RIP

The Porsche Paul Walker and Roger Rodas died in was basically death on wheels ... and faulty mechanics caused the tragic crash ... at least that's what Rodas' widow is claiming in a new lawsuit filed against Porsche.

Kristine Rodas filed the lawsuit today ... claiming the Porsche Carrera GT Paul and Roger were driving had a faulty part in the suspension which caused the car to careen out of control. In the papers, she claims Roger tried to keep the car on the road, but could not regain control before hitting a light pole.

In the docs, filed today in L.A. County Superior Court ... Kristine also blames Porsche for the car exploding on impact -- claiming the vehicle lacked a proper "crash cage" and a "racing fuel cell."

According to the docs, the "fuel cell" is common in race cars ... and prevents the fuel from igniting if there's an impact.

Kristine quotes Porsche ... "Carrera GT is as close to a racecar as we will ever get."

She also alleges Porsche ignored multiple fatal crashes that had occurred in the Carrera GT ... and never took steps to warn customers.

Here's the problem ... Kristine never acknowledges Roger was speeding in the car -- in fact, she claims he was only doing 55 mph. Back in March the CHP released its investigation results ... which put the car at somewhere between 80 and 93 MPH.

Jermaine Jackson does not like the idea of new Michael Jackson music being released, but says it would have been cool if the Jackson 5 had worked on it.

JJ went from guarded to bitter when we asked him about the new MJ music Saturday afternoon in Calabasas. He says he's only heard one of the songs so far ... and thought it was good.

But overall, he's against the idea of MJ's music being released without MJ around ... noting the estate passed over the Jackson 5 to work with producers like Timbaland.

There is nothing grrrrrrrreat about this news ... the guy who voiced Tony the Tiger has passed away.

Lee Marshall died of esophageal cancer on April 26 at the age of 64 at a hospital in Santa Monica, his son told the LA Times.

Marshall first got the Kellog's gig in 1999, filling in for the original Tony, Thurl Ravenscroft. He took over the gig full time in 2005 when Ravenscroft passed away at the age of 91.

Marshall got his first job in radio at the age of 14. He was said to have had such an unusually deep voice as a child, that he lied about his age in order to get work.

He also had several news radio gigs and worked as an announcer for professional wrestling.

Marshall is survived by his wife, son, stepdaughter and granddaughter.

Whitney Houston's personal belongings are being held hostage by the company that sold her New Jersey home ... so claims her estate in a new lawsuit.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, the Houston estate contracted CPMG Mendham, LLC to sell Houston's New Jersey home in December 2013, with the sale being completed in February 2014. They claim the deal was for the house only and not any of the belongings inside.

But according to the estate, CPMG has repeatedly denied them access to the home to remove Houston's things ... which they say includes a baby grand piano, a jukebox, valuable paintings, home furnishings, and other items.

The estate says CPMG has gone so far as to have the locks on the house changed and the gates chained shut.

The estate is asking to get Houston's stuff immediately, plus receive damages.

Attempts to reach CPMG were unsuccessful.

6:18 A.M. PDT -- The inquest into Geldof's death just ended in Kent. Coroner Roger Hatch says the post mortem shows Geldof used heroin shortly before she died ... and that the drug is "likely to have played a role in her death." Hatch also said Peaches' body was found on her bed by her husband.

Peaches Geldof died as the result of a heroin overdose ... according to a London newspaper that says the cause of death will be officially revealed tomorrow at an inquest.

Geldof -- daughter of rocker Bob Geldof -- was found dead in her Kent home April 7. Authorities called it a "non-suspicious, unexplained sudden death" ... but an autopsy proved inconclusive because the coroner didn't have the results of the toxicology tests.

The Times of London reports the tox report will show she died from an overdose of heroin. Geldof's mother, Paula Yates, died from an accidental heroin overdose in 2000.

The Times' report angered a Kent city official ... who told TMZ the toxicology results were supposed to be confidential until tomorrow's inquest, saying "if I find out who leaked it I will cut their balls off."

Bob Hoskins -- perhaps best known for his role opposite a bunch of cartoons in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" -- died on Wednesday. He was 71.

His agent told the BBC he passed away following a bout with pneumonia. Hoskins retired from acting in 2012 after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Hoskins' breakout role was in "The Long Good Friday" and he was nominated for an Oscar for "Mona Lisa." He also appeared in "Mermaids," "Hook," "Nixon" and many other films. His final role was in "Snow White and the Huntsman."

All dogs go to Heaven ... and now one more rambunctious canine has checked into the big puppy bowl in the sky -- Tyler the Swamp dog.

Tyler's owner Janet Mitchell -- "Swamp People" star Bruce Mitchell's wife -- says the dog's heart gave out around 1 am Monday morning after a 3-year battle with congestive heart failure.

