RIP

The death of James King, who starred on "My 600-lb Life" was NOT related to the coronavirus -- instead, the big guy's family says his heart gave out.

James got very sick back in early February, and his liver and kidneys were shutting down due to his weight ... one of his family members tells TMZ.

Remember, James actually gained weight following his debut on the reality show. He was 791 pounds starting out on the show, but by the end of 2018 his weight got up to a whopping 840 pounds.

We're told James, who lived in Paducah, KY, was initially transported to a local hospital on Feb. 10. Shortly after that, he had to be transferred to a Nashville hospital that was better equipped to treat a patient his size.

The family member says after the liver and kidney issues, though, James' heart gave out under the stress. He died April 3 in the Nashville hospital.

James also battled other health problems in the past, including cirrhosis of the liver and sepsis.

He leaves behind a large family. James is survived by his wife, Lisa Raisor King, 4 daughters, 2 sons and 19 grandkids.

Edmonton Oilers star Colby Cave has died following a brain bleed he suffered earlier in the week -- this according to his loved ones.

The Cave family made the sad announcement Saturday, saying Colby had passed away in a hospital he'd been in for the past few days. The families -- speaking for both Colby and his wife, Emily, said ... "Both our families are in shock but know our Colby was loved dearly by us, his family and friends, the entire hockey community and many more. We thank everyone for their prayers during this difficult time."

Colby was airlifted to a hospital in Toronto Tuesday for emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst that was putting pressure on his brain. After the surgery, he was placed in a medically induced coma -- and had been in an unresponsive state since.

It's been reported that Colby's family wasn't able to visit him in the hospital due to COVID-19 concerns. Upon hearing about his passing, the NHL community at large mourned Colby's death, including NHL honcho Gary Bettman.

The commish said, "The National Hockey League family mourns the heartbreaking passing of Colby Cave, whose life and hockey career, though too short, were inspiringly emblematic of the best of our game." He continued, "Undrafted but undaunted, Colby was relentless in the pursuit of his hockey dream with both the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins organizations. An earnest and hardworking player, he was admired by his teammates and coaches. More important, he was a warm and generous person who was well-liked by all those fortunate enough to know him."

His team also paid tribute, throwing up posts and clips of his first goal and other highlights. He came to the Oilers in 2018 and played for them for two seasons. He'd played for the Boston Bruins before that, as well as several other minor league hockey teams.

Colby's wife posted a very emotional remembrance of her husband, writing ... "My heart is shattered. The amount of physical, mental, and emotional pain I am in when I think about never seeing, touching, or holding you again is unbearable. You are and will always be my person, my hero, the greatest thing to happen to me. I never dreamed of being a widow before our first wedding anniversary."

Emily added, "Although, every cell in my body is lost without you, I promise to continue to make you proud. You were the best friend, husband, doggy daddy, and oh how I wished to see you as a baby daddy. I’ll see you again soon, Colb."

Dieter Laser -- the German actor best known for playing the evil Dr. Heiter in "The Human Centipede" -- has died.

Laser's death was revealed by his wife, Inge, who says he actually passed in Berlin back on February 29. His cause of death is unknown at this time.

The German star has more than 60 acting credits to his name -- including appearing in the Glenn Close film, "Meeting Venus," in 1991 -- but didn't achieve international fame until starring in the controversial horror film, 'Centipede,' in 2009. He also appeared in 'The Human Centipede III' in 2015.

Tom Six, director of the cult horror series, says of Dieter ... "He was a force of nature, a unique human being and an iconic actor. I’m so damn proud we created pop culture together."

Dieter was an acclaimed film and theater actor in Germany for years, though. He won a German Film Award in 1975 for his leading role in "John Gluckstadt." Almost 35 years later ... he won a Scream Award for Best Villain for playing the deranged 'Human Centipede' surgeon.

Laser's other notable credits over the years include the sci-fi TV series, "Lexx," and the 2003 thriller, "Baltic Storm."

Dieter was 78.

The boyfriend of former 'Voice' star Christina Grimmie -- who was shot and killed nearly 4 years ago -- is keeping her memory alive with a new song featuring her.

Stephen Rezza just dropped "Hard Mode" ... and we're told he got her family's okay to sample Christina for the track. Best of all for Christina's fans -- this is just the first of many new songs with her angelic voice.

Rezza's dropping a full album of his orchestral pop later this year, which is titled, "Songs for Christina." That's appropriate because every single track on it will feature either her vocals, her old music, or even voicemails from her.

