RIP

George Michael donated thousands of dollars so a stranger could have a baby ... according to the woman on the receiving end of his charitable effort.

Jo Maidment appeared on the UK's "This Morning" to share the secret she says she's kept for a long time ... George paid for her IVF treatment years ago.

After coming on the same show in 2010 to talk about how expensive IVF is ... she says an anonymous businessman called into the clinic to donate 15,000 pounds in her name.

Jo never knew who was behind the donation until after she gave birth to her first kid in 2012. She says she got flowers with a card ... from none other than George.

D.L. Hughley wants everyone crying about his "insensitive" Debbie Reynolds joke to look at themselves first -- stomaching Donald Trump's proof America's not so sensitive.

We caught up with the comedian Monday in L.A. where we asked him about the backlash he got after cracking a joke about Debbie's death.

D.L. couldn't care less.

WWE legend Chyna is getting hassled by the state of California from beyond the grave ... they say she owes tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes.

The California Franchise Tax Board just filed a claim against Chyna's estate, saying the late wrestler still owes the tax man nearly $19,000.

The Board claims Chyna owes money from 2010, '11, '12 and '14. It's unclear how much dough remains in the estate.

1:23 PM PT -- George Michael's boyfriend, Fadi, issued a statement saying his Twitter account was hacked and he did not post the bizarre set of Tweets. He's since deleted his Twitter and Facebook profiles.

11:22 AM PT -- A spokesperson for George Michael issued a statement about the speculation over his death ... saying his family remains devastated, and does not wish to comment while the coroner's investigation is ongoing. They add ... his death is not considered suspicious.

George Michael wanted to die and tried to kill himself numerous times ... so claims the boyfriend who found him dead.

Fadi Fawaz started bizarrely tweeting on New Year's Eve, saying "he tired numbers of time to kill himself many times ... and finally he managed."

He went on, "the only thing George wanted is to DIE."

It's unclear what prompted Fawaz, but it seems he was in a beef with another friend of Michael's who questioned whether Fawaz was really in a relationship with the singer. Fawaz tweeted, "not sure who that nasty close friend of George but i was in relationship with george michael till i found him dead in bed."

"MASH" star William Christopher -- who played Father John Mulcahy on the iconic show -- is the latest celebrity to die in 2016.

Christopher was part of one of the most spectacular ensembles ever on TV ... a cast which included Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Loretta Swit and Harry Morgan.

Christopher, who played a Catholic priest but was actually Methodist in real life, auditioned for the role but went off script with a rambling ad lib. Producers loved it and hired him on one condition ... that he stay on script for the series.

He also had roles on "Gomer Pyle," "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hogan's Heroes."

Christopher died at his Pasadena home from non-lung, small cell carcinoma. He leaves behind a wife and 2 kids.

He was 84. RIP.

2016 ... almost over.

So now you can judge for yourself ... was 2016 just an ordinary year when it came to celebrity deaths, or was something weird and dark spinning in the universe?

Debbie Reynolds' final wish was to join her daughter Carrie Fisher after death, so she went to sleep surrounded by family members and never woke up ... so says her son Todd in a new interview.

Todd will appear on a special edition of 20/20 Friday in which he describes Debbie's last few minutes. He recounts the story he told us ... Debbie said she wanted to be with Carrie -- 15 minutes later fell asleep, suffered a stroke -- and just a few minutes after that, he says "she technically was gone."

TMZ broke the story, Todd and members of his family hope to plan a joint funeral for the mother and daughter ... and were spotted at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Thursday scoping a possible location.

George Michael's boyfriend -- who found the singer's dead Christmas Day -- was spotted for the first time Thursday outside the home George passed away in.

A somber looking Fadi Fawaz stepped out of the Oxfordshire home with a friend ... the sidewalk outside residence has served as an ever-growing memorial to the late singer since his death.

Fawaz took to Twitter the day after George died with a message that concluded with, "I will never stop missing you xx."

Michael's cause of death is still unknown.

George Michael's death has become suddenly mysterious, because we've learned the autopsy was inconclusive as to cause of death.

Law enforcement says there will be further tests performed to pinpoint why Michael died on Christmas day, in his sleep. We were told earlier the medical examiner would perform toxicology tests.

Sources denied there was any evidence Michael OD'd, but it is interesting the autopsy showed no apparent reason why the singer passed.

Law enforcement calls the death "unexplained but not suspicious."

Michael struggled with drug use for years. He had also gained a tremendous amount of weight in the months leading up to his death.

Debbie Reynolds' movies are back on top again in the wake of her death ... and numbers don't lie.

Debbie's biggest films have jumped in the ranks on platforms like Amazon and iTunes, with her best known flick, "Singin' in the Rain," sitting pretty at #1 on Amazon's best sellers list as of Thursday.

The same movie was nowhere near that position as of Wednesday night.

