RIP

Aziz Ansari says the loss of his friend Harris Wittels has left him devastated ... and the touching tribute he penned for the "Parks and Rec" exec who died this week is heart breaking.

Ansari posted a lengthy blog Friday night where he revealed the two had been working on a project together, and they were planning a move to NYC together in March. Harris had just locked down an apartment on Monday.

Ansari says he had worked on two different movie scripts with Wittels, but neither were greenlit. But Ansari contined to support his friend, recommending that others hire him to write.

TMZ broke the story ... Wittels died at his home Thursday from an apparent drug overdose.

The "Parks and Rec" actor also included a few scenes from the movies Harris wrote ... and they're HILARIOUS. Aziz went on to describe Wittels' terrible eating habits, his arm wrestling skills and his writing expertise.

The woman who died in the Bruce Jenner car crash once appeared with Elvis in one of his big movies.

We found this video of "Double Trouble" released in 1967. Kim Howe is the woman with blonde hair piled up in a bun, dancing with Elvis as she holds a beer stein.

Howe, who was in her early 20s at the time, is dressed as a fraulein in the bar.

We're told this was one of the highlights of Howe's life. It doesn't appear she was featured in other film or TV projects.

And something weirdly coincidental ... Elvis' longtime girlfriend was Linda Thompson, who was married to Bruce Jenner.

Harris Wittels, one of the executive producers of "Parks and Recreation" died at his home Thursday from a possible drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

According to law enforcement sources ... Wittels was pronounced dead around 1 PM. We're told the 30-year-old was found lying on his couch ... and there was drug paraphernalia in the house. There were no signs of trauma to his body.

Wittels spoke openly about his battles with drug addiction. He'd gone to rehab twice.

In addition to working on 'Parks & Rec' ... Wittels produced and wrote for "Eastbound and Down" and "The Sarah Silverman Program." He's also credited with making "Humblebrag," a thing on social media ... and even turned it into a coffee table book.

'Parks & Rec' is in its final season, and the last episode is set to air next week.

Wittels performed stand-up Wednesday night at The Meltdown -- an L.A.comedy theater. During his set he talked about being clean and sober ... and said he was in a good place.

Portland Trailblazers legend Jerome Kersey died as a result of a blood clot that formed in his calf ... and broke off ... clogging his lungs ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 52-year-old -- who spent 17 seasons in the NBA -- died Wednesday night in Oregon ... and now the pathologist who conducted the autopsy tells us the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism.

Dr. Larry Lewman tells TMZ Sports ... "There was a blood clot in his left calf that broke loose and traveled to his lungs and clogged both his pulmonary arteries."

Dr. Lewman adds, "We're still gathering information, but it appears he had a surgical procedure recently. Anyone who is post surgical, who isn't moving around a lot, is at risk."

June Fairchild -- the actress best known for her iconic Ajax snorting scene in "Up In Smoke" -- has died at 68 ... and friends are hoping her former Cheech & Chong co-stars can help with her funeral costs.

Fairchild had a big movie career in the '70s -- besides 'Smoke' ... she appeared in "Head" with The Monkees ... and "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" with Clint Eastwood.

She's also widely credited for naming the band "Three Dog Night" ... while dating lead singer Danny Hutton.

June was put in hospice care over the weekend, and died Tuesday night after a long battle with liver cancer.

Sources close to Fairchild tell us her last few years were difficult financially. She'd been homeless for several years. We're told her friends are reaching out to Tommy Chong to see if he can pitch in for her funeral and burial expenses.

Two guys claiming to be heirs to the real life Aunt Jemima couldn't pour it on thick enough to convince a judge -- their shot at $3 billion just got tossed out of court.

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... D.W. Hunter and Larnell Evans, Jr. went to court armed with a pretty thin story to prove they're the great-grandsons of Anna Short Harrington -- who portrayed Aunt J. from 1935 until the '50s.

