RIP

Rudy Boesch, who was on the debut season of 'Survivor' has died ... TMZ has learned.

Rudy was the retired Navy SEAL who had an alliance with the ultimate winner, Richard Hatch. A member of Rudy's family tells us he died Friday night of complications from Alzheimer's Disease.

During his time on the show, Rudy was 72 ... the oldest contestant by far.

The show was called "Survivor: Borneo" and was a ratings smash hit and was the trigger for a number of similar shows, including "The Amazing Race." 'Survivor' is now in season 38.

As for Rudy ... he joined the Navy in 1945 and quickly volunteered for "secret hazardous duty." In 1962 Rudy became one of the first 50 officers of the original SEAL Team Two.

Rudy served in Vietnam and earned the Bronze Star Medal for heroic action. He retired from the military in 1990 ... 10 years before making his debut on 'Survivor.'

After the debut season of 'Survivor,' Rudy made an encore on "Survivor: All-Stars" in 2004.

Rudy's wife, Marge, passed away in 2008. He is survived by 3 kids.

Dog the Bounty Hunter's still very much in the throes of his grief from losing his soulmate ... and he spent her birthday grieving, all by himself.

Sources close to Dog tell TMZ ... Beth Chapman's death hit him especially hard on October 29 ... when he would have been celebrating her 52nd birthday. We're told Dog was back in their hometown of Denver that day and spent the entire time indoors.

Dog sat alone going through photos of Beth and himself, with their family ... reflecting on their lives. We're told it was a tear-filled day, but he wasn't in complete solitude. We're told he called their children and many of Beth's friends to reminisce and talk about the positive impact she had on their lives.

Dog paid tribute to his late wife on Instagram that day too, with a series of video clips of Beth from their most recent reality show. He captioned one, "There will never be another like you. Happy birthday Beth! We [love] you!"

As we've told you, along with trying to recover emotionally, Dog's been focused on getting healthier ... starting with his diet. He revealed to Dr. Oz he was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition -- a pulmonary embolism --  and added he wouldn't be around for long without improving his heart condition.

Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison were able to reach Hugh Hefner from the great beyond ... and Bridget says Holly's finally made peace with her famous ex.

Bridget came on "TMZ Live" this Halloween, breaking down her séance at Holly's house -- which she claims is haunted -- and telling us about the girls' paranormal chat with the late Playboy founder.

As we first told you ... the former 'Girls Next Door' stars planned to contact Hef the night before Halloween with the help of "Ghost Adventures" star and Hollywood psychic medium Patti Negri.

The girls accomplished their metaphysical mission, contacting Hef and several other spirits from beyond the grave.

Holly and Hugh had a rocky history before his death -- she claimed he abused her emotionally and verbally while she was in the Playboy Mansion -- but Bridget says Holly was totally okay with getting in touch with Hef's spirit.

It's kinda spooky ... Bridget says during the séance, Holly learned Hef periodically checks in on her from the spirit world, but Holly's happy to know he still cares about her.

Jeffrey Epstein's family is still waiting to hear about DNA evidence to prove he wasn't murdered -- evidence they've been demanding for more than 2 months, according to the family's forensic expert.

Dr. Michael Baden, a pioneer in forensics, says the family hired him to observe the autopsy that was conducted on August 11 ... the day after Epstein was found dead in his prison cell. Dr. Baden was on FOX News Wednesday, and he confirmed something TMZ first reported more than 2 months ago.

Baden says fractures in Epstein's neck are more consistent with homicide than suicide by hanging. Specifically, he says the hyoid bone (in the Adam's apple area) and 2 bones next to his thyroid cartilage were broken ... fractures common in strangulation. As we told you, those breaks are extremely rare in hangings.

Beyond the bones, Baden says the family had asked for DNA testing results from Epstein's fingernails -- which could show if he fought back against someone choking him to death -- and from the sheets he allegedly used to hang himself. Baden says the family wants to know if someone else tied the sheets together.

Baden says, immediately after the autopsy, the Medical Examiner said more information was needed to determine the cause of death -- presumably including that DNA testing.

