RIP

Delta Air Lines refused to hand over the dog that had been dead for hours, according to its owner and now a legal battle's brewing over what the Pomeranian's owner calls the airline's "suspicious" activity.

Michael Dellegrazie, Alejandro's owner, and his lawyer, Evan Oshan, tell us Delta wanted to keep the dog's carcass to do its own necropsy ... while Michael wanted Alejandro returned immediately in order to get his own testing done to determine what happened.

As we reported, Alejandro died in Detroit last week after traveling in the cargo hold of a flight.

Oshan says he had to get involved and claims the airline was very uncooperative once he arrived in Detroit, and he had to go to cops to force Delta to hand over the dog ... which by law, is Dellegrazie's personal property.

Delta tells us any delay in returning the dog was due to Oshan not meeting in a previously agreed-upon spot. Delta also says it offered to pay to have an independent necropsy performed right after the death, but they were turned down by the owner.

Oshan says once they finally got Alejandro's body back, they also uncovered a wet, bloody blanket ... with no explanation. Delta allegedly told them the dog had vomited, but the lawyer points out the airline didn't retain any of the vomit to help determine the cause of death.

Dunder Mifflin fans have lost a member of their TV family -- Hugh Dane, who famously played Hank the security guard on "The Office," has died.

One of Hugh's costars on the sitcom, Rainn Wilson, tweeted out the news Monday with a link to a nonprofit Hugh was involved with. The org., The Inner City Cultural Center in L.A., posted about Hugh's death late last month ... they say he died in mid-May.

It's unclear what Hugh might've died from -- the ICCC didn't provide any details about the circumstances surrounding his death. They did mention, however, he'll be honored through a memorial this weekend.

Hugh had a long acting career dating back to the 1990s. Besides his recurring role as Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch enforcer ... he's also appeared on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Martin," "Boy Meets World," "Everybody Hates Chris," "The West Wing," "Friends," "Sister, Sister," "The Steve Harvey Show," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "New Girl" and lots of other shows and films.

He was 75. Here's to Hank, and his blues ... RIP.

Ex-NFL star Dwight Clark -- the guy who made "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC Championship -- has died from complications stemming from ALS, his wife has confirmed.

"I’m heartbroken to tell you that today I lost my best friend and husband," she tweeted.

"He passed peacefully surrounded by many of the people he loved most."

"I am thankful for all of Dwight’s friends, teammates and 49ers fans who have sent their love during his battle with ALS."

Clark put together one helluva career after being selected in the 10th round of the 1979 NFL Draft -- earning his way into 2 Pro Bowls and leading the NFL in receptions in 1982.

He also won 2 Super Bowls as one of Joe Montana's favorite receivers.

His #87 jersey was retired in 1988.

Stephen Hawking was the world's most famous theoretical physicist, but according to his death certificate ... he was simply a scientist.

According to the doc -- obtained by TMZ -- Stephen's occupation is listed as such. The cause of death is Motor Neurone Disease ... an early-onset form of ALS that Stephen suffered for most of his life. The certificate also shows his body was cremated.

As we reported ... Stephen died back in March after a long battle with the disease left him wheelchair-bound and almost entirely paralyzed. The world-renowned British scientist wrote several landmark books and guest-starred on several TV shows as himself ... including "The Simpsons" and "The Big Bang Theory."

Another dog took off on a commercial airliner and when the plane landed ... it was dead.

Alejandro the Pomeranian was in the cargo hold of a Delta Air Lines jet that originated in Phoenix and was supposed to land in New Jersey with a stopover in Detroit. When the plane landed in the Motor City, we're told the 8-year-old Pom was alive ... but it was discovered he'd died during the process of transferring him to the connecting flight.

So far the cause of death has not been determined. Delta tells TMZ it's conducting a thorough investigation to find out what occurred to ensure it doesn't happen again. The airline says it's working with Alejandro's family to support them and has offered a free necropsy to have Alejandro evaluated.

The dog was owned by a unmarried couple that was relocating to New York.

The lawyer for the family, Evan Oshan, tells us ... from what he knows Delta has been pushing people to put their dogs in the cargo hold rather than the cabin, presumably because there are so many service dogs on board these days the passenger areas resemble a kennel.

Delta, however, tells us it did not push the passengers to store their dog in cargo ... it was their choice.

John Salley says the mother of the NBA G League player who died after collapsing on the court is "100% right" in her lawsuit against the league ... saying, "I think she has a case."

TMZ Sports broke story ... Zeke Upshaw's mother claims the team doctor didn't respond to her son for 4 MINUTES after he collapsed from a cardiac incident during a game back in March.

Upshaw's mother claims Zeke did not receive proper medical treatment that could have saved his life, and she's holding the Detroit Pistons and the NBA responsible.

