RIP

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds are about to get a belated but pretty awesome public send-off.

The public memorial will be held March 25 at Forest Lawn, where the mother/daughter are buried. The ceremony will be held in a 1,200 seat theater at the cemetery.

One of the highlights will be the unveiling of a tribute song from James Blunt. James and Carrie were tight ... she was the godmother to his child. Blunt won't be performing, but Fisher's brother, Todd, tells us the track will debut over a photo montage.

Also on the program ... the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, a dance tribute from the Debbie Reynolds dance school, and tons of costumes and memorabilia will be on display.

Fisher's daughter, Billie, will be present but won't make any speeches. She says it's just too emotional to address a crowd.

Carrie's beloved dog, Gary, will be front and center.

The event will be streamed live on Carrie and Debbie's website.

Joni Sledge, one-fourth of Sister Sledge, died from a preexisting medical condition ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us there was no foul play, and the 60-year-old singer's cause of death will be listed as natural. Joni was found dead in her Arizona home on Friday.

A publicist for the disco greats said Joni had not been ill recently. It's still unclear what the fatal condition was, but we're told an autopsy was not necessary because her doctor signed off on "natural causes."

Joni and her sisters had huge hits in the '70s with songs like "We Are Family" and "The Greatest Dancer."

Kanye West suffered a family tragedy Monday when his cousin's 1-year-old son died suddenly.

The cousin, Ricky Anderson, works at Kanye's label, GOOD Music, in L.A. We're told the child, Avery, died in his sleep. There was no previous sign of illness or distress.

Ricky wrote, "Today was the worst day of my life! I lost my lil man and gained an angel! Rest in Paradise!!! I love you man."

Avery had just celebrated his 1st birthday.

Howard Stern 'Wack Packer' Joey Boots died from an accidental heroin overdose.

The Medical Examiner's Office in NYC tells TMZ it's determined his official cause of death is "acute heroin intoxication." The 49-year-old's body was found slumped over in a chair in his apartment on Dec. 23.

Joey had openly discussed his battles with cocaine and crack addiction on the radio. After his death, some of Joey's friends told us they thought he was no longer using.

Fellow 'Wack Packer' High Pitch Erik found Joey while recording a podcast.

Toya Wright says she's relieved that cops finally have a suspect in custody for the shooting deaths of her 2 brothers.

Toya tells TMZ ... "All we want is justice for my brothers .. We thank everyone for their prayers and support."

Antoine Edwards was booked Thursday in New Orleans for second degree murder. According to NOLA.com, cops narrowed it down to Edwards after several tipsters mentioned a man named "Toine" or "Tweezy" was responsible. Edwards had reportedly told at least one person he did it.

Joshua and Ryan "Rudy" Johnson were shot to death last July while in their car. Both died from multiple gunshot wounds.

The Notorious B.I.G. got his very own banner at the Barclays Center during the Brooklyn Nets' "Biggie Night" ... and Diddy, Lil Kim and Biggie's family showed up to witness the honor in person.

Famed Michael Jackson impersonator Navi did what he does best Thursday, transforming into the King of Pop for an upcoming flick.

Navi was out and about in L.A., shooting several scenes for Lifetime's 'Searching for Neverland.'

The scene below mimics a famous real-life encounter MJ had as he breezed through a Vegas mall.

Robert James Waller, best known for penning the romantic novel "The Bridges of Madison County," has died.

Waller passed away in Texas either Thursday or Friday, according to his literary agency after battling some sort of illness.

Waller wrote several books but "Bridges of Madison County" was his most popular, spending over 3 years on the New York Times bestseller list. Rumor has it he wrote the book -- about a National Geographic photographer who falls in love with a married Italian woman while on assignment in Iowa -- in only 11 days.

The novel was later turned into a Clint Eastwood-directed film starring Meryl Streep that grossed millions and earned Meryl her 10th Oscar nom.

Some of other Waller's notable works include "Puerto Vallarta Squeeze", 'A Thousand Country Roads' and "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend."

Paramedics who rushed to the Magic Castle last month after getting a suicide call weren't sure if the figure hanging from a cord was a human or a dummy.

TMZ obtained the 911 call in which you hear the confusion over what Magic Castle workers found. Daryl Easton was hanging with a plastic bag over his head and an electrical cord around his neck. The dispatcher asked the workers if the cord was charged.