He says the family doesn't understand why the ME suddenly announced, just 4 days later, it was suicide by hanging -- especially because the family never got the requested DNA results.

John Witherspoon, who made his mark in comedy and in films like "Friday" has died.

Witherspoon's family announced he died suddenly Tuesday at his home in Sherman Oaks, California. The statement reads, "It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this, but our husband & father John Witherspoon has passed away."

The statement continues, "He was a Legend in the entertainment industry, and a father figure to all who watched him over the years. We love you 'POPS' always & forever."

Witherspoon's career -- which started in stand-up comedy -- spanned for more than 5 decades, with his most notable role being Willie Jones, father of Ice Cube's character, Craig ... in all of the "Friday" movies.

John did voice work as Gramps on the animated series "The Boondocks," which is being revived for HBO. He also played Pops on "The Wayans Bros." and made appearances on "The Tracy Morgan Show" and "Black Jesus."

We last spoke to Witherspoon earlier this month at LAX where he told us he was excited about Eddie Murphy getting back into comedy and hoped to see him doing stand-up soon.

He is survived by his wife, Angela, and sons JD and Alexander.

John was 77.

RIP

The sister of New York Knicks player Reggie Bullock was murdered Monday night after cops say she suffered a gunshot wound to the chest in Maryland.

TMZ Sports has confirmed 22-year-old Keiosha Moore was shot just a few miles from Downtown Baltimore sometime Monday evening ... and walked to a nearby hospital with a bullet wound in her chest.

Police say they responded to the hospital at around 7:48 PM ... but Moore was pronounced dead a short time later.

Cops say the person who shot Moore is still unknown ... and add they have launched an investigation into the shooting.

Bullock wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night, "GUN VIOLENCE I WILL LEAD OMM💔"

It's the second time 28-year-old Bullock has had to go through this tragedy ... back in 2014, another one of Bullock's sisters, Mia Henderson, was killed in what appeared to be a hate crime for her being transgender.

Bullock has talked often about how that shaped his life ... saying on "The Herd" back in 2016 Mia taught him how to be a strong person.

Bullock has since been extremely active in communities to help stop bullying.

The Knicks announced Tuesday that Bullock's teammate, Dennis Smith Jr., is also dealing with a tragedy this week ... saying he lost a close relative recently as well.

“Our Knicks family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of two of our players’ close family members," the team said in a statement.

"At times like this, we are reminded that life is bigger than basketball. Our thoughts are with them and their families.”

Kevin Spacey won't be charged in a sexual assault case in Los Angeles because the alleged victim died during the investigation ... TMZ has learned.

Spacey was accused of forcing a male massage therapist to touch his genitals during an in-home session back in 2016. The therapist claimed he suffered emotional pain and distress from the incident ... but Spacey denied everything.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office just rejected the case because the alleged victim passed away during their investigation. Without a victim, the D.A. said the case could not be proven. Law enforcement sources tell us the man died of natural causes a few weeks ago.

We broke the story ... the L.A. County D.A. declined to file charges against the actor for another case in which a man claimed he was sexually assaulted by Spacey in 1992. The D.A. concluded it was well beyond the statute of limitations.

John Singleton's estate and the fortune it claims is aboutta get little more flush -- because the studio that distributed one of his biggest films is ponying up some belated cash.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Sony Pictures has agreed to fork over a little more than half a mil to the late director's film company, New Deal Productions. The money -- $515,472 -- is tied to John's 2001 flick, "Baby Boy." Unleash the behind-the-door Rodney memes!!!

In case you haven't seen it, 'BB' stars Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Ving Rhames ... and, of course, Snoop Dogg playing a gangster who's out to square things with Tyrese's character, Jody, who's got a kid with Taraji's character, but still lives at home with his mom.

It made $29.3 million in the U.S. box office, with a budget of around $16 mil. Sony and its subsidiary, TriStar Pictures, were the primary distributors.

Based on the docs, it appears John had requested a formal audit for money the film made a while back, and now in wake of his death ... Sony is settling up with this dough. The company says the settlement was agreed to prior to John's death in April.

Robert Evans -- one of the most successful producers in Hollywood history -- is dead. Evans, who produced such iconic films as "The Godfather," "Chinatown" and "Urban Cowboy," died Saturday.