Salley -- a 4-time NBA champ -- told us he stands with Zeke's mother, and says the league needs to do better moving forward.

"I think she has a case ... The fact that there was no professional EMS around would definitely have to fall on the squad."

In fact, Salley says he hopes the lawsuit will force the league to improve league standards when it comes to medical emergencies.

A famous psychiatrist who has worked on some notorious cases -- including the murder of JonBenet Ramsey -- has been murdered.

Steven Pitt was shot and killed Thursday night outside his office as he was leaving work. Witnesses say they heard a loud argument and then shots rang out.

Pitt was involved in the police investigation into the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey. He believed the key to the case was pineapple in JonBenet's digestive tract, which showed she had eaten some not long before she died. However, Patsy Ramsey -- her mother -- had said JonBenet hadn't eaten any of the fruit in the hours before she went missing, but her fingerprints were found on the fruit bowl, leading Pitt to believe someone was covering up.

Pitt had also worked on the Baseline Killer case and many others.

DuShon Monique Brown -- who played Connie on "Chicago Fire" -- died of a blood infection, but it's unclear how her system became contaminated ... TMZ has learned.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office tells us Brown's cause of death was sepsis, with an unknown origin. Sepsis typically occurs when harmful bacteria infiltrates the blood, often from an untreated wound.

We're told other contributing factors to her death include high blood pressure and obesity.

As we reported ... DuShon died back in March after falling ill while she was at home in Chicago. She'd just been released from a hospital a few days prior ... after she'd received treatment for chest pains.

She starred on "Chicago Fire" ever since the show debuted in 2012 -- and also had a role on the FOX show "Prison Break" from 2005 to 2007.

She is survived by a daughter. DuShon was 49.

Brian Littrell is calling out NOFX for its tasteless joke about the Las Vegas massacre ... because he says the horrifying event still haunts fans and performers in that city.

The Backstreet Boys singer was at LAX Wednesday, and gave us his take on NOFX crossing the line -- saying at least the people killed during the mass shooting were country fans, instead of their punk rock fans.

Fifty-eight people were killed and nearly 500 injured in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history ... something Brian says was definitely on his mind when BSB recently played in Vegas.

The people who manage Michael Jackson's estate say The Walt Disney Co. has some nerve for profiting off the tears of MJ's kids and stealing a bunch of its property ... all to make a shoddy TV special they claim never came close to documenting Michael's 'Last Days.'

The estate just sued The Walt Disney Co. claiming copyright infringement and saying it never had permission to use a bunch of its footage for its "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" TV special ... which premiered last week to more than 5.5 million viewers.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate claims Disney's lawyers told them they were making a documentary, so use of the MJ clips was fair game. But the estate calls BS ... saying the special "did not focus on his last days ... rather it was simply a mediocre look back at Michael Jackson's life and entertainment career."

The estate goes on to claim Disney jacked a bunch of MJ's songs -- including recordings of "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." The estate says Disney even exploited MJ's kids when they aired Paris Jackson's heartbreaking remarks about her father at his 2009 memorial service. The estate says it's never licensed that footage for commercial use.

The estate says it was never approached by Disney about the making of the TV special, much less asked for permission to use its intellectual property. The estate says that's ironic since Disney goes to great lengths to protect its copyrighted characters ... citing how Disney once sued a couple on public assistance for $1 mil when they dressed up as an orange tiger and blue donkey that looked too close to Tigger and Eeyore.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman tells us, "Can you imagine using Disney’s intellectual property – like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Star Wars, The Avengers, Toy Story, and so many other works – without asking Disney’s permission or getting a license? The Estate has no choice but to vigorously protect its intellectual property, which is the lifeblood of its business.”

The estate is suing for profits Disney made off the special and other damages. We've reached out to The Walt Disney Co., so far no word back.

The mother of basketball player Zeke Upshaw is suing the Detroit Pistons and the NBA -- claiming the league and the team could have saved her son's life after he collapsed on the court earlier this year.

Upshaw was playing for the Pistons' G-League team -- the Grand Rapids Drive -- when he collapsed on the court during the final minutes of a March 24, 2018 game.

The 26-year-old guard -- a former star at Hofstra -- never regained consciousness and died 2 days later from sudden cardiac death.

But Zeke's mom says he could have been saved if medical staff had rushed in and treated him immediately.

Instead, Jewel Upshaw says ... it took 4 crucial minutes before a doctor tended to Zeke -- no CPR, no chest compressions, no life-saving measures of any kind.

In fact, she claims the team doctor had "stepped out before the end of the basketball game and was not present nor available when Zeke collapsed."

