RIP

WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper was literally within an inch of death after being stabbed by a fan back in the early '80s ... and we finally have a detailed account from "Hot Rod" himself.

Piper, who passed away in 2015, vividly recalled the attack in "Roddy Piper: In His Own Words" -- a new documentary from Nine Legends Film -- who spoke with the legend in 2006.

Roddy says he was shanked 3 different times during his career ... the worst one was at a show in Raleigh, North Carolina, when a guy with a buck knife came after him on the sidelines.

"First rule of a knife fight -- don’t take your eyes off the knife. Broke that rule. I stopped, boom -- he got me an inch from the heart."

Piper says he chased the perp after he booked it into the stands ... but was stopped by cops, who also subdued the fan.

"Closest I’ve ever seen to somebody get shot, I think. ... They had him down, and the policeman that had the pistol that I ran into turned, and he had it towards the back of his head."

There's more -- but it's better you hear it straight from Roddy.

FYI, a percentage of all sales from the doc are being donated to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland -- Piper's adopted hometown.

London's O2 arena has been transformed into a Prince museum with hundreds of his belongings on display, including some of his most iconic outfits.

Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, helped curate the My Name Is Prince exhibition. Most of the items were flown in from from Paisley Park, the Purple One's compound in Minnesota.

The exhibit is lined with everything from guitars, clothes and liner notes from several different times in Prince's life, including the "Purple Rain" era. The O2 is a special place for Prince -- he played a record-breaking 21 sold-out nights there in 2007.

Chester Bennington's father is in a tough spot -- he won't be able to attend the big Hollywood Bowl tribute to his son due to a severe, and horribly timed, illness.

Family sources tell us Lee Bennington came down with laryngitis earlier this week. We're told he was holding out hope for a speedy recovery, but he can't speak right now ... and doctors have ordered him to stay put at home in Arizona.

The memorial concert -- "Linkin Park & Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington" -- goes down Friday night at the Bowl. We're told Lee is especially bummed about missing it because he used to tour with Chester, and knew his bandmates and crew well.

5:25 PM PT -- We've obtained Bolling Jr.'s autopsy report -- it confirms Sr.'s tweets -- saying Jr. died of an accidental overdose. The report states Jr.'s blood had cocaine, fentanyl and a medication for anxiety.

The death of Eric Chase Bolling Jr. has been ruled an accidental overdose ... this according to his father.

The ex-Fox News Channel anchor, Eric Bolling, said he received tragic news Thursday from the coroner in Colorado informing him his 19-year-old son accidentally overdosed on drugs that included opioids. Eric went on to say, "Adrienne and I thank you for your continued prayers and support. We must fight against this national epidemic, too many innocent victims."

The news comes on the same day President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency.

Spencer Pratt is hurting after suffering a huge loss -- a tiny bird he believes succumbed to the unseasonable heat.

The reality TV star woke up to the horror in his L.A. home Tuesday -- after sleeping in a little late. One of his backyard hummingbirds -- which he'd befriended -- was unresponsive.

Spencer was emotional, but gathered himself to go buy supplies for a proper burial for his beloved "hummer angel." Check out the ceremony. Just beautiful.

He has a message for his fellow hummingbird lovers too -- don't use red dye nectar!!! He thinks it kills them.

7:50 AM PT -- Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office tells TMZ Fats died of natural causes and his body was released to a funeral home. There was no autopsy.

Fats Domino, the legendary New Orleans singer and piano player who took the '50s and '60s by storm ... is dead.

Domino died in New Orleans, surrounded by friends and family, according to his daughter.

His hits were epic ... "Blueberry Hill," "Ain't That a Shame" and "I'm Walkin'."

Domino sold more than 65 million albums, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

He was deeply embedded in New Orleans, and did a lot of public appearances for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Domino was 89 years old.

RIP

Chester Bennington kept his money close to home ... because his will leaves most of his assets to a trust for the benefit of his wife and kids.

According to the will, which was filed in L.A. County and obtained by TMZ, there are certain assets -- like his retirement account -- that goes directly to his widow, Talinda. All remaining assets go into the Chester and Talinda Bennington Family Trust which was created in 2007 and amended in 2009.