As TMZ first reported ... the men sued PepsiCo, Quaker Oats, and 2 other companies for royalties they feel Harrington had been screwed out of while her image was being used to hawk flapjacks.

Once they got to court ... Hunter told the judge his grandmother once gave him a photo of Harrington -- a photo he no longer has -- and claimed that proved his relation. Hunter and Evans also said they tried to locate Harrington's grave in Syracuse, NY.

Not shockingly, the judge said that so-called evidence fell flatter than a ... well, you know.

A MTA bus caught the entire Bruce Jenner car crash on video and sources tell TMZ it squarely shows Bruce struck both cars, and the Lexus driver NEVER made contact with the Prius.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... they are in possession of the video. Sources familiar with the bus in question -- which was directly behind the Hummer -- tell TMZ there are cameras mounted on the front, back and sides, and the videos show the entire accident.

Law enforcement will not tell us what's on the video, but sources familiar with the video in question tell us it's clear the Lexus never made contact with the Prius. Bruce hit the Lexus, which propelled it into oncoming traffic and then struck the Hummer. Bruce then continued on and hit the Prius.

We obtained a re-creation of the accident, which was NOT based on the video but which sources tell us accurately reflects what is on the MTA video. The re-creation, however, does not show the braking of Bruce's or the other vehicles, which could be a factor.

Lesley Gore -- who exploded on the music scene with "It's My Party" -- has died.

Gore, who followed her 1963 hit with a string of huge songs, including "Judy's Turn to Cry," "You Don't Own Me," "Maybe I Know," "She's a Fool" and "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," also composed songs for the movie "Fame" in 1980. Gore was nominated for an Academy Award for one of the songs, "Out Here on My Own."

Quincy Jones discovered Gore when she was a teen and guided her to spectacular success.

Gore used one of her songs, "You Don't Own Me," as an anthem for reproductive rights during the 2012 Presidential election.

Gore was openly gay and leaves behind a partner, Lois Sasson.

We're told she died in a NYC hospital following a battle with lung cancer.

Louis Jourdan -- who played Afghan prince Kamal Khan in "Octopussy" -- has died at the age of 93.

Jourdan reportedly died at his home in Beverly Hills Saturday ... but details surrounding how he passed weren't immediately available.

The French actor also famously played the role of Gaston in "Gigi" ... and his character Khan in the James Bond flick will go down in history as one of 007's best adversaries.

In 2010, Jourdan was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in L.A. ... with his buddies Sidney Poitier and Kirk Douglas in attendance.

The man who created the band that shot Janis Joplin to superstardom has died.

Sam Andrew founded the group Big Brother and the Holding Company and recruited Janis in 1966.

In 1968 they released several monster hits including, "Piece of My Heart," and "Summertime," on which Sam played lead guitar. The songs became anthems in the '60s.

Janis quit the group at the end of 1968 and brought Sam along. They recorded one album together, "I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!"

Janis died in 1970 and Sam returned to Big Brother and toured until the 1990s.

Sam was 73. He died in his wife's arms after suffering a heart attack several weeks back.

R.I.P.

Suge Knight now has a video of the entire parking lot altercation that resulted in a man's death -- and sources connected to Suge tell us it shows someone holding a gun and pointing it ominously at Suge, and that person is Cle "Bone" Sloan.

Our Suge sources believe the video clearly shows the fight leading up to the fatal hit and run was an ambush. We're told you see a gun in Bone's hand ... and it looks like another person is also there holding a gun.

In the video ... after Suge runs over Bone and Terry Carter, someone walks over and takes the gun from Bone's hand and walks away with it.

And get this -- our Suge sources say based on the video and information ... they now believe Carter was part of the ambush. You'll recall, Carter drove with Suge to the meeting and set it up.

We're told the video was shot by surveillance cameras in the Tam's hamburger joint parking lot. We'd been told by the owner of Tam's that the cameras were inoperative, but apparently that was not the case.

