RIP

Former "Road Rules" star Danny Dias died of complications from chronic substance abuse, and the lacerations found on his forearm had nothing to do with his death ... TMZ has learned.

The Chief Medical Examiner in NYC tells us Danny did not have any lethal injuries, and it's been determined he died of natural causes ... brought on by years of substance abuse. The M.E. adds there was no evidence of any acute level of drugs in his system.

Translation: he didn't OD, but he'd been in bad shape for years.

As we first reported ... cops said Danny had 2 lacerations on his forearm the day his body was found in his apartment. The M.E. says the cuts were fresh, but ultimately did NOT cause his death, as police first suspected.

Danny was 34.

Darren Daulton -- a former all-star catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies -- has died after a long battle with brain cancer.

The Phillies released a statement Sunday night saying Daulton had passed away ... no other details immediately available. Daulton was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2013 after having 2 tumors removed. He announced he was cancer free in 2015, but the disease returned.

Daulton played professional baseball since 1980, and played almost his entire career with the Phillies before retiring in 1997. He was a key part of the Phillies winning the National League Championship in 1993 ... during which he had 24 home runs and 105 RBIs. He also went on to win a World Series with the Marlins in his final year.

Daulton was inducted into the Phillies' Wall of Fame in 2010.

Chester Bennington's inner circle was not about to let someone profit off his funeral ... so they stepped up and helped stop the person trying to sell his memorial items.

Sources close to Chester tell TMZ ... they found out someone posted a program, wristband, lanyard and pin from Chester's service on eBay Tuesday, and immediately contacted the site asking to have the items removed.

Ebay did exactly that ... but not before the highest bid topped $50,000. An eBay spokesperson tells us the company doesn't allow sales of items that "attempt to profit from tragedy." We're told they contacted and educated the seller, and will take further action if it happens again.

As for the identity of the seller ... our Chester sources believe it was someone who worked with Linkin Park in production, and when they took a look at the account's history they realized the person had sold other LP merch in the past.

Prodigy's official cause of death is listed as accidental choking ... TMZ has learned.

The Clark County Medical Examiner has made the determination after completing its investigation into Prodigy's June 20 death. As TMZ first reported, he was in a Las Vegas hospital when he choked on an egg.

Prodigy was in the hospital getting treatment for sickle cell anemia -- which he'd battled his entire life, and had flared up immediately following a performance in severe Las Vegas heat.

The Mobb Deep MC was 42.

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda is trying to get back to a normal life after his bandmate Chester Bennington's death nearly two weeks ago.

Shinoda and his wife, Anna, held hands Wednesday as they left Beverly Glen Market in Los Angeles. Sad thought for Linkin Park fans ... Mike and the rest of the band would've been on the East Coast this week. Of course, they canceled the tour after Chester's suicide.

Shinoda, along with bandmate Joe Hahn, eulogized Chester at Saturday's private funeral in Palos Verdes.

The Minister for Magic in the 'Harry Potter' movies has died.

British actor Robert Hardy -- who played Cornelius Fudge in the 'Potter' films -- passed away Thursday, according to his family. Hardy was perhaps most famous for his role as Fudge, but also had a long career spanning more than 70 years in theatre, TV and film.

He's well known for a role in the series "All Creatures Great and Small," and had played Winston Churchill a number of times.

Hardy starred as the no-nonsense Fudge in 4 of the 'Potter' movies.

He was 91.

Chester Bennington's death certificate confirms the details we knew ... that the 41-year-old singer committed suicide with a belt.

According to the doc, obtained by TMZ, the Linkin Park singer died at 9:08 AM in his residence on July 20. The immediate cause of death is listed as hanging.

Chester's referred to as a "rock star musician" on the certificate, and had been in the music biz since he was 14 years old.

We broke the story ... Bennington died in his home nearly 2 weeks ago.

Coldplay made it clear with a moving tribute during their concert ... Chester Bennington's death is still weighing heavily on the minds of his comrades in the music biz.

Chris Martin and co. kicked off their North American tour Tuesday night in NJ, and near the show's end ... Chris said he wanted to dedicate Linkin Park's hit, "Crawling," to anyone who was missing someone.

Chris was seated at a piano for the stripped-down acoustic version.

Jeff Brotman's showing God his membership card now -- Costco's co-founder and chairman died Tuesday.

The Seattle-based company announced his passing, but did not say anything about cause of death. Brotman started Costco Wholesale in 1983 with Jim Sinegal. He first served as chairman of the board, but since 1994 he's been chairman of the company.

The company operates 736 warehouses worldwide -- more than 500 in the U.S. alone -- and is worth about $70 billion.

