RIP

Hugh Hefner was so revered his fandom crossed generations ... and they all gathered in front of the famed Playboy Mansion moments after news of his death broke.

Fans descended on the Mansion Wednesday night, and there was a little bit of everything -- from hot chicks mourning in silence and bros wearing smoking jackets to a young family.

Yes, a father of 3 brought his kids, including his 8-year-old daughter, to the mansion ... and explained why it was a can't-miss pilgrimage for them.

Hugh Hefner was ahead of his time, but not because he put hot women in centerfolds -- and that's what Les Moonves and Randy Jackson will remember about him.

We got the CBS honcho leaving Craig's Wednesday night in WeHo, and Les had seriously high praise for Hefner. You know that running joke, "I only read Playboy for the articles"? Les says there's a lot of truth behind it, and for good reason.

As we reported ... Hefner died peacefully at his home. He revolutionized the magazine biz -- partly with Playboy's famous photos, but also by attracting amazing writers.

11:05 AM PT -- FOX tells us ... “In 'Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?' a photo of Los Angeles Sheriff Department Commander Steven D. Katz was mistakenly used in the program. FOX regrets the error and extends an apology to Commander Katz and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”

7:25 AM PT -- Critical Content -- the company behind the special -- issued an apology, saying, "Critical Content apologizes to Commander Steve Katz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, whose photo was mistakenly included in last night’s airing of 'Who Shot Biggie and Tupac?' He is not the Steven Katz of the Los Angeles Police Department mentioned in the program."

The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is irate at FOX over its "Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?" special that accused a Sheriff's commander of bungling the investigation, and the Department is demanding an apology.

The show, hosted by Ice-T and Soledad O'Brien, misidentified Commander Stephen D. Katz as the lead investigator into Biggie's murder. The show repeatedly showed Katz' face and his badge and said the way he handled the case was disgraceful. All incorrect, the Dept. says ... he had nothing to do with the investigation.

In fact, the Sheriff's Dept. says they had no involvement in Biggie's investigation ... it was all LAPD.

The Sheriff's Dept. is demanding a public apology and retraction from FOX, claiming the references to Katz and the Dept. were defamatory.

We reached out to FOX .. so far, no word back.

"Narcos" star Pedro Pascal is riding the wave of popularity, yet he says the Netflix show can't go on unless there's a way of protecting cast and crew.

We got Pedro -- who plays DEA agent Javier Peña -- out at LAX Sunday and asked about the respected location scout who was murdered in an area near Hidalgo.

As we reported ... Carlos Muñoz Portal's body was found earlier this month riddled with bullets. Muñoz was scouting in Mexico for season 4 ... where Peña zeroes in on the Mexican drug cartels.

Drake helped lay his longtime friend, Anthony "Fif" Soares, to rest this weekend ... this after the guy was brutally gunned down in Toronto.

Drake attended Fif's funeral service Saturday at the Ogden Funeral Home chapel in Scarborough, Ontario ... and later traveled to the Duffin Meadows Cemetery where he served as one of the pallbearers for the casket.

Eyewitnesses tell us Drake did not speak at the procession, and mostly kept to himself. You can tell from the video he's in deep mourning over Soares' death ... who was just killed a couple weeks ago.

As we reported ... Soares was gunned down in his apartment lobby by 2 unidentified men. Police released surveillance video of the murder ... and it graphically shows him being shot.

"Clerks" star Lisa Spoonauer died from an accidental overdose of a powerful painkiller ... TMZ has learned.

According to the Ocean County Medical Examiner in NJ, Lisa died of acute and chronic intravenous use of hydromorphone ... the generic brand of the narcotic, Dilaudid. She was also battling cancer, anemia, lung disease and immune deficiency ... all of which contributed to her death.

Lisa, who played Caitlin Bree in the cult classic film ... was only 44 when she died in May. At the time, her family said she'd been fighting undisclosed illnesses for years.

Her death prompted "Clerks" writer/director Kevin Smith to post an emotional tribute.

Some of the most famous photos of Tupac Shakur have been stolen and slapped on shirts at a couple popular retail stores, and the photog wants justice ... according to a new lawsuit.

Chi Modu, known for his portraits of hip-hop artists, claims a merchandising company used his Pac pics without permission to produce a bunch of apparel. According to the docs ... the company then sold the shirts to Urban Outfitters and Macy's, which sold them to the public ... also allegedly without Modu's consent.

Modu admits he had an agreement with the merchandising company to use his Tupac photos at one time, but it expired in July 2016 ... and he says the dirty business came afterward.

The photog wants all the stores' profits from the shirts, along with damages.

We reached out to Urban and Macy's ... no word back so far.

Aaron Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, says Aaron killed himself as a result of severe CTE he suffered during his NFL career -- and she's suing the the Patriots and the league for keeping him in the dark about the brain disease.

Shayanna filed the lawsuit in Mass. on behalf of the daughter she had with Aaron.

In the suit Shayanna says, "Aaron had stage 3 CTE usually seen in players with a median age of death of 67 years."

Shayanna claims the NFL and the Patriots were aware of the link between suicidal impulses and CTE and failed to share that info with Hernandez.

She claims the NFL and the Patriots "were fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage."

In her suit, Shayanna says she and her daughter are seeking "redress for the loss of parental consortium she has experienced based on the negligent conduct of Defendants that deprived her of the companionship and society of her father, Aaron Hernandez."

Hernandez infamously killed himself in his prison cell on April 19 -- after he was found not guilty in a double homicide. Hernandez was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd at the time of his death.

Shayanna says in her suit, "On April 19, 2017, Aaron succumbed to the symptoms of CTE and committed suicide."

