RIP

1:00 PM PST: Skye reportedly had been suffering from seizures and on Saturday morning her boyfriend came home and found her sitting up in bed in her parents converted garage. The family believes she had a seizure and choked to death.

Skye McCole Bartusiak -- who played Mel Gibson's daughter in the 2000 hit movie, "The Patriot" -- is dead.

We do not know the cause of death. We're told Skye died at her home in Texas Saturday.

Skye was only 7 when she starred opposite Mel in the historical war film.

Skye starred in only one other movie in recent years -- "Sick Boy." Other than that she had roles in various short films.

Sources say Skye struggled after doing "The Patriot" ... trying to establish a foot print in Hollywood, but it was largely a frustrating and unsuccessful experience.

We’re told police found her dead in the garage apartment behind her home around 9AM Saturday. Right now, no foul play is suspected and it’s being treated as a natural causes death -- pending autopsy results.

Law enforcement sources tells us ... there are no "obvious signs" she took her own life ... however, our sources say toxicology reports could change their operating theory.

Casey Kasem has been dead for more than a month .... yet he's not been buried and now we've learned his body is missing.

Fingers now point in the direction of Casey's widow, Jean. Family sources say Jean took the body from a funeral home the day before a judge ordered her to keep it there so an autopsy could be performed.

The autopsy is crucial to an ongoing criminal investigation targeting Jean. The Santa Monica PD is looking into elder abuse allegations ... that Jean took Casey on a wild, week-long multi-state car ride which caused him to develop bed sores that got infected and contributed to his death.

Jean and Casey's children have been at war for years.

As for where the body is ... no one but Jean seems to know, and no one can find her either. It's interesting ... Jean listed Jerusalem as her address on Casey's death certificate.

Casey's daughter Kerri believes Jean is out of the country.

We reached out to Jean's people. So far no word back.

Broadway actress Elaine Stritch -- who also starred in movies and TV shows including "30 Rock" -- has died at her home in Birmingham, Michigan. She was 89 years old.

Stritch had a 70-year career in show business. Her one-woman show, "Elaine Stritch at Liberty" earned her a Tony award in 2001 -- but most recently she played Alec Baldwin's mother on "30 Rock." She won an Emmy for that role.

Some of her biggest Broadway productions include Noel Coward's "Sail Away" -- and Stephen Sondheim's "Company." Elaine was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995.

She had been battling diabetes, but her cause of death has not been disclosed yet.

The last surviving original member of legendary punk rock group "The Ramones" is dead.

Tommy Ramone -- the group's drummer on the first 3 albums -- died Friday at his home in Queens, New York. He'd been in a hospice following bile duct cancer treatments ... according to Variety.

Tommy stopped drumming for the band in '84 -- he was replaced by Marky Ramone -- but still worked with the Ramones throughout the years. Tommy is credited for writing most of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Blitzkrieg Bop."

Lead singer Joey Ramone died in 2001 of lymphoma, a drug overdose killed guitar player Dee Dee Ramone in 2002 ... and Johnny Ramone passed away in 2004 from prostate cancer.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

2:10 P.M. PDT -- Inyo County officials tell us ... an autopsy was performed and the cause of death is heat stroke.

One of the villains from the "Harry Potter" movies -- British actor Dave Legeno -- died while hiking in Death Valley ... TMZ has learned.

Legeno's body was found by a pair of hikers on Sunday in an area so remote ... a CHP helicopter had to be called in to remove it.

50-year-old Legeno played the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in the 'Potter' movies. He was also in "Snatch."

The Inyo County Sheriff's Department (in CA) tells TMZ it appears Legeno died of heat related issues ... and may have been dead for 3-4 days before his body was discovered. Summer temps in Death Valley are known to go over 120 degrees.

We're told the coroner still has Legeno's body while his family makes plans.

He has a daughter in her 20s.

1:56 P.M. PDT -- The coroner's office tells us ... an autopsy did NOT reveal the cause of death.

'Glee' star Becca Tobin's boyfriend Matt Bendik was found dead Thursday in a Philadelphia hotel ... TMZ has learned … and the circumstances surrounding his death are mysterious.

Sources close to the couple tell us Bendik -- a 35-year-old nightclub owner -- was in Philly on a business trip. We're told Tobin was not in Philly when he died.

A hotel maid found Bendik's body Thursday at around 1 PM. Law enforcement sources say the housekeeper found the body on the bed, face down.

Police are calling it a "sudden death" and they do not believe foul play was involved. They also say there's no evidence of suicide. And no weapons were found.

We're told no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the room. We know the detective's incident report makes no mention of medications in the room. And the report makes no mention of alcohol.

Bendik was last seen by a manager at a club in Philly, just before midnight Wednesday.

Bendik ran several major clubs around the country, but especially in Los Angeles … where he was the Director of Operations at DBA Nightclub. He also was a co-owner of AV Nightclub.

We're told Bendik was not known as a partier, and friends are shocked and devastated by his sudden death.

Calls to Tobin's reps have not been returned.

One eerie twist -- Sunday will mark one year since the death of Cory Monteith … who died in a Vancouver hotel room from a drug overdose.

DBA posted a tribute to Matt outside of the club.

Shortly before Matt went out Wednesday night, he posted a pic of Becca -- calling her out as his #WCW (woman crush Wednesday).

The first man who brought Pinocchio to life on the big screen has died -- Richard Percy Jones passed away at home in Northridge, CA.

Jones died Monday night ... apparently of natural causes.