The couple has 3 kids. He also has 3 other children from previous relationships. The will says all 6 kids are beneficiaries.

As we previously reported, Chester set aside certain funds to pay for visits among the various kids to keep their relationships strong.

Talinda is named executor and has the power over all of Chester's musical rights and interests.

Chester committed suicide in July.

Robert Guillaume -- best known for his '80s hit TV show, "Benson" -- died Tuesday at his L.A. home from complications of prostate cancer ... according to his wife, Donna.

Guillaume won the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy for playing sarcastic, wise-cracking butler, Benson DuBois, on the hit ABC show. "Benson" was a spin-off from "Soap." He won a supporting actor Emmy for that show.

He was also the voice of Rafiki on Disney's "The Lion King" -- and Isaac Jaffe on Aaron Sorkin's "Sports Night."

Throughout his career, Guillaume defied racial stereotypes with his characters on TV and in theater. He earned a 1977 Tony nom for "Guys and Dolls" ... and was the first African-American to play the title role in "Phantom of the Opera"

Robert was 89.

R.I.P.

Playboy is taking steps to protect its biz regarding its iconic bunny logo -- almost a month after their founder Hugh Hefner died.

Playboy filed to renew the rights to a retro version of its Playboy bunny mark on a ton of its packaging and other items that'd typically feature the regular logo.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, they're looking to lock down the image of a smirking white bunny in a tux and plaster it on pretty important Playboy merch ... like magazines, for example ... plus calendars, boxes, stationery materials and LOTS of other stuff.

The move's interesting, especially considering Hef died just last month. Some might have seen it as a signal to potentially change the branding ... but Playboy says that's not the case.

A rep for Playboy tells TMZ .. this "new" bunny ain't all that new -- it's been used by the company before, having appeared on the cover of their February 1960 issue, and has popped up over the years. We're told Playboy is simply trying to re-assert its ownership of this version of the Playboy bunny, and that it ain't changing their iconic logo.

3:56 PM PT -- O'Reilly is apologizing to Eric, and says "The message I tried to send was that allegations harm kids. Nothing more."

Ex-Fox News Channel anchor Eric Bolling is firing a warning shot to his old co-worker Bill O'Reilly for bringing up his son's death to the New York Times -- the message ... back off.

Bolling released a statement Monday in response to an interview O'Reilly did with the Times over the weekend -- in which the fired FNC host suggested Bolling's son, Eric Jr., was dead because of stories the paper ran about his dad. Eric Sr. doesn't mince words, even for Bill.

Bolling says, "I believe it is beyond inappropriate for anyone to bring in the tragic death of my son Eric Chase Bolling Jr. Just as Bill O'Reilly had wanted to shield his children from the allegations against him, I hope he will honor my request and avoid any future mentions of my son. My parting from Fox News was in no way connected to ... my son's passing."

He goes on to say that the coroner has indicated to him that Eric Jr.'s death was an accident ... and to also take a shot at Bill directly by saying ... "Unlike others who left Fox News amid public allegations and extensive investigations, I parted ways with Fox News in an amicable way and any reference to a firing is flatly wrong."

As we reported ... Eric Jr. died in bed after suffering emotional torture. The coroner has not announced cause of death.

11:56 AM PT -- A rep for Mia St. John tells TMZ, Mia -- Kristoff's ex-wife -- is NOT the one who called police or got the photos of him holding a gun to his head.

'Young and The Restless' star Kristoff St. John was hospitalized and placed under psychiatric evaluation after allegedly threatening to kill himself with a gun.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... an ex of Kristoff's called cops Thursday evening and told them Kristoff had been sending her photos showing the soap star holding a gun to his head.

When cops arrived, they confiscated 2 guns and placed Kristoff under a 72-hour hold for mental evaluation. Sources close to Kristoff tell us the 2-year anniversary of his son Julian's suicide is fast approaching -- November 23 -- and that had him very, very upset.

Kristoff's ex set up the "El Saber es Poder" ("Knowledge is Power") Foundation to battle mental illness following Julian's death.

