RIP

The man who attacked Jonathan Cheban with a knife 4 months ago was shot and killed by NYPD officers Friday after a tense standoff.

Police say Denis Volchkin had ransacked his mother's home in Brooklyn and when officers arrived he was sitting on a couch with 3 knives next to him. Cops tried to talk him into surrendering, but he eventually lunged at them with one of the knives ... and they opened fire.

Volchkin was hit once in the body, and died later at a hospital.

Law enforcement sources, and Cheban himself, tell TMZ ... Volchkin is the same man who lunged at Jonathan when he was in a Brooklyn sushi joint back in May.

TMZ broke the story ... the "Keeping up with the Kardashians" regular was leaving the restaurant after Volchkin -- who had a knife on him -- tailed JC around the spot. When Volchkin made his move, Cheban's bodyguard punched him in the face and subdued him.

Ex-Titans kicker Rob Bironas was hammered -- with a blood alcohol content njearly 3 times the legal limit -- the night he wrecked his SUV and died in Nashville.

The toxicology report shows Bironas' BAC was .218 when he died on September 20. Police released test results to his family today. The report also revealed he died from blunt force trauma ... and had a small amount of Diazepam (Valium) in his system.

Rob's wife, Rachel -- who is Terry Bradshaw's daughter -- told police Rob might have had one beer at home that night ... before he unexpectedly took off in his vehicle without telling her.

Paul Walker was all about high speed on land, but was all about kicking back when it came to the water ... according to new court docs.

Walker owned a 26-foot Radon boat -- a vessel designed for fishing and diving trips, not racing. He bought it new in 2010 ... just for the halibut.

Paul's father ... who took control of Walker's estate after his death ... filed court docs in Santa Barbara to sell the boat and its trailer to a private buyer for $120K.

Just to compare, a brand new model would cost about $135K -- but Paul Walker never dripped dry on that one.

Robin William's famous friends and family gathered for a private memorial Saturday in San Francisco ... and Billy Crystal was in tears during the emotional tribute.

The event was reportedly held at the Curan Theatre and featured speeches from Billy, Whoopi Goldberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Idle, Williams’ three children and his wife, Susan.

Stevie Wonder handled the tribute's music ... and the event was attended by Bette Midler, Ben Stiller, George Lucas, Penny Marshall, Danny De Vito, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jeff Bridges, Minnie Driver, Josh Groban, Seth Green, Eddie Izzard and Richard Lewis.

Robin's daughter Zelda Williams reportedly organized a majority of the memorial.

Robin Quivers is astonished by Hollywood's love fest for Eric the Actor after his death -- but says nothing would've made him happier.

Tons of celebs ... including Jimmy Kimmel, Jonah Hill, Zach Braff, and Natalie Maines ... have toasted the "Howard Stern Show" wack packer since he died Sunday.

This morning in NYC, Robin told us the outpouring is pretty ironic ... considering how much Eric longed for ANY connection to celebrities.

Robin herself shows some love for Eric in this clip -- but she's also brutally honest about his "acting" skills.

Eric the Actor made a lot of enemies on the Howard Stern Show -- but his death moved one of them to start a memorial fund to fight the disease Eric fought his whole life.

Stern show regular listener Gonzo -- famous for his phone calls terrorizing and belittling Eric -- tells TMZ even though they were rivals, he cared about Eric ... and wanted to raise awareness for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome -- a genetic defect that affects the skin, muscles, and ligaments.

Gonzo contacted the EDS National Foundation and got the group to start a fundraising memorial page in Eric's name. A rep for the foundation says they were "touched" by Gonzo's request.

As for their longstanding feud -- Gonzo says he hopes Eric is surrounded by "all the boobs and Pepsi heaven has to offer."

Bye for now.

Howard Stern gave a touching send off to beloved wack packer Eric the Actor ... and for the first time, gave his honest feelings about the show regular.

Howard opened his show Monday with the news of Eric's death ... and for the next hour Lynch's famous friends called into the show to offer their condolences.

The show also played some of his most famous moments -- including his famous refusal to be attached to balloons and flown in the air.

As we previously reported ... Eric was rushed to a hospital this weekend after he started experiencing pain in his chest -- and his manager says his organs gave out after he was admitted.

"Howard Stern Show" wack packer Eric "The Actor" Lynch has died at 39 ... TMZ has learned.

Eric's longtime manager Johnny Fratto tells us Lynch was rushed to a hospital in Sacramento Saturday after he started having heart problems ... and we're told most of his organs just gave out.

An official from the hospital confirms Eric passed away Saturday afternoon ... and Fratto says Lynch was surrounded by family and friends when he died. We're told his caretaker Jon was also present.

Eric appeared on the Stern show just last week ... and said his parents would be taking over caretaking duties because Jon was moving away.

Eric has been calling into the Stern show since 2002 ... and would famously call in to yell at Howard. He had a love-hate relationship with pretty much everyone on staff. His medical condition was never explained on the show -- but he always claimed to have outlived doctors expectations.

Eric also made a few cameos on TV shows like "In Plain Sight" and "Fringe."

Back in 2009 we shot Eric rolling up to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Beverly Hills -- where he actually got the valet to park his pimped out Power-Wheels style Escalade.

Former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas -- Terry Bradshaw's son-in-law -- died Saturday night after he lost control of his SUV and crashed into a line of trees.