As a kid, he was chosen by Walt Disney to provide the voice of the boy puppet for the 1940 animated flick, "Pinocchio." Jones was also a skilled rodeo rider -- appearing in a bunch of B-movies and TV shows. He also had bit roles in the "Our Gang" films.

Jones retired from acting in the 1960s... to go into real estate and banking. He's survived by his wife and 4 kids.

Hi-Five singer Russell Neal's wife was killed after being stabbed multiple times and he's now been charged with murder.

Cops say Catherine Martinez died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds.

The victim was a hot, 24-year-old fitness model. She was also an aspiring boxer who went by the name Brasilia.

The 40-year-old singer went to the police station Wednesday and told cops his wife was dead in their apartment and he needed a lawyer.

The couple has 2 kids. Law enforcement sources say there were no witnesses to the murder so it appears the children were not in the apartment when their mom was killed.

Neal is currently in custody on $100K bond.

4:00 PM PDT: Harness' kids say James died a week ago, after suffering a stroke a week before. They say the funeral will be held in Oregon Saturday.

James Harness, star of Discovery's "Gold Rush," is dead.

Harness -- who lived in Oregon -- had serious medical issues, including back injuries from a car accident that crippled him with pain.

He also had a serious addiction problem with pain pills, which triggered problems on the show. We're told he wasn't showing up for work and became so unreliable he was fired during season 2.

We do not know the cause of death or where he was when he died.

Harness was divorced and had a son and a daughter. He was 57.

R.I.P.

"Designing Women" star Meshach Taylor died Saturday night ... after a long battle with cancer.

Taylor's family says he passed away at his home in California while surrounded by loved ones.

Meshach is best known for the role of Anthony Bouvier on the popular late 80's show ... and he was nominated for an Emmy in 1989.

Taylor also famously portrayed Hollywood Montrose in the '87 cult classic flick "Mannequin" -- and had a TON of roles on hit T.V. shows ... like "Hannah Montana", "The Drew Carey Show" and "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."

R.I.P.

Veteran soul singer Bobby Womack died Friday.

Womack's sister says he passed away in his sleep ... she says they don't know the cause of death.

Bobby struggled with multiple health problems throughout his life ... including diabetes, pneumonia, colon cancer and the early signs of Alzheimer's.

Bobby and his brothers formed a group in the '60s called "The Valentinos" and they recorded the song "It's All Over Now" before the Rolling Stones released their version -- the group's first #1 hit.

Bobby also recorded the songs "Across 110th Street" and "If You Think You're Lonely Now."

In 2009, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Survivor" star Caleb Bankston -- who died in a freak train derailment Tuesday -- will be buried Thursday in Alabama ... and the railroad company where he worked will foot the bill for the funeral ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for Watco Companies -- which operates the Alabama Warrior Railway where the derailment occurred -- says it's been in contact with Bankston's family ... and has promised to cover all of the burial expenses.

TMZ broke the story ... the 26-year-old train engineer was crushed between two rail cars when one of the cars unexpectedly jumped the tracks.

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

Michael Jackson's devoted fans made their annual pilgrimage to Forest Lawn Cemetery Wednesday to pay their respects on the 5th anniversary of his death.

Many of the fans wore iconic MJ threads as they placed flowers and pics near his final resting place.

The scene was decidedly more respectful than the sight of Conrad Murray thumbing his nose
at the Jackson family.

"Survivor" star Caleb Bankston was crushed to death by 2 rail cars when the train on which he was riding derailed ... TMZ has learned.

Bankston -- a contestant on "Survivor: Blood vs. Water" last year -- was checking on something in the small space between two of the cars when the train went off the tracks. Cops say the rear car slammed into the forward car ... with Bankston caught helplessly in between.

Since this is an industrial accident, Birmingham PD says the Federal Railroad Administration and the railway company’s safety officer will conduct separate investigations.

Dr. Conrad Murray mocked the 5-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death by popping into a convenience store for a bottle of milk.

In case you don't remember, Michael's code word for Propofol -- the drug that killed him -- was milk.

Murray has commemorated June 25th in various ways ... having his pic snapped in a tearful pose at MJ's mausoleum, dancing at a wedding and various other hijinks.

This is Murray's first MJ anniversary since being sprung from L.A. County Jail.

R.I.P.

Andrew Stern -- the husband of "Deal or No Deal" showcase model Katie Cleary who committed suicide Sunday -- went on a downward spiral after undergoing hormone replacement therapy for his libido ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story ... Stern shot himself in the head at a San Fernando Valley firing range. Sources say he was deeply depressed, largely over the meltdown of his marriage.

Close friends of Andrew tell us ... 2 years ago he went to a Beverly Hills health and wellness center because he was feeling lethargic and had a waning libido. We're told the center gave him a kit, which included human growth hormones and testosterone. Both were injectables.

The friends say he started experiencing drastic mood swings and became extremely irritable. Andrew kept the regimen up for a year but couldn't take it anymore and stopped cold turkey.

We're told abruptly stopping such therapy is extremely dangerous and in Andrew's case he spiraled into a deep depression, which got much worse because his business failed and everything then took a toll on his marriage.

The friends tells us ... Andrew -- who filed for divorce in April -- went nuclear after seeing pics of his wife in Cannes, nuzzling up to Leo DiCaprio. Katie's rep says the pics didn't have an impact on Andrew, but his friends scoff and say it had a HUGE affect.

One friend tells us he spoke with Andrew the day before he killed himself -- Andrew said he was having "a tough day" but assured him he'd be OK.