Jewel claims when doctors finally tended to Zeke, the treatment was so poor -- she later learned Zeke's body "went without oxygen for another forty minutes ... leaving his brain completely oxygen deprived."

"At this point, there was no healthy brain left to save."

Jewel claims the NBA has had so much experience with players suffering sudden cardiac death over the years -- from Reggie Lewis to Conrad McRae -- there should be a proper protocol to handle these types of situations.

In her suit, Jewel says "there is simply no good reason for the defendants to have been unprepared for sudden cardiac death events such as Zeke's, and for their failure to react quickly to save a life."

"Had properly trained medical professionals administered expeditious and proper treatment, Zeke would still be alive."

An employee on Steve Harvey's radio morning show died this weekend after being found unresponsive in his hotel room by one of Steve's famous co-hosts ... TMZ has learned.

According to an incident report, obtained by TMZ, cops were called to the W Hotel in Atlanta early Sunday afternoon, where the body of Kier "Junior" Spates' assistant, Bryan Cooke, had been discovered in his room ... with blood and vomit coming from his nose and mouth.

Spates asked hotel staff to check on Cooke after he didn't respond to him -- the two 'Steve Harvey' employees were supposed to catch a flight to L.A. later that day. When no one answered, staff went in to find Cooke lying face down on his bed, and cold to the touch.

Cops say Spates told them he and Cooke had hit the town the night before, but that Cooke appeared fine upon returning to the hotel. They even smoked cigars together before going to their separate rooms, and Spates said they did not partake in any drugs.

Police note prescription pills were found in Cooke's room -- but do not disclose the medication. It's unclear if any pills had been taken or played any role in his death. They also say housekeeping came by to clean Cooke's room, but thought he was sleeping. He was 39.

Spates is a well-known radio personality on Harvey's show. He referred to Cooke as his "best friend" to authorities.

Blake Painter -- best known for being a captain on seasons 2 and 3 of "Deadliest Catch" -- has died, and police are testing substances found at the scene of his death.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Painter's body was discovered Friday in his Oregon home. We're told a friend of Painter's became concerned after not hearing from him for a few days ... so he called the police. Officers gained entry, and determined Painter had been dead for several days.

We're told cops discovered substances inside the home that they'll test for possible narcotics. They also found prescription pills, but it's unclear if they were a factor.

No foul play is suspected in his death, and an autopsy and toxicology test will be done to determine the official cause.

Painter was the captain of the F/V Maverick on the hit Discovery Channel show, and appeared in season 3 for several episodes before deciding to quit.

Blake was heralded as an expert crab fisherman. He was 38.

The FBI elite agent who investigated the murder of Brian Wells -- a case that inspired Netflix's 'Evil Genius' -- isn't buying the shocking twist at the end of the documentary ... at least not most of it.

Dr. Jerry Clark -- who's heavily featured in the 4-part doc -- tells TMZ ... former prostitute Jessica Hoopsick's confession doesn't mesh with loads of evidence and investigatory work he did for years, so he doesn't believe she's credible.

If you haven't seen it, a big mystery of 'Evil Genius' is how much Wells knew about the bank heist that led to his death -- Jessica claims he knew nothing and she helped set him up ... but Jerry strongly refutes that and has some solid reasons.

Clark does agree with Jessica on one major component ... and 'Evil Genius' fans are going to want to hear his take on Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein, too.

They should also check out what the director of the documentary, Trey Borzillieri, told us about Floyd Stockton.

Blac Chyna firmly believes her late house manager's family is going against her wishes by threatening to sue BC.

Sources close to Blac Chyna tell TMZ ... Patty would have never wanted the family to take out their anger on Chyna because Chyna was more than just Patty's employer. We're told Chyna was like family to Patty ... even helping her pay the rent and giving her money for her kids.

BC's still reeling from losing Patty, who died last week after she was taken off life support following a stroke. As we reported ... Patty, who also helped with BC's clothing line, suffered a stroke in July 2017 but continued to work afterward. She fell into a coma in December due to bleeding on her brain.

Patty's family has reportedly threatened to sue Chyna for not providing her with worker's compensation. We checked and Patty's family has yet to file the suit.

United Airlines has settled with the family whose 10-month-old French bulldog, Kokito, died in an overhead bin ... TMZ has learned.

Although they've reached a settlement with the Robledo family, the amount of dough United is paying is confidential ... according to the family's attorney, Evan Oshan.

As we first reported, the family threatened to sue after a flight attendant allegedly ordered Catalina Robledo to put Kokito in the overheard compartment. After 2 hours of barking, Kokito died of suffocation.

The dog's death threw United into another PR crisis ... less than a year after it settled with Dr. David Dao, who was violently dragged off a flight.