RIP

Jose Flores, a Pennsylvanian jockey who earned $64 MIL in his storied career, is dead at 57 after a headfirst fall during a race Monday in Philly.

Flores suffered major head and spine injuries as a result of the accident ... and was pulled off life support on Thursday.

The tragic incident happened Monday at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania ... when Jose's horse, Love Rules, went down -- launching him from his saddle.

Flores had compiled 4,650 wins across 3 decades in the sport ... and was reportedly going for the magic number of 5,000.

Jose is the 157th North American rider to die from a horse-racing accident since 1940.

Charles Lazarus, the man who founded Toys 'R' Us in 1948, has died, just days after the company went belly up.

After Lazarus returned from WWII, he realized quickly the baby boom generation was ripe for a cool, interactive toy superstore. Barbie Dolls, Hula Hoops and Slinkys were all the rage, and he had the idea to create a fun experience for kids and parents.

He experimented with a nondescript children's store, Children's Bargain Town, but then in '57 opened the first Toys 'R' Us in Maryland. Fast-forward ... at its height there were 1,600 stores around the world.

Toys 'R' Us just released a statement ... "There have been many sad moments for Toys'R'Us in recent weeks, and none more heartbreaking than today's news about the passing of our beloved founder, Charles Lazarus. Our thoughts and prayers are with Charles' family and loved ones."

Charles was 94.

RIP

Judd Apatow says his late mentor Garry Shandling became a nicer, wiser guy toward the end of his life, which will be explored in a new documentary about the comedian.

We spoke to Judd on "TMZ Live," and he gave us a rundown on what's behind his new project with HBO -- a 2-part documentary about his deceased pal and comedy great, Garry, that's airing March 26 and 27 on HBO at 8 PM.

Judd tells us Garry's diaries and journals -- which are the centerpieces in the doc -- revealed the comic became much more compassionate and giving throughout the years ... as neurotic of a creative genius as he was. He says Garry realized giving more to others was a W.

It sounds like a crazy deep dive into the mind of Shandling, who was groundbreakingly innovative with his shows like "It's Garry Shandling's Show" and "The Larry Sanders Show."

Send in THE clown ... to God.

Frank Avruch, TV's original Bozo the Clown, died Tuesday in Boston after a long battle with heart disease ... according to his family. He was 89.

The Boston legend created Bozo back in 1959, and played the lovable clown until 1970. Although Frank wore a lot of hats -- as a local host on radio and WCVB-TV -- he'll most be remembered for wearing that red-orange wig, oversized red shoes and pajamas with the frilly collar.

Avruch is an inductee of the National Television Academy's Gold Circle. Bozo's survived by his wife Betty, 2 sons, grandchildren, and, of course, his cousin Homey.

After Frank had the role some other clown, Larry Harmon, slipped into Bozo's famous getup. Harmon died in 2008.

Video of a self-driving Uber hitting and killing a pedestrian was released this week -- and the footage is shocking.

Arizona authorities released dash cam video of the accident Wednesday night, which shows the moment a self-driving Uber SUV slams into a woman crossing the street with her bike -- with a would-be driver clearly distracted at the wheel.

The "driver" was Rafaela Vasquez, and you can see she's got her head down from the interior angle as the car eventually strikes the victim ... 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. The exterior shot does not show the moment of impact.

Queen Latifah's mom has died after a very long battle with a heart condition ... TMZ has learned.

Latifah revealed the sad news Wednesday, saying ... "It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my mother, Rita Owens passed away today ... She had struggled with a heart condition for many years and her battle is now over."

The rapper and actress told People in 2015 she would stay at her mom's home in New Jersey to help take care of her when she wasn't working in California.

Owens had reportedly been taking meds and was aided by a defibrillator implanted in her chest to avert a heart attack. She also had to maintain a very healthy diet to live with the condition.

WWE Superstar Mark Henry was personal friends with the 17-year-old boy senselessly murdered by an exploding package bomb last week in Austin.

TMZ Sports talked to '18 WWE Hall of Fame inductee -- who lives in Austin -- about the package bombings that terrorized the city ... injuring innocent people, and ending 2 lives.

Henry revealed he personally knew Draylen Mason -- an accomplished bass guitarist -- who was killed on March 12 when a package exploded in the kitchen of his home.

Draylen's mom was injured in the explosion ... but is expected to survive.

"It was just tragic to lose a kid like that, so young, and so full of life," Henry says ... "He was talented. Talented bassist. He traveled, and competed. It's just a hard loss."

Aaron Hernandez's self-hate for his alleged gay secret is NOT why he turned violent -- so says Marco Rubio.

We got the Florida senator out on Capitol Hill ... and asked what he made of the recent "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" documentary, since he and Hernandez share the same alma mater (Florida).

Marco told TMZ Sports he hasn't had the chance to watch the whole thing, but with that said -- "I don't think that's relevant to killing somebody."

That "somebody" was Odin Lloyd ... a man some law enforcement officials believe Hernandez murdered in 2013 because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Stevie Wonder thinks America needs to be more like Australia if it's serious about curbing mass shootings, and other acts of domestic terrorism like the package bomber in Austin.

We got Stevie leaving Mr. Chow Monday night in Bev Hills -- just a few hours before the latest bomb, bound for Austin, went off at a FedEx facility. So far, 2 people have been killed by 5 different exploding packages, and police suspect the bomber's targeting black people.

Stevie told us the people sending the packages are "no different than terrorists" ... and urged politicians to look Down Under for a plan to combat the violence.

Mark Salling had alcohol in his system when he hanged himself, and apparently took steps to evade authorities just prior to the suicide ... TMZ has learned.

According to the results of Salling's autopsy ... he had at least a 0.08% BAC -- which means he was just at the point of legal intoxication. The toxicology report also shows he was not on any other drugs.