What's strange is ... law enforcement sources tell us cops believe the video will help their case against Suge. Obviously, Suge's side sees it much differently.

2:40 PM PT -- Suge had another case to deal with Wednesday -- he and Katt Williams allegedly robbed a photog's camera in Beverly Hills last year. A preliminary hearing was held in L.A. County court, but neither defendant could appear.

Katt is out of town on tour ... and Suge is still being held without bail in the murder case. Their attorneys, Shawn Holley (Katt) and David Kenner (Suge) appeared in court. The preliminary hearing was moved to Feb. 19 ... when Suge and Katt will have to be present.

The people who called 911 immediately after Bruce Jenner's horrific car accident instantly recognized the magnitude of the accident, telling the dispatcher the Lexus was "destroyed."

As we reported, the driver of the Lexus was killed instantly after Bruce's SUV plowed into her car, sending it into oncoming traffic where it was struck by a Hummer.

The callers -- bystanders who happened to witness the crash -- are both fairly calm.

12:15 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us that Bruce had a blood alcohol level of 0.00 at the time of the accident.

Bruce Jenner had nothing in his system that impacted his ability to drive at the time he struck a Lexus on Pacific Coast Highway ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. has determined based on field sobriety tests, blood tests and observations that Bruce had nothing in his system that impaired his driving abilities.

As one law enforcement source put it, "He was balanced out. He wasn't under the influence. We know that."

Jerry Tarkanian -- one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time -- has passed away at a Las Vegas hospital after battling a respiratory ailment ... this according to his son.

The 84-year-old -- aka "Tark the Shark" -- was first hospitalized Monday ... but his health took a serious turn for the worse and he ultimately passed away Wednesday morning.

Jerry's son Danny tweeted the news moments ago, "Coach Tark, my father, the greatest man I have ever known, passed today, to take his place in heaven. I will miss him every day of my life."

Tarkanian led UNLV to the NCAA national championship in 1990 ... and helped them reach the Final Four the following year.

Dr. Dre never asked Suge Knight for permission to include his likeness in the movie "Straight Outta Compton" ... and that sparked the fight which ended with the alleged murder in a parking lot.

Sources connected to Suge tell TMZ ... he got word he was included in the film, and wanted to talk to Dre about how he was being portrayed. As we've reported ... Suge's friend Terry Carter helped set up the meeting.

As for what Suge was so worried about -- a new trailer for the movie was just released, and there is a character whupping someone's ass in a studio ... who looks just like Suge.

TMZ broke the story ... Suge and Dre's sit-down never happened because Suge got into a fight with actor Cle "Bone" Sloan ... and eventually backed up over him and Carter.

Suge has been charged with Carter's murder, the attempted murder of Sloan, and hit and run.

Bruce Jenner's fate could be determined in part by a metal box embedded in the twisted metal that was left on Pacific Coast Highway ... TMZ has learned.

We've learned the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is in possession of all 4 vehicles and the trailer that was attached to Bruce's Escalade. We're told Bruce's Escalade has a sophisticated "Black Box" that contains critical data ... including speed and braking info. The other 3 vehicles have similar data.

We're told the boxes gauge what the driver was doing for the 5 seconds before impact. In one-second intervals, the boxes show speed, braking, the position of the accelerator, etc.

We're told accident reconstruction experts can use the data from all 4 vehicles and determine the speed and distance between each of them. That could help determine with some precision if Jenner was following too closely behind the Lexus.

Many of the "Black Boxes" are activated by the airbag, but we're told even if the airbag does not deploy the information is still available.

As we reported, once the investigation is complete the Sheriff's Dept. will send the file over to the L.A. County D.A. for review -- which is SOP when someone dies in a car crash. If Bruce was following too closely, prosecutors could charge him with vehicular manslaughter, however we're told such prosecutions -- when the offense is following too closely -- are "very rare."