His credits are crazy ... "Rosemary's Baby," "Romeo and Juliet," "Goodbye Columbus" and "Love Story." These movies were shot under his watch as the head of Paramount productions.

Evans actually had issues with "The Godfather" and some say it was produced over his objections.

Evans started out as an actor, appearing as a bullfighter in Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." He later wrote his memoir, "The Kid Stays in the Picture," which later became a documentary film.

One of the biggest challenges for Evans was filming "The Cotton Club," which was considered a nightmare, taking several years to shoot and going way over budget before coming out in 1984 and bombing big.

His last big hit was Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey's romantic comedy, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" in 2003.

Evans was super close to Jack Nicholson, whom he often partied with in Hollywood and at his home.

His only Oscar nom was "Chinatown" back in 1975.

He suffered a stroke in 1998 that left him partially paralyzed and he recovered. It was the first of 3 strokes that same year, but he was able to bounce back.

Evans was married and divorced 7 times, including to Ali MacGraw, with whom he had a son, Josh. One of his marriages lasted a grand total of 10 days.

Former congressman Rep. John Conyers has died.

Conyers passed away in his sleep Sunday, per his son, John Conyers III. A longtime representative of Detroit and the longest-serving member of the House prior to stepping down in 2017, Conyers was instrumental in establishing the Congressional Black Caucus.

He was elected into office in the '60s and continued to serve in his capacity for decades to come ... working tirelessly toward civil rights for African-Americans and minorities along the way, helping to boost voter registration in the community while also securing legal representation for countless people who were wrongly arrested.

He co-sponsored the original Voting Rights Act of 1965, and shortly after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 ... Conyers introduced a bill that would honor Dr. King with a federal holiday, which President Reagan signed into law years later.

He earned a seat on the House Judiciary Committee in 1965, and eventually went on to chair the committee in 2007 -- becoming the first black man in American history to do it. Conyers was also famously on President Nixon's "enemies" list during the Watergate scandal.

Rep. Conyers became embroiled in a scandal himself in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in the wake of #MeToo. He denied the accusations but resigned nonetheless. His son, Conyers III, had shown interest in running for his open seat, but Rep. Rashida Tlaib ultimately ran and ended up winning it in the 2018 election.

Conyers' death comes a little more than a week after his congressional colleague and fellow civil rights activist, Rep. Elijah Cummings, passed away himself.

Rep. Elijah Cummings had a spectacular send-off after a life well-lived, with former Presidents and other dignitaries singing his praises at his funeral.

Among the mourners ... Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris and many others filled all the seats at the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore. Interesting and predictable ... Trump was a no-show, although we're guessing he wasn't invited.

The theme from all of the speakers -- Rep. Cummings was a powerful, moral voice in Congress and was a pillar of integrity. As you know, he has famously squared off with President Trump, sometimes expressing moral outrage over the conduct of The White House.

Cummings had been hospitalized and underwent some sort of medical treatment. His office said the Congressman passed due to "complications concerning longstanding health challenges."

As for his health issues, Cummings had been dealing with ill health for years, which included heart surgery.

Cummings was 68. RIP.

Nipsey Hussle's clothing brand is working with fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo on a limited edition capsule collection ... and sales proceeds are going straight to the trust fund for the late rapper's children.

The Marathon Clothing announced Thursday it's working with Jerry's Fear of God clothing company on a special capsule dubbed "08 Crenshaw" ... and the profits are ultimately benefiting Nip's kids, Emani and Kross Asghedom.

The collection, which drops this Friday at Fear of God's storefront in Los Angeles, includes a crewneck sweaters, pullover hoodies, sweatpants and sweatshorts ... available in both royal blue and gray.

We broke the story ... Nipsey made sure his children would be financially stable before he died, setting up a trust fund for Emani and Kross.

As you know ... The Marathon Clothing is a huge part of Nipsey's legacy. He opened the store in Crenshaw, giving jobs to tons of people in his neighborhood.

Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt are reuniting for a séance, and sources close to Bridget tell us she plans to connect with their famous ex ... Hugh Hefner.