Bruce buried the swamp dog in his yard not long after ... alongside other deceased pets.

Hug your loved ones for Tyler and eat a zebra cake.

DJ E-Z Rock, who partnered with Rob Base to form one of the most popular rap duos of the 1980s, died over the weekend, Rob Base's rep told TMZ.

E-Z Rock, real name Rodney Bryce, was 46-years-old. No other details were available.

"It Takes Two" was the duo's biggest hit, becoming a hip-hop classic and a requisite song at every Bar Mitzvah that took place in the late 80s and early 90s. Both the song, and the album it came from, hit platinum.

Family and friends gathered at a small church in Kent, England today to pay their final respects at the funeral of Peaches Geldof.

The 25-year-old socialite was found dead at her home two weeks ago. Police have found no evidence of foul play and consider it a "non-suspicious, unexplained sudden death."

Among the celebrities in attendance today at St. Mary Magdalene and St. Lawrence Church were the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Bill Wyman, Jo Wood and Pete Briquette (a bandmate of Peaches' father, Bob Geldof).

Her casket was painted sky blue and appeared to have drawings of Geldof's family on the outside.

Roger Rodas -- who died with Paul Walker in a fiery car crash -- left his children lots of financial security ... in the form of a $1 million life insurance policy.

Rodas' kids are 10 and 12. Their mom, Kristine Rodas, has petitioned for a guardianship ... presumably so she can manage the money on behalf of her children.

There are tinges of sadness in the legal docs. Kristine says she's the children's closest adult relative and their relationship is "loving."

Miley Cyrus may have been rushed to the hospital because of a bad reaction to antibiotics, but we're told the reason she was on the meds was because she wore herself down by hard partying and an emotional meltdown over the death of her dog.

Sources connected to Miley tell TMZ ... she has been "an emotional mess" since her dog Floyd died earlier this month. We're told she had crying fits and has been unable to sleep.

Our sources say Miley's escape has been partying ... as one person said, "She's been off the rails since this happened." We're told she's been drinking a lot and drugs are also involved.

We're told Miley was on meds because she got sick from being extremely worn down.

Everything's connected to everything.

We reached out to Miley's rep ... so far no word back.

Miley Cyrus is canceling yet another concert following her hospitalization Tuesday after a severe allergic reaction to medicine.

Miley took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to announce the cancellation herself, saying, "the hospital is sayin i wont b released today therefore Im not going 2 make it 2 St Louis. Im so sorry but somethings are outta my control."

As TMZ first reported, part of the reason for Miley's hospitalization was the fact she has been "off the rails" since the death of her beloved dog Floyd earlier this month.

Miley Cyrus is in the hospital ... after a sudden and apparently severe allergic reaction to medicine.

Miley was in Kansas City for a concert Tuesday night on her Bangerz tour. It appears Miley was at the arena -- the Sprint Center -- when she fell ill. We're told she had a bad reaction to antibiotics.

Doctors ordered her on bed rest immediately.

Here's what's interesting ... A TMZ employee happens to be in Kansas City and just texted us an hour ago telling us Miley was out shopping with her mom ... so it seems whatever reaction she had was sudden.

The concert has been cancelled. She also cancelled her concert last Monday in Charlotte due to the flu.

The Ultimate Warrior died from a massive heart attack ... this according to the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, TMZ has learned.

Officials tell TMZ ... the official cause of death for Warrior -- real name James Hellwig -- was determined to be "Atherosclerotic/Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease" ... aka heart disease.

Officials classified Warrior's death as "natural" -- meaning neither drugs nor alcohol were directly involved.

As we previously reported, Warrior clutched his chest outside of an Arizona hotel on April 8 while walking with his wife. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but never regained consciousness.

Warrior was 54 years old.

Gandalf's glorious steed Shadowfax from the "Lord of the Rings" flicks just took a permanent trip to the big glue shire in the sky -- after the horse got too sick and had to be put down.

Shadowfax's owner Cynthia says the horse -- real name Blanco -- suddenly fell ill at home and was rushed to a horse hospital ... but after a few days, things took a turn for the worst.

The veterinarian asked Cynthia if she wanted to put the horse to sleep ... so she asked Shadowfax for approval -- and the owner says the horse gave her a look that meant yes.

Cynthia gave vets the OK -- and they put her down.

R.I.P.

The family of Ed Lauter -- the famed actor who died last October -- is suing CBS, Ford, GE and others claiming they exposed him to asbestos which killed him.

Ed's widow Mia Lauter claims in her lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Ed contracted malignant Mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos and blames the various companies. Mia's suing CBS and GE (which owned NBC) because she says their facilities contained asbestos and Ed shot various shows at the networks for more than 2 decades.

As for Ford ... Mia says some of the components of the cars it sold -- including brakes, clutch facings, compressors and other items contained the deadly material.