Casey Anthony thinks it would be a blessing if she had another child.

Casey insists she still has no idea what happened to Caylee 9 years ago, and swears it would've come to her during years of mental evaluations -- "I've been tested, I've gone through the psychological evaluations, I've talked about this to the point where I've been in a puddle not being able to talk about it for days afterwards."

AP didn't directly ask her about having a new baby, but she offered this up ... "If I am blessed enough to have another child — if I'd be dumb enough to bring another kid into this world knowing that there'd be a potential that some jackass, their little snot-nose kid would then say something mean to my kid — I don't think I could live with that."

This is like a dream ... Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac co-starring on a TV show.

The actors playing the rap giants were on set this week in L.A. for the first day of taping "Unsolved" -- a USA Network show about the investigations into both their deaths. Newcomer Wavyy Jonez is playing Big and Marcc Rose is Pac ... same role he played in "Straight Outta Compton."

Well timed by producers, with Thursday being the 20th anniversary of Biggie's shooting and death.

#WeMissYouBIG

Dr. Drew isn't buying the coroner's report about George Michael dying of natural causes ... because there were too many markers of substance abuse.

We got the good doc Tuesday night at Catch and he was pretty fired up about the official report because, as he puts it ... there's NOTHING natural about the contributing causes.

Drew argues Michael's heart and liver issues scream alcohol and drug abuse ... at least to him they do.

George Michael died of natural causes related to his heart and liver ... what's unclear is if alcohol played a part.

The Coroner in Oxfordshire said the precise cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy -- a heart muscle disease which stretches the muscles and thins them so blood flow in the body is restricted." Cardiomyopathy can be inherited but can also be triggered by excessive drinking.

Michael also suffered from fatty liver, which can be caused by excessive drinking but also excessive weight gain.

And Michael suffered from myocarditis, which is an inflammation in or around the heart, often caused by infection.

Michael was found dead in his bed on Christmas Day.

The 53-year-old singer had suffered from alcohol and drug addiction over the years and had gained a significant amount of weight in the months leading up to his death.

"America's Got Talent" is off to a rough start ... filming has been cancelled next week because of the death of Mel B's dad.

Martin Brown died Saturday after a 5-year battle with Myeloma. He was 63.

Producers have cancelled filming Monday and Tuesday, but even when it's back there's a big challenge ahead, because the show is host-less ... this after Nick Cannon quit.

Mel B said she and her sister were by their dad's side when he passed.

RIP

Biggie and Tupac will do battle one more time -- in car sales, because the SUV Notorious B.I.G. was shot in is now available for purchase.

The infamous 1997 GMC Suburban has been on the road racking up miles for the last 20 years, and most of that time the owners had no idea their family ride was a piece of hip-hop history.

The L.A. owners tell us they bought it in Oct. '97 from a broker who'd purchased it in an auction. They tell us it wasn't until an LAPD detective called in 2005 -- regarding the wrongful death trial -- that they got the full story.

The SUV now has 114,000 miles and one remaining scar -- a bullet hole in the front passenger seat belt. That's where B.I.G. was sitting when he was shot in March '97. The owners say the bullet-riddled door had been replaced before they bought the vehicle.

The whip's being sold through Momentsintime.com for $1.5 million! As we reported ... Tupac's deathmobile is available for the same price.

Hit 'em up ... if you've got the dough.

U.S. Bank Stadium is NOT the bird death trap it's being made out to be ... so says a rep for the place where the Minnesota Vikings play ... who claims it's IMPOSSIBLE to determine how dangerous the place is just yet.

You may have seen the report from the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis which says birds are fatally crashing into the stadium at an alarming rate due to confusion caused by the reflective glass.

The report said 60 birds died during the fall migration period (August 14 to November 7) and warns if the death trend continues, the stadium could be the deadliest building for birds in the entire state.

But U.S. Bank Stadium Director of Communications Jenn Hathaway tells TMZ Sports there's a flaw in the report.

"It is not possible to make this conclusion based on intermittent monitoring with no direct comparisons for the same time period at other buildings."

Hathaway says the Stadium, the Vikings and Audubon Minnesota (which is different than Audubon Minneapolis) are involved with a different study which she claims will be more thorough.

She says the report will be valid, credible and transparent.

"These efforts have been positive and collaborative. We will have more information when the study is finalized in 2019."