TV

Frank Pellegrino -- best known for his role as the FBI Chief gunning for Tony Soprano on the HBO hit show -- died after losing his battle with cancer.

Frank -- who also co-owned the popular Italian restaurant Rao's in East Harlem -- died in New York Tuesday. The restaurant, founded in 1896, was famous for celebrity drop-ins ... including Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and Jay Z.

Frank appeared in "Goodfellas" and 'Law & Order' but he burst onto the scene beginning in 1999 when he was tapped as FBI Chief Frank Cubitoso on 'Sopranos.'

He was 72.

Matt Lauer says Oprah joining "60 Minutes" on CBS is great ... for CBS.

We got the NBC "Today" host in NYC Tuesday, where we asked if O joining their rival network was good for competition.

Nick Viall is 5 weeks in and something cray is happening on "The Bachelor" -- 3 black women are still in the running, and at least one is becoming a fan fave!

Rachel kinda killed it on Monday night's episode, by all accounts ... doing a sexy NOLA date with Nick, who copped to falling for her during dinner.

Not that we see color, but fact is the 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' shows get knocked for black contestants never getting a fair shake. Lawsuits have been filed over it, after all.

Nick's been equal opportunity -- he kicked off 3 black women, but 3 are still getting roses.

Yes we can, America. Yes we can.

Oprah Winfrey has just signed a deal with "60 Minutes," and it's sure looking like she's making CBS her second home.

Winfrey will become a special contributor on the long-running news mag. She started as a local reporter in Baltimore before beelining it for Chicago where she became queen of the world in talk.

Oprah's role will be similar to Anderson Cooper, who does about 10 segments per season for "60 Minutes."

It's interesting ... she hosted a CBS special on Michelle Obama last month, and she appears on "CBS This Morning" with best pal Gayle King.

She was also on the CBS lot in L.A. a few days ago.

Rob Lowe is in the market for a personal assistant, and the job qualifications are daunting.

Rob posted the job description on a website targeting personal assistants. Among the requirements:

-- Never assume anything

-- Ensure the CLIENT [Rob] is fed and has coffee throughout the day

-- Schedule haircuts every episode for the CLIENT

-- Ensure that the CLIENT HAS A DINNER PLAN IF ARRIVING HOME LATER THAN 8 PM in the evening

-- Make sure you let Estate staff know if the CLIENT wants a Jacuzzi turned on or a massage ordered for his arrival

-- Willing to travel on location as requested and serve as the CLIENT'S body man

-- Able to lift up to 25 pounds as required to support THE CLIENT

Unclear what weighs 25 pounds.

Rob's team says the description doesn't match any pertaining to employment with him, but adds ... "We can confirm coffee is his number one priority in life."

Our sources insists the gig is with Rob. It pays $70k plus benefits. Takers?

The cast of "Stranger Things" won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, but there was nothing but fun going down at the after-party at Sunset Tower.

You can't help but smile when you see this video of all the kids celebrating their first big award show victory on the dance floor.

"Stranger Things" star Gaten Matarazzo has an explanation for Winona Ryder's bizarre facial reactions when the show won the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series award ... the question, does it ring true?

Winona stole the show, but Gaten, who was leaving LAX Monday, thinks it's all good.

Back to the issue ... how could Winona not have heard what Harbour was saying?

Here's Ray Lewis showing us all what a live show of "Hot In Herre" would look like if Nelly was 250 pounds ... punishing a lip sync performance of the song.

Ray's on this week's episode of "Lip Sync Battle" on Spike TV ... and we got a little preview clip of his performance of the Nelly classic (it totally is) and the dude's really, really bringing it.

Paris Jackson is going to be a TV star ... officially -- she's booked her first acting gig on Lee Daniels' "Star" ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us Paris met with Daniels last week for a screen test on the "Empire" spin-off. Turns out she's a natural.

We're told she's already in Atlanta filming but it's unclear how big the role is or how many episodes she'll be shooting. We know acting is one of Paris' goals. We're told she's been taking acting classes for years.

As we previously reported, Paris and her camp want 2017 to be her breakout year and so far, so good. She kicked it off on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Things got HEATED between Shaq and Charles Barkley on "Inside the NBA" Thursday night ... but what would happen if the two superstars actually came to blows?