It's a touching tribute to Christina. As we reported, back in June 2016, the singer -- who'd already appeared on "The Voice" -- was doing a meet and greet with fans in Orlando when a deranged man walked up and opened fire. He then shot and killed himself. Christina was only 22.

After her death, Stephen helped produced her posthumous album "All Is Vanity," which dropped in 2017. He then started working on "Songs for Christina" ... but that stopped when he suffered a seizure in 2019. Turns out he had an avocado-sized brain tumor. Surgeons successfully removed 95% of the mass.

Once he recovered, we're told Stephen had a new perspective and was determined to finish the album.

Stephen tells TMZ, "I almost never put these songs out. They're so personal I didn't think the world wanted to hear them. Next thing I knew I was on an operating table wide awake, skull open while my brain's being worked on. I almost lost everything. If I had died or lost the ability to make music, the only thing I would've truly regretted would've been never finishing this album for her."

BTW, Stephen's "Hard Mode" is now available on streaming services. It's about persevering when God flips the switch, and it's the only song on the album written after his operation.

Helluva way to persevere.

#RIPChristina

"5 championships. 5 NYT bestsellers. The Mamba strikes again."

Vanessa Bryant is celebrating Kobe's newest accomplishment -- his latest book in the Wizenard Series, "Season One" is a NYT Bestseller.

The book was released last week ... and follows the journey of a young hooper named Reggie, who faces incredible obstacles on his way to becoming a basketball star.

"My husband @kobebryant would have been so proud to see his work continuing on with The #Wizenard Series: Season One." Vanessa said on Wednesday.

Of course, it was a bittersweet day when the newest book was released after Kobe's tragic death, with the author, Wesley King, saying he was "grateful to see the words live on."

Bryant's other projects, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play," "Training Camp," "The Legacy And The Queen" and "Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof" are all also received the honor of being NYT Bestsellers.

Linda Tripp, whose recorded conversations with Monica Lewinsky led to President Clinton's impeachment -- is near death ... according to her daughter.

Allison Tripp Foley said late Tuesday, "My mommy is leaving this earth. I don't know myself if I can survive this heartache." In her FB post, Allison said she is at her mother's bedside, and she asked for prayers for "a painless process for the strongest woman I will ever know in my entire lifetime."

She has not revealed what illness, or medical crisis, 70-year-old Linda is battling. Allison did confirm to TMZ that it is NOT COVID-19.

Tripp is known as a whistleblower for turning over secretly-recorded conversations with Lewinsky to Ken Starr in January 1998. The recordings exposed Lewinsky's sexual relationship with Clinton.

Linda also told Starr about Lewinsky's infamous blue dress. She was working in the Pentagon when she befriended the 22-year-old White House intern and learned about her physical relationship with the POTUS. The rest is history.

Linda and her husband, Dieter Rausch, have 2 children -- Allison and Ryan.

Al Kaline -- an MLB Hall of Famer who was affectionately known as Mr. Tiger -- has died at the age of 85.

A family friend of the Detroit legend confirmed the news with the Detroit Free Press on Monday ... although a cause of death was not immediately known.

Kaline was an unbelievable baseball player for the Tigers from 1953-1974 ... making 18 All-Star games and earning 10 gold gloves.

The former outfielder logged 3,007 hits, had a career batting average of .297 and slugged 399 home runs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980 ... and his No. 6 was retired by the Tigers that same year.

Kaline also has a statue at Comerica Park in Detroit.

"Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many," former Tigers ace Justin Verlander said Monday. "I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball, life, or just giving each other a hard time."

"I am honored to have been able to call you my friend for all these years.  R.I.P. Mr Tiger, Al Kaline."

The baseball legend worked in some capacity with the Tigers up until his death ... holding various roles as either an announcer, coach or front-office exec.

#RIP

Honor Blackman -- one of the first iconic, and perhaps most iconic Bond girls of the movie franchise -- has died.

The 1960s and '70s movie and TV star -- who was considered a bonafide bombshell in her day -- passed away peacefully at her home in Lewes, Sussex, surrounded by loved ones. Her family says she died of natural causes, unrelated to the coronavirus.

Her fam says, "As well as being a much-adored mother and grandmother, Honor was an actor of hugely prolific creative talent; with an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess, along with her unique voice and a dedicated work ethic, she achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavours she contributed to some of the great films and theatre productions of our times."

Honor starred as Pussy Galore opposite Sean Connery in 1964's "Goldfinger," which was the first smash hit Bond film to emerge from the series at that point. Pussy was the leader of a group of acrobatic women who worked for the villain, but she falls in love with 007, naturally, and helps him defeat Goldfinger. They also memorably banged under a parachute.