The report describes the death scene -- Salling was hanging by a nylon rope which was tied to a branch a little over 6 feet above the ground. The coroner says it was wrapped around his neck five times.

The autopsy also notes Salling had attempted to kill himself months prior by cutting his wrists. His wrist incisions were about 2.5 centimeters and 6.5 centimeters on each hand, according to the coroner.

The last time the former "Glee" star was seen alive was with his father watching television at their family home at around 11:30 PM. His mother discovered he was missing right after midnight. Salling had ditched his ankle monitor and left it down the street from his house.

He was scheduled to meet with the probation officer in his child porn case the day he died.

A cast member of the traveling Cirque du Soleil suffered a fatal fall this weekend, dying at a hospital after an aerial stunt went terribly wrong ... and video of the incident has just surfaced.

The acrobat, Yann Arnaud, was performing during a live Cirque du Soleil production of "VOLTA" in Tampa Saturday night when he fell onto the stage during an aerial straps number.

In the video, which has since been deleted, you can see him swinging back into view when he somehow loses his grab on the strap and awkwardly lands head first. Crew members immediately rush to his aid, and the crowd is clearly in shock from the brutal fall.

Cirque du Soleil issued a statement saying emergency procedures were implemented and that Arnaud was transported to a local hospital. The company says he died from his injures sometime later. He'd reportedly been with the company for 15 years.

Aaron Hernandez was gay -- according to several people close to him ... and his private struggle with his sexuality caused him great emotional pain that may have turned him violent.

It's all part of the Oxygen documentary, "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" -- which features interviews with Aaron's close friends, ex-girlfriends and members of his legal team.

Aaron's college girlfriend, Alyssa Anderson, says she first learned Aaron had a relationship with a man while they were attending the University of Florida ... but he denied it at the time. It was only years later that Hernandez cryptically acknowledged her suspicions were true.

George Leontire -- an openly gay member of Hernandez's defense team -- says he spoke with Hernandez at length about his sexuality and Aaron opened up like never before.

"This man clearly was gay," Leontire said ... "[He] acknowledged it. Acknowledged the immense pain that it caused him."

Leontire added, "I think that he also came out of a culture that was so negative about gay people that he exhibited some self-hatred."

Hernandez never spoke publicly about being gay. He was engaged to a woman, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, and they had a daughter together.

Aaron was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013 -- and there are some law enforcement officials who believe Hernandez executed Lloyd because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Hernandez ultimately killed himself in his prison cell in 2017.

Billionaire businessman Tom Benson -- who owned the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans -- has died, his family has confirmed.

The 90-year-old passed away peacefully Thursday at Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana with his wife, Gayle Marie Benson, at his side after falling ill with the flu.

Benson started out as a bookkeeper at a Chevy dealership in New Orleans -- but went on to become a dealership owner and expanded the business into a billion-dollar empire.

Benson bought the Saints in 1985 -- when they weren't exactly winners (remember the Aints?). The team posted their first winning record in 1987 and made the playoffs that year. Of course, they got better and won the Super Bowl in 2010.

In 2012, Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets and changed the name to the Pelicans.

Stephen Hawking's contributions to science are almost too much for Bill Nye the Science Guy to grasp, because they require thinking beyond what actually exists. Yeah, buckle up.

We got Bill Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, where he was repping for the Planetary Society. He says that's how he was able to meet the late, genius physicist/cosmologist.

Bill says Stephen's legacy isn't about any single discovery, it's more about changing the way people think about the cosmos, and he takes a stab at explaining it to our camera guy, too.

The man who shot and killed ex-NFL RB Joe McKnight could be spending the rest of his life in a prison cell.

Ronald Gasser, 56, was just sentenced to 30 years behind bars ... less than 2 months after he was found guilty of manslaughter in a Louisiana courtroom. The maximum sentence he faced was 40 years.

Gasser was originally charged with 2nd-degree murder, but the jury elected for the lesser charge of manslaughter after more than 7 hours of deliberation back on Jan. 26.

McKnight -- who played for the Jets and Chiefs from 2010-2014 -- was gunned down by Gasser during a road-rage incident on Dec. 1, 2016, which ended when Gasser shot McKnight 3 times through his passenger side window.

Joe was only 28.

McKnight's mother, Jennifer, gave a victim impact statement before the sentencing, saying -- "That day, you didn't have to do that. That didn't have to happen. It hurts. It's going to hurt a long time."

Michelle Quick, the mother of Joe's 8-year-old son, also addressed Gasser before leaving the courtroom in tears.

"It will be my life's mission to make sure my son, Jaiden, doesn't grow up with hate for you. Not because you don't deserve it, but because he should not have hate in his heart."

FYI, Gasser's lawyer's filed a motion for a new trial before the sentencing -- claiming he was clearly acting in self-defense -- but the judge rejected their proposal.

Big Pun IS forever at Walmart, but his widow ain't happy about it ... so, she's filed a lawsuit against the retail giant.

Liza Rios is going after Walmart for a line of clothing and merch it sells which bear the late Bronx rapper's name and image. In the suit, she says some of the items straight-up jacked the trademark she got after Pun died in 2000 -- a Jordan-esque image of Pun soaring with a mic in his hand, instead of a basketball.

Most of the clothing and gear -- which includes phone cases, mugs and bags -- is made by a company called Redbubble, and Liza's suing them as well as Walmart.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Walmart, Rebubble and other manufacturers are willfully infringing on her trademark ... because they have full knowledge of its existence, yet continue to use it without authorization.

Ms. Pun is suing for all profits, and and injunction to block further sales.

She's also demanding $10 million in statutory damages from manufacturers Redbubble and Cloudflare, but not Walmart.