Shaq would straight-up MURDER his ass ... so says their co-star Kenny Smith.

Don't worry, The Jet says everyone is calm and cool now ... but the big men almost went to war last night in a debate over LeBron James.

But Barkley would be smart to step down ... because O'Neal would wreck Sir Chuck ... bad.

Kenny explains why Barkley stands no chance ... and says even HE could beat down Chuck these days.

Alan Thicke made a decision years before his death, in which he chose his brother, Todd, over son Robin to care of his youngest son when he died.

Alan drafted a will -- obtained by TMZ -- back in 2007 that created a guardianship for then 10-year-old Carter. According to the document Carter's mother, Gina Tolleson, would become the sole parent in the event he died first, but if she died before him he wanted his brother to take over after he died.

The will references Alan's trust, which specifically lays out who gets what. The details of the trust are not mentioned in the legal docs.

The reality ... Carter is now 19, an adult so he's on his own.

The will appoints Todd as executor of Alan's will.

Dick Van Dyke knew Mary Tyler Moore was dying, but it still hit him hard, because their collab was the best time of his life.

We got Dick getting groceries in Malibu Friday, where he shared some memories. He's not shy ... he and Mary together were about the best in the biz.

President Donald Trump went after Madonna big time Thursday night, calling Madonna "disgusting" for musing out loud she was thinking of "blowing up the White House."

Trump went on Sean Hannity's show on FNC and did not hold back. He thinks the singer not only hurt herself very badly by the comment, she hurt the cause for which she was fighting.

The prez also lashed out at 'SNL,' responding to a writer who had tweeted, "Barron will be this country's first homeschool shooter." Trump said, "I don't mind some humor, but it's terrible ... For them to attack, for NBC to attack my 10-year-old son ... it's a disgrace." Trump added it's not been easy on Barron.

Mary Tyler Moore's death has created a big problem for a real estate company that is trying to sell the house used in her iconic TV show -- how do you sell it without creating a fan frenzy?

The exteriors of the house were featured for years on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," although interiors were shot on a Hollywood soundstage.

Get this ... the house, listed by Barry Berg and Chad Larsen with Berg Larsen Group of Coldwell Banker Burnet, went on the market 4 years ago and no one was biting. The people who bought it paid nearly $3 mil but they're trying to unload it for a skosh under $1.7 mil.

Here's the problem. MTM is an institution in Minneapolis, and Mary's death has people in the city scrambling for memories. The realtors want to hold an open house this weekend, but they don't want lookie-loos ... they want serious buyers.

So, the plan now is to discreetly tell realtors to bring clients and then quietly invite them.

Good luck.

It's creepy and it's kooky, not really mysterious but spooky ... 2 years after his death, Ken Weatherwax, aka the OG Pugsley on "The Addams Family" TV show, is closer to getting a proper Hollywood burial.

Ken's family friend, Scott Michaels, has launched a fundraiser to cover the cost of making Ken's final resting place the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Ken's ashes have been with his nephew since he was cremated after his fatal 2014 heart attack.

They already have a spot in the famed mausoleum reserved, but it ain't cheap. They're looking to raise $7,500 by April to cover fees. The fund launched Wednesday night and has raised $700 so far.

Ken will be in good company -- Mickey Rooney, Anton Yelchin, Cecil B. DeMille and Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone are all chilling at Hollywood Forever.

"Black-ish" star Jenifer Lewis says the guy who trained her, flirted with her and started dating her has ripped her off for $50k, and she's blaming the gym.

Jenifer met the guy at an LA Fitness club in West Los Angeles, where he was a manager who worked the front desk. She says they got chummy and started seeing each other. She says 3 months into the relationship he convinced her to loan him the money for a film he was producing, saying he was Oscar-worthy, having won 3 awards for sound design.

Jenifer says in fact, he was a con man who served time and LA Fitness should have known and not hired him. According to her lawsuit against the club, she says when she confronted managers at the gym they actually sided with the con man, saying, "Stop making accusations." She adds in the suit they actually blocked her from returning to the gym.