained a firm to get the $70 million Starwood Management -- owners of the doomed Learjet -- was ordered to pay 2 months ago.

Attorney Danny Abir tells us his firm plans to go after Starwood assets, which include at least two airplanes.

Abir's firm is the one that already squeezed one settlement out of Tyga -- and is currently working on another.

Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo's funeral ended just the way he would have liked ... with a pit stop at the local strip joint.

Friends and family remembered Lo Friday with a memorial service followed by a procession straight to The Blue Flame Lounge ... one of Shawty's favorite strip clubs.

The video is fantastic.  Lo's hearse pulls up to the club and a mourners/patrons observe a candle-lit moment of silence.

40-year-old Shawty was killed a few weeks back when his 2016 Audi hit a tree -- he was posting videos from The Blue Flame hours before his death.

Talk about a happy ending.

Ryan Dunn from "Jackass" is tweeting bizarre messages -- which is weird due to him being dead -- and his family's on a mission to stop the "disgusting" hackers, stat.

The tweets started posting a few days ago and were written as if it were Ryan from beyond the grave. One of them joked Ryan had met Harambe the gorilla in heaven -- and another references Tupac.

Ryan's mom, Linda, tells us the posts aren't coming from any friends or family ... and she has no idea how the account got hacked. They never took it down after his death.

You'll recall, Dunn died in a 2011 car crash -- he plowed his Porsche into woods at 130 MPH following a night of heavy drinking.

Linda's reached out to Twitter to have the hacked tweets removed, but so far she hasn't heard back.

It wasn't just fans and teammates who came out to mourn Jose Fernandez on Wednesday -- the pregnant girlfriend he left behind also attended the funeral procession.

Jim Carrey posed for intimate Valentine's Day photos with his then-girlfriend -- and the timing of the shots prove her marriage was a total sham and a "green card marriage"... according to Carrey's attorney.

TMZ obtained the shots of Jim and Cathriona White from February 14, 2013. They show your standard romantic couple -- dinner, rose petals, kissing. What's odd about the scene is ... Cathriona had married Mark Burton on January 15 ... according to their marriage certificate.

Jim's attorney says this flies in the face of Burton's claim he suffered loss of companionship when White died from an overdose ... which is part of the wrongful death suit.

Carrey's camp and witnesses say Cathriona had asked 5 other men, including Jim, to marry her to avoid deportation to Ireland-- and she didn't even live in the same state as Burton when they wed.

Agnes Nixon, the daytime TV titan behind "All My Children," died early Wednesday morning.

Agnes created "All My Children" ... as well as "One Life to Live." She also worked on "Another World" and "Guiding Light."

Agnes' son tells TMZ, his mother died at her home in Pennsylvania from complications of Parkinson's and pneumonia. He says she had been writing her memoir, "My Life to Live," and just completed it last weekend.

Agnes' soaps ... 'Children' and 'One Life' ... ran for more than 40 seasons each, earning her multiple Daytime Emmy awards and even a lifetime achievement award in 2010. She was 93.

Marco Rubio took over the Senate floor Tuesday morning in D.C. to pay tribute to Jose Fernandez -- calling the late MLB star "the pride of Miami."

Senator Rubio admitted he never met Fernandez personally -- but felt connected to the pitcher because of their common Cuban American heritage.

"This young man meant a lot to a lot of us for different reasons and different ways," Rubio said.

"And now, just as quickly as he came into our lives, just as he was coming into his own and really, starting to fulfill his athletic potential, and just as we were really getting to know him, he is gone."

The time Jose Fernandez and his friends spent in a popular Miami bar -- shortly before their boat wreck -- is now a focal point of the investigation into the Marlins star's death.

Herman Echevarria Sr. -- ex-husband of 'RHOM' star Alexia Echevarria -- was found dead in a Miami hotel room Monday morning.

The businessman didn't show up to work and was not answering calls ... prompting his family to check on him. Police confirmed he died at the Epic Hotel. Sources tell us they believe Herman suffered a heart attack, but the coroner has yet to determine cause of death.

Herman and Alexia both appeared on 'Real Housewives of Miami' and founded Venue magazine. We're told they had separated in 2015, and recently divorced.

Chyna's business manager took control of the late pro wrestler's stuff -- including a $5,000 cello -- and there's no telling what he's doing with her other valuables ... so claims Chyna's mom.

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... Chyna's mother is asking the court to give her power to handle her daughter's estate and to keep her "purported friend" and manager, Anthony Anzaldo, at bay.

Chyna's mom claims Anzaldo is meddling in her daughter's affairs with no right to do so. She also thinks Chyna should still be collecting royalties from over 100 film and TV credits, but Anzaldo is making it impossible for her to follow the money trail.

Mom not only wants to control the estate, but she's asking the court to block Anzaldo from "usurping" her efforts.

We reached out to Anzaldo ... so far, no word back.

Jose Fernandez was at a popular Miami waterfront party spot at least 90 minutes before his fatal boat crash ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Multiple sources have told us ... Fernandez and at least one other person who was killed in the crash was at American Social Bar & Kitchen around 2 AM on Sunday morning.

When asked for specifics about what happened inside -- including whether alcohol was served to Jose or his friends -- a rep for the restaurant would only say, "Jose Fernandez was a guest at American Social."

The restaurant, which has a dock for boaters to pull up, is located a short distance from where the crash occurred. The boat was discovered by the coast guard at 3:30 AM. Investigators believe the boat was traveling at full speed when it crashed into a jetty.

Officials have said at this point it does not appear alcohol was a factor in the crash -- but it appears that statement was based on a lack of visual evidence such as liquor bottles or beer cans. Toxicology results are pending.

An autopsy has been conducted on Jose Fernandez and the other 2 men killed in this weekend's boating accident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A rep for the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office confirms all 3 autopsies were completed on Sunday.

Officials have previously said they do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the Sunday morning crash that killed the Miami Marlins pitcher ... but toxicology testing will be able to shed more light on that situation.

Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer has died, his family confirms.

Palmer died Sunday at his home in Pennsylvania ... but details are unclear.

Golfweek first reported the death.

Arnold Palmer was a 7-time major championship winner ... and became the most beloved figure associated with golf.

His battles over the years with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are considered some of the greatest matches the game has ever seen.

R.I.P.

Jose Fernandez was a man of the sea in the weeks before his tragic death.

The Marlins pitcher and some buddies fished and partied it up in the waters around Miami. One of the shots appears to be the same type of boat that crashed into a jetty Sunday morning ... killing Jose and 2 others on board.

The guys on the boat are called "J's Crew."

Authorities now say drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the fatal crash.