The Metro Nashville PD says Bironas was traveling fast in his 2009 GMC Yukon Denali when he lost control in a curve shortly after 11 p.m.

Cops say the SUV veered off the road and struck a bunch of trees before it flipped over. Bironas was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Cops also say there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs. They believe Bironas was heading home ... because the accident occurred less than a mile from his house.

Rob married Terry Bradshaw's oldest daughter Rachel back in June ... and even though Bironas was no longer a Titan -- Terry jokingly told our photog before the wedding Rob still had permission to marry her.

Veteran actress Polly Bergen -- a.k.a. Stella Wingfield on "Desperate Housewives" -- died Saturday morning at the age of 84.

Bergen passed away around 11 AM at her home in Connecticut from natural causes ... according to her rep -- and was surrounded by family and her longtime manager.

Bergen's career launched in the '50s when she appeared in a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis flick ... and since then, she starred in many TV shows and movies -- including the original "Cape Fear."

She also famously played the part of Mrs. Vernon-Williams in the cult Johnny Depp classic "Cry Baby."

In lieu of flowers, her rep says donations can be made to Planned Parenthood.

The wife of "American Idol" contestant Michael Johns created a lie to cover-up the real cause of death ... alcohol abuse ... this according to his best friend.

Stacey Vuduris filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- claiming Torrey Gambill has been on a hate campaign, blaming her for Michael's death in August and sending her abusing texts.

But Torrey has fired off legal docs of his own, claiming Stacey concocted a lie after he found Michael dead in his Orange County apartment.

After Michael died, we reported Stacey's story -- that Michael had an ankle injury that led to a fatal blood clot. But law enforcement told us at the time Michael had engaged in heavy alcohol use prior to death.

Torrey quotes from a text Stacey sent him shortly after Michael died, saying, "I'd rather it be said he died at home if that's ok with u .. he would want that."

Stacey continued, "I rather that then 'alcoholic' stuff ... his good friends would never say anything ... so I don't think that will come out. At least blood clot sounds sudden."

Torrey also says Michael and Stacey were separated, and that Michael "insinuated" she had a boyfriend. He says Stacey put Michael through hell his last year.

According to legal docs ... Stacey and Torrey settled their beef without a judge's order.

Joan Rivers' personal doctor who was working on Joan when she stopped breathing is Dr. Gwen Korovin, who treats the biggest celebs in the world ... multiple sources tell TMZ.

We're told Dr. Korovin was not authorized to practice medicine at Yorkville Endoscopy center. CNN has reported Joan's personal physician took a selfie while performing a biopsy on the comedienne.

Dr. Korovin's patient list reads like a celeb who's who. Her patients include Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Hugh Jackman, John Mayer, and Brooke Shields.

Dr. Korovin's Facebook page has a pic of the doc in her office with pics of her celeb patients lining the walls.

The doctor has done interviews in which she says she brings a black bag to the dressing rooms of A-list stars and administers "on-the-spot treatment."

Joan Rivers' personal doctor took a selfie while the comedienne was unconscious during a biopsy ... shortly before her heart stopped beating ... this according to a new report.

The doctor performing the endoscopy had just finished when Joan's personal ear nose and throat doctor began performing a biopsy which was done without her consent -- this according to the CNN report.

A staffer at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic reportedly told investigators Joan's doc stopped to take the selfie.

As we previously reported ... Joan went into respiratory and cardiac arrest and never regained consciousness.

The clinic has denied a biopsy was performed.

Singer Bobby Womack left behind a massive debt when he died in June -- including a huge child support judgment -- and now his family is trying to figure out how to pay it.

Bobby's widow, Regina, filed court docs in L.A. showing he owed $250K in back child support for two sons living in Ft. Wayne, IN -- one is 14 and the other an adult. He also had an unpaid loan for $400K when he died.

But Womack didn't leave much in the way of assets -- according to the docs he had $52K in cash and $7,250 in personal belongings, which included some jewelry and a 1974 Buick.

Regina says Womack also had music rights and royalties valued around $350K -- which will help pay down the debt -- if she can capitalize on renewed interest in his music since his death.

The doctor who performed the endoscopy on Joan Rivers has been fired by the clinic's board.

Sources at Yorkville Endoscopy tell us Dr. Lawrence Cohen stepped down after the board asked him to do so -- however the board isn't directly blaming him for Joan's death.

A rep for the clinic confirmed he was ousted from his position as medical director.

According to our sources ... the board's issue with Cohen is that he allowed Joan's ENT doc to step in and perform an unauthorized procedure. Reportedly, that procedure was a biopsy ... and Joan went into respiratory and cardiac arrest while it was being done.

Keith Urban backed out of a gig at the last second Thursday night ... so he could get to Nicole Kidman ASAP after getting the news her father died.

Keith was set to play a big ticket charity event at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA -- a gig he was doing as a favor for his friend and longtime Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich.

We're told Keith was driving to the country club -- where members forked out $500 to $5,000 for a ticket -- when he found out his father-in-law had passed away. He immediately turned around to jump on a private jet to his and Nicole's home in Nashville.

We're told the crowd at the benefit for the Ventura County Food Bank -- including Bruce Jenner and Wayne Gretzky -- was disappointed, but understood the situation. Meanwhile, Ehrlich pulled a rabbit out of his hat ... scoring Kenny Loggins to fill in at the last second.