Other Debbie movies have climbed the ladder as well -- "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and a "Tammy and the Bachelor" triple feature pack are both among the top 4 best selling DVDs on Amazon.

Meanwhile, Debbie's films have suddenly been moved to iTunes' New and Noteworthy list since her passing ... even though the movies are at least 20 years old.

Carrie Fisher isn't being left out of the surge either. The film "Postcards from the Edge," based on her memoir about Debbie and Carrie's relationship, has also bumped up in iTunes' charts.

BTW ... a rep from YouTube also tells us any clips with "Singin' in the Rain" have shot up in searches by 1000% between Wednesday and Thursday. Yup, you read that right.

Carrie Fisher's body is in limbo right now ... because the L.A. County Coroner is not sure how to proceed ... TMZ has learned.

The double tragedy has had a rippling effect ... complicating funeral plans. Family sources tell us when Carrie died the Coroner contacted her daughter, Billie, for permission to conduct an autopsy because she's the next of kin. We're told Billie -- who was distraught -- deferred authority to her dad, CAA honcho Bryan Lourd.

The family sources tell us their attorneys contacted the Coroner and expressed some concerns about moving forward, though they would not be specific. We do know families often contact the Coroner and ask that they not perform an autopsy, often for religious reasons.

We're told for now the Coroner is just waiting. In addition to the autopsy, the Coroner needs to know about what happened on the United jet when Carrie's heart just stopped beating, what meds she was on and her medical history ... in order to determine cause of death.

We're told when Debbie died Wednesday ... it threw the entire family into chaos and it has further complicated the manner in which Carrie's body will be handled.

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher will have a joint funeral if some members of the family have their way ... TMZ has learned.

Close family members are meeting now to discuss funeral plans, and family sources tell us the sentiment is for a dual service.

It makes sense. TMZ broke the story, Debbie told her son Wednesday shortly before she was stricken with a stroke, "I miss her so much. I want to be with Carrie." One family member tells TMZ, "I think this is what they would have wanted" ... meaning a joint funeral.

We're told the family is leaning toward a private, small ceremony and a much larger second memorial service.

We're told they expect to make a decision today.

8:31 AM PT -- Officials have also released the autopsy report which show Salaam's blood alcohol level was 3 times the legal limit when they found his body.

Officials also note Salaam tested positive for THC -- the key ingredient in marijuana.

The report says Salaam had a history of depression and "recent life stressors."

Salaam's body was found next to his girlfriend's car ... along with a handwritten note and $63 in cash.

Rashaan Salaam died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head ... and his official cause of death is now listed as "suicide" ... this according to the Boulder County Coroner's Office.

The former Heisman Trophy winner was found dead at a park near the University of Colorado on Dec. 5 ... and though all signs pointed to suicide, officials would not release the cause of death until their investigation was complete.

Cops had previously said a gun was found near Salaam's body.

Officials are hoping to prevent tragedies like this moving forward and encourage anyone who may have suicidal thoughts to call the Colorado Crisis Service (1-844-493-TALK) for support.

Carrie Fisher's fans fired up their lightsabers one last time to honor one of the galaxy's greatest heroes.

Fans gathered at Downtown Disney Wednesday night in Anaheim, CA and paid a touching tribute to Princess Leia.

Ex-NFL player Keion Carpenter -- who played for the Bills and Falcons -- died Thursday morning after a medical emergency during a workout earlier this week ... a family spokesperson confirmed.

39-year-old Carpenter -- a standout player at Virginia Tech in the late '90s -- was was on a family vacation when something went horribly wrong.

His cousin told the Baltimore Sun, "They were running to the car when (Carpenter) slipped, fell, hit his head and slipped into a coma. It was just a freak accident."

The family issued a statement moments ago confirming his death.

"It is with regret that we as a family announce that at 6:47 am Keion Eric Carpenter was pronounced dead , at Jackson South Community Hospital in Miami, Florida."

"Keion collapsed while on a family vacation and remained in a coma for 24 hours. Keion('s) remains will be flown back to Baltimore for burial."

Carpenter's college coach Frank Beamer released a statement, saying "Keion was one of the rocks around which we built our program at Virginia Tech in the 1990s. He was a tenacious punt blocker and a relentless player on defense.

"More importantly, he had a heart of gold. His work with The Carpenter House and other charitable organizations to help those in need truly embodied the Virginia Tech Spirit."

Joe McKnight will be on the Trojans' minds when USC takes the field against Penn State on Monday ... with team captain Zach Banner telling TMZ Sports they're dedicating the game to the late alum.

The USC football team was at The Improv comedy club in West Hollywood Tuesday night when we spoke with the NFL-bound right tackle about McKnight, who was killed on Dec. 1st.

McKnight played for the Trojans from 2007 to 2009 ... and clearly meant a lot to the program.

R.I.P.