TV

Leonard Nimoy, who famously played Mr. Spock, died at home Friday morning in Bel-Air... after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The "Star Trek" star announced last year that he was battling the disease and attributed it to years and years of smoking. He had given up the habit 30 years ago.

TMZ broke the story ... Nimoy checked into UCLA Medical Center last week for intense chest pains -- but was eventually released.

Nimoy started playing Mr. Spock when the TV show debuted in 1966 ... and is the only actor to appear in every episode of that original series. He continued in the Spock role through most of the movies -- including the most recent reboot in 2013.

Aside from acting ... Nimoy also wrote books of poetry, 2 autobiographies, and even recorded albums ... mostly cover songs.

Nimoy tweeted for the last time on Feb. 22, saying ... "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"

He was 83.

The Trekkie In Chief, President Obama released a statement saying ... "Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy ... I loved Spock."

Nimoy's longtime co-star William Shatner tells us, "I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, this talent, and his capacity to love."

Jon Stewart wanted a piece ... HE GOT THE PIECE!!!!

WWE superstar Seth Rollins hijacked Stewart's "Moment of Zen" on "The Daily Show" Thursday night ... in response to the smack talk video that Stewart recently made.

But Rollins didn't just talk the talk ... he then snuck up behind Jon and put him in a HEADLOCK!!!

It was pretty hilarious ... and fulfilled the promise Rollins made on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" ... when he said he'd whoop Jon's ass for running his mouth earlier this month.

And apparently the drama will continue ... with Jon promising to face off with Rollins on next week's "Monday Night Raw!!!!"

Sen. Ted Cruz plans to inhale this weekend ... Season 3 of "House of Cards."

Cruz was leaving the Conservative Political Action Conference in D.C. when our photog asked him about the show, which dropped at midnight. The senator from Texas told our guy ... he's a big fan of the show, but an even bigger fan of Robin Wright ... and he wasn't talking about her acting.

As for how the show compares to real life D.C. politics ... he did point out one major area where the show gets it wrong ... murder.

Reports the Kardashians have scored $100 million from E! for 4 more seasons are NOT true ... they're only getting a measly $80 mil ... TMZ has learned.

NBCUniversal called the $100 mil story "grossly inaccurate." But our sources connected with the network say the word "grossly" may be grossly inaccurate, because we're told best case scenario they could earn in the $80 million range (with ratings bonuses) for 3 seasons with an option for a 4th.

We're also told the deal is all-encompassing and includes all of the work the family and individuals do for the network.

And get this ... Y chromosomes are personae non gratea for the new deal. We're told Scott Disick has his own deal outside the Kardashians and Rob will only get paid per episode if he ends up on the show at all. As for Bruce -- he'll only look like a double X -- but we're told his X and Y chromosomes are not part of the deal either.

It's a good thing "American Idol" Season 2 finalist Josh Gracin is a country singer -- he just got a ton of inspiration by losing half his music rights in his divorce ... which was just finalized.

According to divorce docs ... the exes divvied up their assets, and Ann Gracin is walking with a 50% stake in 24 songs Josh recorded during their 17-year marriage.

Josh will also shell out $1590/month in alimony, and $1436/month for child support. They have four kids -- and will share custody, but there's a complication. Each has a restraining order against the other, requiring them to stay at least 25 feet away.

Interestingly, Ann was ordered to return Josh's Glock. As we reported ... Josh was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold after posting an apparent suicide threat on Facebook last August. Ann filed divorce papers the next month.

Josh's next album should be interesting.

With most of the country still suffering through a brutal winter, Khloe Kardashian ushered in Kardashian butt season Wednesday in Beverly Hills by sporting a pair of see-through yoga pants.

If the past is any indication, you can expect Kim, Kendall, Kourtney and even young Kylie to follow suit ... because one Kardashian butt is like a signal to all Kardashian butts to come out and play.

The lead detective assigned to the murder case of "America's Next Top Model" star Mirjana Puhar ironically has a connection to the victim ... they're both reality TV stars.

Det. Norma McKee was on A&E's "The First 48" -- a docuseries about murder investigations -- back in 2011, when she was just a rookie. The episode chronicled a double-murder investigation, her first, involving a couple that was shot point blank in their car by a backseat passenger.

McKee got her man, who is currently serving 28 years after pleading guilty to two counts of second degree murder.

Puhar and two other people were killed Tuesday in Charlotte, NC. Police have already arrested a suspect, who has been charged with three counts of first degree murder.

"Ice Road Truckers" star Tim Zickuhr didn't convince a judge the woman he allegedly tied up and threw in a closet was not a prostitute but a flaky friend, because he was just convicted of kidnapping.

TMZ broke the story ... cops say last April Zickuhr bound a Vegas prostitute named Snow White with backpack straps and locked her in a closet ... then tried to collect a $1,000 ransom from her friend, who happened to be a LVPD cop.

A Nevada judge wasn't buyin' what Zickuhr was selling and found him guilty Tuesday of kidnapping and extortion. The judge then threw the book at him, sentencing him to a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Zickuhr hasn't appeared on the History Channel show since 2011.

8:45 AM PT -- Police have arrested 19-year-old Emmanuel Jesus Rangel and charged him with 3 counts of 1st degree murder.

The boyfriend, Jonathan Alvarado was 23 ... and the third victim was 21-year-old Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia. Our sources say Jusmar was Jonathan's roommate and best friend. We're told Mirjana had just moved in with the guys.

Mirjana Puhar -- a recent "America's Next Top Model" contestant -- was killed Tuesday in a triple homicide at her boyfriend's home in Charlotte, NC ... TMZ has learned.