Pour a little out in memory of Jeff tonight. Then wipe it up with that 40 pack of paper towels ya bought from Costco back in January.

#RIP

Sad news for famed golf commentator David Feherty ... who revealed his son, Shey, passed away from a drug overdose on his 29th birthday.

"My first born son is gone from me, dying from an overdose on his 29th birthday," Feherty posted on social media ... "Bless his sweet heart, I will fight on."

Shey died on July 29th. Funeral services are set for Tuesday.

The former PGA golfer has also battled substance abuse himself and previously said alcoholism and mental illness run in his family.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking mourners to donate to the Center for Addiction and Recovery Studies.

Sam Shepard -- the brilliant playwright who won a Pulitzer Prize and also was nominated for an Oscar -- has died.

Sam had been battling with ALS and reportedly died Sunday peacefully in his Kentucky home. The website Broadway World reported he was surrounded by his children and sisters.

Sam won the coveted Pulitzer Prize back in 1979 for the play "Buried Child." He penned 44 plays and was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for the 1983 film, "The Right Stuff."

New York Magazine hailed him as the greatest American playwright of his generation. Sam starred in a bunch of movies -- including "Black Hawk Down" and "Swordfish" -- and most recently starred in Netflix's "Bloodline."

He was married to O-Lan Jones for 15 years and was Jessica Lange's longtime partner for over 2 decades. They had 2 kids together.

Sam was 73.

#RIP

Drita D'Avanzo thinks the landlord trying to remove a mural of her late "Mob Wives" friend and co-star Angela Raiola from his building is BS -- literally -- 'cause it's a hit with tourists.

Drita tells us the excuse the landlord's offering of the Big Ang tribute being "offensive" doesn't hold water ... since she has folks from all over the globe tell her otherwise everyday.

She gets pretty emotional talking about the mural -- which is in jeopardy of being removed entirely. It's been almost 18 months since Big Ang died from cancer, but Drita still gets choked up talking about her.

Still, Drita admits saving the mural will be an uphill battle. The guy owns the place, after all.

Chester Bennington's family and closest friends gathered for a private funeral near his home in Palos Verdes, CA.

A couple hundred people attended the service Saturday afternoon at South Coast Botanic Garden -- many of the guests were musicians who'd played or toured with Chester and Linkin Park. A full stage, including a drum kit, was set up for musical tributes to be performed.

Police provided tight security at the event. As TMZ first reported ... the family opted for a private funeral, instead of a massive open service. Instead, fans have organized numerous memorials around the globe for the frontman, who hanged himself just over a week ago.

Fittingly, all funeral attendees had to have wrist bands and an access pass -- similar to most concert VIP passes.

Chester was 41. #RIP

Chester Bennington will be celebrated far and wide by Linkin Park fans who want to pay their final respects ... and the band's completely on board.

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda tweeted a link telling fans about a monumental effort to pay tribute to Chester all over the world -- in L.A., NYC, Vancouver, Paris, Copenhagen, Japan and beyond.

TMZ broke the story ... Chester's family wants a private memorial, but is fully aware fans also want to properly say goodbye. And now they can. LPFanCorner is spearheading the public memorial.

The group put together a full list of memorials around the world. In fact ... some will be held at venues where the band was supposed to play before canceling its tour.

Still unclear if band members will attend any of the events.

Chester Bennington's wife, Talinda, says her family's life went from "fairytale" to "sick Shakespearean tragedy" since her husband's suicide a week ago.

Talinda released a statement, saying ... "How do I move on? How do I pick up my shattered soul? The only answer I know is to raise our babies with every ounce of love I have left. I want to let my community and the fans worldwide know that we feel your love. We feel your loss as well. My babies are so young to have lost their daddy."

Chester, who has 3 kids with Talinda, hanged himself in the family's new Rancho Palos Verdes Estates home.

Talinda says she lost her soulmate and her kids lost their hero. Talinda also asks that fans help keep his memory alive as he's now "pain free singing his songs in all of our hearts."

She also asks fans to turn to one another when they're in pain, and adds, "Chester would've
wanted us to do so."

Marty Sklar, legendary Imagineer and designer of Disney parks, died Thursday at his home in the Hollywood Hills.

Sklar was one of the company's last remaining links to Walt Disney. He started with Disney in 1955 and helped Walt market Disney World and Epcot Center. He went on to become the Mouse House's top Imagineer -- supervising the design of its parks in Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai.

He officially retired in 2009 as an Imagineering ambassador and, officially ... a Disney Legend.

Sklar was 83.