The woman who claimed she became suicidal after Jim Carrey gave her herpes created an elaborate extortion scheme with fake medical records to make it seem she was clean before she met Jim ... this according to new legal docs.

Carrey now claims Cathriona White -- who committed suicide in 2015 -- had herpes before they met, but needed to change the facts. So he says she got her friend's medical records showing a clean bill of health, and then altered them to make it appear the records were hers.

According to Carrey's new legal docs, White then presented the before and after medical records, claiming it was proof -- the only change was that she started having sex with him and got genital herpes.

Carrey claims in legal docs they have a smoking gun in the form of text messages from White to her friend ... asking the friend numerous times to go to Planned Parenthood to get her medical records and one of the text messages says, "I need to see the layout ... I will need to work on it before I give it to him."

The new docs were filed in connection with a lawsuit brought by White's husband and mother, who claim Carrey gave her the disease and that's why she killed herself.

Carrey's legal team just made an ultimatum ... either ante up non-forged medical records or admit she had multiple STDs before she even met the actor.

Michael Avenatti, attorney for Cathriona's estate, tells us Carrey's new claim is "complete and utter bulls**t. When the truth comes out, Mr. Carrey and certain of his advisers are going to be criminally prosecuted for their conduct in this case. They better buckle up."

Jim Lahey will return to Sunnyvale Trailer Park in the upcoming season of "Trailer Park Boys" -- but the character won't be back after that ... TMZ has learned.

Sources involved in the production tell us John Dunsworth's character will not be recast after season 12. We're told Dunsworth completed filming for the season before his death this week.

We're told producers believe Dunsworth is irreplaceable in that role, and it would damage the franchise to put another actor in the role.

Dunsworth played the drunken cop-turned-security guard on 'Boys' since its debut in 2001.

As we reported ... Dunsworth's died Monday after a brief and unexpected illness. He was 71.

Chester Bennington was all about his modern family -- 6 children from 3 relationships -- and made provisions in his will to make sure they remained tight after he was gone.

According to Chester's will -- filed in probate court in L.A. County, and obtained by TMZ -- he said, "I request that my children's mothers or Guardians encourage and allow my children to visit with one another and with my extended family and the extended family of my Spouse on a regular and ongoing basis, so that my children know that they have a large and loving family."

He instructed the trustee of his family trust to make sure they all get money to cover travel expenses.

Chester and his widow, Talinda, had 3 children together, he had one from his first marriage to Samantha Olit -- and before that, he had one child with a girlfriend in Arizona. He later adopted that girlfriend's other son.

As for how much money the Linkin Park frontman left behind -- that's all under wraps in his trust.

One other interesting note -- Talinda is the executor of Chester's will, but the alternate executor is his former business manager, Jonathan Schwartz. We say former because Schwartz is now doing time in federal prison for wire fraud. He also managed Alanis Morissette, Mariah and Beyonce and was arrested for embezzling millions from his famous clients.

"Project Runway" finalist Mychael Knight was still hard at work one month before his death, but an intestinal disorder was already taking a visible toll on his body.

TMZ obtained a video of Mychael at what's believed to be the last fashion show he attended ... on September 8 in NYC. While the beloved designer was posing with models ... irritable bowel syndrome left him looking incredibly fragile.

As we reported ... the season 3 sensation died Tuesday morning in a Georgia hospital where he'd been getting treatment for IBS ... which he said was destroying his immune system.

He was 39.

Justin Trudeau needs a hug today, and some tissues -- the Canadian Prime Minister completely lost it while talking about the death of his friend, The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie.

Trudeau was a huge fan of the beloved Canadian rock band, and went to their last gig a year ago.

He addressed Downie's death Wednesday, saying Gord loved Canada deeply and wanted to make it a better place. As he fought back tears, Trudeau said, "We are less of a country without [him]."

Downie died Tuesday night after an almost 2-year battle with brain cancer. He was 53.

Trudeau's news conference was just the start ... he also posted a heartfelt statement honoring his pal as "a rock star, artist, and poet whose evocative lyrics came to define a country." #RIP