Story developing ...

Bernie Casey, the beloved and iconic co-star in "Revenge of the Nerds" and "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," died in an L.A. hospital ... TMZ has learned.

Bernie's rep tells us he died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by loved ones. We're told he suddenly fell ill recently, and had spent the last few days hospitalized.

He broke into Hollywood with roles in blaxploitation films, and went on to co-star in nearly 80 different projects -- most notably he was the national head of the Tri Lams in 'Nerds' ... and neighborhood activist John Slade in 'Sucka.' He was also in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure."

Casey was totally a jack-of-several-trades, having also played in the NFL as a Pro Bowl wide receiver for the L.A. Rams in the late '60s. He also had a passion for painting and poetry.

Bernie was 78.

R.I.P.

Roy Jones Jr. says Jake LaMotta is one of the 10 greatest fighters EVER -- and says the late, great boxer had a very real impact on his own legendary career.

"He taught me that no matter how tough things got, no matter how hard things got, you don't stop," Jones tells TMZ Sports.

"That's why he's called a Raging Bull. You don't stop for nothing."

As for why Jake belongs on the All-Time Top 10 list, Roy says the way he pushed Sugar Ray Robinson (widely considered to be the best boxer ever) to the brink 6 TIMES is one of the most incredible feats anyone has ever accomplished in the ring.

Jake died on Tuesday. He was 95.

8:54 AM PT -- Robert De Niro just issued a statement on LaMotta's passing, "Rest in Peace, Champ."

Boxing legend Jake LaMotta -- the champ who was played by Robert De Niro in the movie "Raging Bull" -- died Tuesday, TMZ has learned. He was 95.

Jake's wife tells TMZ, Jake died in a nursing home due to complications from pneumonia.

Another family member tells TMZ, Jake's condition deteriorated in the last few weeks. He was put on a feeding tube, which he kept pulling out. His condition worsened considerably in the last few days and a decision was made to withdraw the tube.

Jake's wife tells TMZ, "I just want people to know, he was a great, sweet, sensitive, strong, compelling man with a great sense of humor, with eyes that danced."

LaMotta was 83-19 in 106 pro fights -- a career that began in 1941, after he was rejected from serving in the military due to a medical issue.

He went on to win the world middleweight championship -- but he's most well known for his 6-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson ... though he only won 1 of the 6 fights.

LaMotta was famously portrayed by De Niro in the 1980 movie "Raging Bull," based on Jake's autobiography. De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor that year.

R.I.P.

The murder of one of Drake's longtime friends was caught on video, and cops just released it.

Anthony Soares was gunned down last week in Toronto by 2 men.

The video shows Soares standing in his apartment lobby when the 2 hooded men run up from a car in a nearby parking lot and begin shooting through the lobby glass. It appears they fired off at least 10 shots.

A few days ago Drake posted, "RIP to one of our family members ... our brother ... I still can't even believe this morning was real. It was a honor to have shared years together and I will always keep your memory alive. Forever Fif" [Fif was his nickname].

Police have no suspects.

Dick Gregory's family didn't hear a peep from anyone involved with the Emmys regarding honoring the iconic comedian, and they absolutely consider it a slap in the face.

One of Dick's sons, Christian Gregory, tells TMZ the omission Sunday night from the In Memoriam segment was especially disrespectful due to his father's legacy. Christian points out most actors and producers of color wouldn't even be working in TV without Dick's civil rights activism and success in entertainment.

As we reported, Gregory, Charlie Murphy, Harry Dean Stanton and Frank Vincent were all left out of the tribute. Murphy's camp had been contacted for photos, but he was still absent from the broadcast segment.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hasn't offered an explanation, but they've added all of them -- except Vincent -- to the Academy's website memoriam.

Charlie Murphy's rep says he sent the Emmys photos for the show's In Memoriam segment so there is NO excuse for having excluded him.

Domenick Nati tells TMZ, an Emmys producer reached out to him on August 18 asking for photos to include as part of the show's In Memoriam. Domenick obliged and said the producer emailed him 6 days later, saying they could do a nice tribute with what he'd sent.

So when the tribute finally aired Sunday on national television, Domenick was outraged it came and went without Charlie being mentioned. Dick Gregory, Frank Vincent and Harry Dean Stanton were also left out.

Domenick says a producer for the Creative Arts Emmys -- which aired Saturday night on FXX -- also reached out, and that program DID feature Charlie. He says cutting out Charlie, who died in April, from the main broadcast ... on network TV, where his fans were watching, was a big sin.

We've reached out to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, so far no word back.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan wasn't just a legendary wrestling manager -- he was also INCREDIBLE when it came to throwin' down in the squared circle ... so says Triple H.

The WWE executive tells TMZ Sports most people don't know about Heenan's wrestling skills -- "He was one of the best in-ring performers there was. He just chose not to do it."

And why not?

"He wanted to be a manager. That's what he wanted to do."

Heenan was obviously damn good at the managing thing -- rising to legendary status managing stars like Andre the Giant, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and more in his storied career.

Triple H also says one of his favorite Heenan moments was his 2004 WWE Hall of Fame induction speech -- which Bobby performed without a single scripted note.

R.I.P.

Chris Hardwick thinks someone's got some 'splainin' to do after the Emmys overlooked several celebs, including a "legend" in its In Memoriam segment.

We got Chris leaving Beauty & Essex Sunday night in L.A., and brought him up to speed -- the Emmys forgot to honor Dick Gregory, Charlie Murphy, Harry Dean Stanton and Frank Vincent who all died this year.