We're told the former 'Girls Next Door' are hosting a séance at Holly's house -- which she happens to think is haunted -- and they'll be getting an assist from "Ghost Adventures" star and Hollywood psychic medium Patti Negri.

Appropriately, the paranormal chat is planned for the night before Halloween ... so spirits should be in abundance.

While our Bridget sources say she really hopes to contact her old squeeze, Hef, in the great beyond -- sources close to Holly tell us she's not trying to connect with anyone in particular. Any ol' ghost'll do.

Remember, Holly and Hugh have a rocky history -- she claimed Hugh verbally and emotionally abused her while she was in the Playboy Mansion.

Hugh, who died in 2017 at age 91, famously dated Holly, Bridget and Kendra Wilkinson back in the day. Since then, Holly and Bridget have gotten super into ghouls and ghosts.

Bridget hosts her own podcast called "GHOST MAGNET With Bridget Marquardt" on Apple Podcasts ... and the séance will be a special edition of her show. The ritual will also be streamed live on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Holly's no stranger to paranormal activity either ... as we first told you, she started dating Zak Bagans after hitting up his Haunted Museum in Vegas.

A famous gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete died Tuesday after taking her own life through euthanasia in Belgium, officials confirm.

40-year-old Marieke Vervoort battled degenerative spinal disease -- yet was able to compete in wheelchair racing at the highest levels.

She won two medals at the 2016 Paralympic games in Brazil and famously clinched a GOLD medal during the 2012 Paralympics in London.

But, when she wasn't competing, Vervoort lived with extreme physical pain which sometimes limited her to only sleeping for 10 minutes a night.

Vervoort also suffered epileptic seizures -- and in one case in 2014, a seizure caused her to spill boiling water on her legs while cooking pasta. She suffered major injuries and was hospitalized for several months as a result.

Vervoort had considered euthanasia for years and began planning for the end of her life back in 2016.

In fact, Vervoort spent her last night surrounded by friends and family, sipping on sparkling wine ... just as she planned.

After her passing, the Belgian royal family issued a statement praising their Paralympic hero -- saying, "Marieke 'Wielemie' Vervoort was an athlete tough as nails and a great lady. Her death touches us deeply."

NFL Hall of Famer Willie Brown -- one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time -- has died at 78, Raiders officials confirm.

Brown was a MONSTER on the field during his illustrious 15-year NFL career -- winning 3 Super Bowls and making 4 Pro Bowls in addition to making the AFL All-Star team 5 times!

Brown boasted 54 career interceptions -- 39 of them with the Oakland Raiders. He's currently the co-owner of the Raiders franchise record holder for INTs.

His career path was unusual ... Brown was a stud at Grambling State but was NOT drafted. So, he signed as a free agent with the Houston Oilers in 1963 but was cut during training camp.

He later signed with the Denver Broncos of the AFL, where he became a star -- only to be traded to Oakland in 1967, where he played until he retired in 1978.

Brown played in 3 Super Bowls with the Raiders -- XI, XV and XVIII -- and at one time, held the record for the longest Super Bowl interception with a 75-yard return in XI.

James Harrison later broke the record with a 100-yard return in Super Bowl XLIII.

After his NFL playing career, Brown became a defensive back coach with the Raiders from 1979 to 1988.

Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984, his first year of eligibility.

He's survived by his wife and 3 children.

Big break in the Andre Emmett murder case ... Dallas PD says they have identified and obtained warrants to arrest the two suspects in the shooting death of the ex-NBA and BIG3 star.

As we previously reported, 37-year-old Emmett was shot and killed on September 23. Surveillance footage showed Emmett sitting in his car in front of his house around 2:30 AM when he was approached by 2 men at gunpoint. Emmett tried to run but was shot dead.

After nearly a month-long investigation, detectives identified 29-year-old Michael Lucky and Keith Johnson, 32, as prime suspects ... and obtained capital murder arrest warrants for both men.

Johnson was booked in Dallas County Jail on Friday -- and he's still behind bars. Lucky has not yet been arrested.

Emmett -- the 35th pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2004 NBA Draft -- was the 2nd leading scorer in the 3-on-3 league this past season while playing for 3's Company.