A source who was very close to Mirjana confirmed to TMZ that she was one of the 3 victims found dead in a home that belonged to Mirjana's boyfriend. The source says a friend of the couple went to the house after getting a call that gunshots were heard.

We're told the friend went into the house, saw 2 bodies -- Mirjana and the bf -- and then called police to report the killings. The friend didn't see the 3rd victim, but did see money scattered around the house.

19-year-old Mirjana was on the 21st cycle of 'ANTM' ... which aired last year. She was eliminated from the show in the 10th episode.

Law enforcement sources tell us the preliminary investigation leads police to believe the murders were drug related -- and the victims knew the killer.

Our Mirjana source says the young model had only been with the boyfriend for a few months.

"Teen Mom" star Jenelle Evans spent an hour of her Tuesday behind bars in South Carolina ... busted for driving without a license.

South Carolina Highway Patrol busted Evans and booked her into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center around 3:00 PM. She posted a $237.50 bond about an hour later and was sprung.

Jail records don't give much in the way of details, but Evans explained the arrested via Twitter, when she retweeted a friend who wrote, "Yall chill she paid a speeding tick 3 days late in 2013 & license was just suspended recently & she had no idea.It's cleared up It's all good."

Evans is no stranger to jail. She's been arrested for heroin possession, attacking her husband, stalking, harassment, breaking and entering, violating her restraining order, etc. She's also famous for getting busted for beating the crap out of another girl on a front lawn.

If you're a gambler, you should bet that Bruce Jenner will NOT be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter, because his screw up was driving HUA ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Sources familiar with investigating the fatal crash on PCH earlier this month tell us ... conventional wisdom is 60/40 AGAINST criminal prosecution. One source says it's more like 70/30.

As for why it's looking like Bruce will not be prosecuted, our law enforcement sources say there are a variety of factors:

-- He was not under the influence

-- He was not speeding

-- He was not texting

As one source put it, "It's more a case of HUA" ... that's cop talk for driving while head up ass. That we're told is the view shared by cops familiar with the investigation.

The underlying offense could be following too closely or driving at a speed that isn't prudent given driving conditions.

Lester Holt gets the game ... he answered our photog's goofy question about the whole Brian Williams thing perfectly ... with a laugh.

Lester was leaving 30 Rock after anchoring "NBC Nightly News" when our photog tried projecting 6 months into the future, wondering if he would duke it out with Williams for the job.

There's something about the way he handled it ... he didn't answer but he didn't scoff either ... perfect.

Conventional wisdom is ... it's a long shot that Williams will return. Our NBC sources say Lester's contract allows him to walk if he's passed over for permanent anchor if Williams leaves.

Kelly Osbourne just dropped an ultimatum on Giuliana Rancic and their "Fashion Police" bosses -- issue a mea culpa for saying Zendaya smells like a hippie pot smoker ... or she'll quit the show.

Kelly is responding to the firestorm Giuliana sparked with a comment about the Disney star's Oscar look -- which included new dreadlocks. Rancic said she thought Zendaya must smell like patchouli oil or weed. Kathy Griffin joined in on the "weed" comment.

Kelly went off on a Twitter rant, saying ... "I'm giving everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel." She added she doesn't condone racism and is seriously questioning staying on the show.

Osbourne reminded fans she's friends with Zendaya -- who herself blasted Rancic for making such an "outrageously offensive" stereotypical comment.

It sounds like no one involved is buying Giuliana's claim her remarks "had NOTHING to do with race."

4:30 PM PT-- Looks like Kelly has pull ... Giuliana just apologized again -- this time on the air during "E! News."

Kanye West roasted his wife Kim Kardashian for her legendary love of the black man ... and brought the house down at the BET Honors.

Kanye was accepting the Visionary Award at the ceremony -- which was pre-taped, but aired Monday night -- and talked about how guys in Chicago barbershops talk about black men in entertainment hooking up with white women ... and white women nabbing rich black guys.

You gotta watch for the punch line because he absolutely nails Kim ... and then concludes, "It ain't got nothing to do with the money."

Ye also recalls a story Kim told him ... about her dad, Robert Kardashian, losing it when someone spray painted "ni**er lover" on his car -- and how he used it to teach Kim a lesson about racism.

Check it out ... it's Kanye at his funniest and most poignant.

Michael Sam is adamant ... his decision to join "Dancing with the Stars" does NOT mean he's giving up his NFL dreams ... saying, "Football remains my unquestioned number 1 priority."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Sam signed on to join Season 20 ... which begins next month.

Some people have said the move is proof that Sam is throwing in the towel on his football career and wants to focus on exploiting his off-the-field fame.

But moments ago, Sam fired back at the critics ... saying, "Football remains my unquestioned number 1 priority, however, while I continue to train and stay ready, I am ecstatic to participate in a fun, athletic competition like so many players before me have done."

"Filming this off-season is very flexible and allows me to be part of the veterans combine 3/22 if accepted or any other workouts."

You gotta hand it to Safaree Samuels, he knows what he likes -- because TMZ has learned he has moved on from Nicki Minaj to a new singing booty queen ... K. Michelle.

According to our K. Michelle sources, she and Samuels (who did not take the breakup with Nicki well) have been getting much closer lately ... talking and texting every night.

We're told the duo spent two hours together in the VIP area of NYC club Stage 48 on Valentine's Day -- and Samuels followed up this week by sending a bouquet of sunflowers ... her favorite.

Our sources say they're not official, meaning exclusive ... just yet -- but this video K. Michelle posted of herself twerking to Safaree's new song has to count for something!