The actress' other huge role was as Cathy Gale in 'The Avengers' -- not the Marvel series you know today, but the black and white show from the '60s. It was a British espionage show, and Honor played one of John Steed's bright and beautiful assistants.

Her acting career went way beyond those two projects, though ... Honor has 115 credits to her name dating back to the 1940s. She had prominent roles on shows like "Probation Officer," "The Four Just Men," "ITV Play of the Week," "The Lives of Benjamin Franklin," "Never the Twain," "Doctor Who," "The Upper Hand," "Coronation Street," and others.

Of course, she's also worked in countless films over the years.

Honor was 94.

RIP

James King, a fan favorite from "My 600-lb Life," died in a Nashville hospital ... according to his family.

James passed away on Friday after several different past battles with his health, including sepsis and cirrhosis of the liver. He last appeared on the popular TLC series back in the summer of 2018.

The news wasn't good for James back then ... he'd actually gained weight from his initial appearance on the show. He was 791 pounds when he made his debut, but by 2018, he was 840 pounds.

He lived in Paducah, Kentucky ... and it's unclear right now why he'd been admitted to the hospital in Nashville.

James had recently kept a relatively low profile on social media. Most of his posts were gushing over his 2 most recently born grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, Lisa Raisor King, 4 daughters, 2 sons and 19 grandchildren.

James was 49.

The actress who played the mother of the kid who got eaten in "Jaws," has passed away by a threat that's becoming more real and dangerous than a great white ... COVID-19.

Lee Fierro -- who portrayed Alex Kintner's mom, Mrs. Kintner, in the 1975 classic film -- has passed away due to complications from coronavirus ... according to Martha's Vineyard Times, which first reported her death. The first "Jaws" was shot on location there in Mass.

Fierro doesn't have very many acting credits to her name outside of the 'Jaws' franchise -- in which she reprised her role twice -- but she had an iconic few scenes in the first flick, notably her freak-out on the beach when Alex's blood and shorts wash up on the beach.

Perhaps even more iconic ... her confrontation with Roy Scheider, who played Chief Brody, whom she slapped across the face at Alex's wake. She was pissed he let beachgoers hit the sand despite knowing there was a shark on the loose. Her son was the second-known attack, and as Chief Brody noted ... she wasn't wrong for her criticism of him.

According to the outlet, Fierro was being housed at an assisted living facility in Ohio -- where her family is said to be holding a small ceremony in her honor because of social distancing restrictions.

Tom Dempsey, a legendary NFL kicker who is best known for a spectacular game-winning field goal, died Saturday from complications from the coronavirus.

Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand, was able to excel as an NFL kicker with the help of specially-designed shoes.

As for the legendary kick, it went down in 1970.  Dempsey was the kicker for the New Orleans Saints when they played the Detroit Lions, and he shattered the field goal record by 7 yards, propelling it 63 yards. The record has since been matched by 5 kickers and it was shattered -- actually more like broken -- by Denver Bronco kicker Matt Prater in 2013, when he scored a field goal from 64 yards.

Dempsey also played for the Eagles, the Rams, the Oilers and the Bills during his 11-year career.

The Saints said, "The New Orleans Saints family is deeply saddened and heartbroken at this most difficult time. Tom's life spoke directly to the power of the human spirit and exemplified his resolute determination to not allow setbacks to impede following his dreams and aspirations." He exemplified the same fight and fortitude in recent years as he battled valiantly against illnesses but never wavered and kept his trademark sense of humor."

As for how Dempsey contracted the virus ... he was living in a New Orleans retirement home where 15 patients have died from the disease. Louisiana has really gone through it ... more than 12,400 confirmed cases. New Orleans, where many contracted the virus during Mardi Gras, has had 153 deaths so far.

Dempsey grew up in CA and played football at Palomar College in SoCal. After calling it quits with the Saints, he became an oilfield salesman, and later became a high school football coach and a car dealership manager.

Dempsey had been battling dementia for years.

He's survived by his wife and 3 kids.

Dempsey was 73.

Vanessa Bryant just told the world how proud she is of Kobe, who has been honored as the next Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

Vanessa sat with daughter Natalia as she fought back tears, saying how proud she was of Kobe's posthumous accomplishment.

Kobe will be inducted as part of the class of 2020, and Vanessa says it's the pinnacle of her late husband's storied NBA career, that spanned 20 years with the Lakers.

Vanessa says, "It's an incredible accomplishment and honor, and we're extremely proud of him. Obviously, we wish he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here."