TV

Alex Trebek sees the writing on the wall ... he says side effects from his pancreatic cancer treatments could soon force him out as "Jeopardy!" host.

The TV icon got real about his future during a recent interview, saying he's starting to slur his words and his tongue isn't working, at times, during taping -- and he admits it might mean stepping away from the show sooner than he'd hoped.

In a candid conversation with CTV, shot on Friday, Alex reveals just how cancer and chemotherapy have started to diminish his skills. As we reported ... Alex went for another round of chemotherapy last month, and he says the treatments are causing sores inside his mouth, making his role as a host more challenging than ever before.

He's been at the helm of 'Jeopardy' since 1984, but Alex says he'll retire when he gets to the point where he's bothered by his diminished performance. Alex added, show producers have been supportive and tell him everything's fine ... but he's sure that won't last forever.

Alex revealed back in March he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

The judge who hugged Botham Jean's murderer -- ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger -- was well within her right to do so, as was the deceased's brother ... so says Iyanla Vanzant.

We spoke to the OWN star and self-help guru -- who's done inspirational speaking alongside Oprah -- and asked what she made of all the criticism over Judge Tammy Kemp embracing Guyger after handing down her 10-year prison sentence.

According to Iyanla ... she finds it pretty hypocritical for folks to be all good with someone swearing to God with a hand on the Bible in court, but then get bent out of shape when a judge actually lives out the values of the good book.

Comedian Rip Taylor -- who served up over-the-top gags for decades -- has died.

Rip's publicist, Harlan Boll, confirmed the news, saying he passed away Sunday in Beverly Hills. No cause of death was released.

Dubbed the "King of Camp and Confetti" and "The Crying Comedian," Rip got his start by appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Merv Griffin Show" and lots of other variety talk shows as a comic in the '60s, going on to star on several different game shows as well.

He's perhaps best known for his brief stint hosting "the $1.98 Beauty Show," which had guests compete for the title of the "1.98 Beauty Queen" in a pageant, talent-show format.

"Boy Meets World" star Maitland Ward doesn't believe the so-called stigma associated with doing porn ... insisting her move to the adult film industry is actually a savvy business move.

We got Maitland -- who rose to fame playing Rachel McGuire in the 90s ABC sitcom -- at Kings Road Cafe, and she tells us porn is opening the door to loads of new opportunities.

Maitland just appeared in her first porno that premiered on Friday, "Drive," at age 42 ... and she says her debut's been met with tons of support from her former "Boy Meets World" cast members, like Trina McGee.

Instead of being shunned, Maitland says she's getting pats on the back from Hollywood actresses ... who all tell her the same thing.

Ariel Winter's 10-year-old niece can't stop, won't stop ... following in her aunt's footsteps, 'cause TMZ's learned she's landed another Hollywood gig that pays her BIG time.

Skylar Gray landed the role of Lila in CBS's new show, "Evil" ... but her contract is anything but that. According to her minor's contract. obtained by TMZ, Skylar had her network test back in March ... which she clearly nailed, because she's getting $17,500 per episode!!!

Remember, she's only TEN years old. Screw lemonade stands, right?

A decision on whether to reinstate charges against Jussie Smollett in Chicago is getting close ... because we've learned the Osundairo brothers took a trip to the special prosecutor's office.

Sources close to the case tell TMZ ... Abel and Ola met with Dan Webb's team this week because the special prosecutor wanted to hear their full story -- their version of Jussie's alleged attack.

We've obtained video of Abel and Ola arriving for the powwow in downtown Chicago ... and you see them coming in separately to meet with an attorney in Webb's office. The brothers were accompanied by their attorney, Gloria Schmidt.

Our sources say the brothers each spent a couple hours with the special prosecutor's team.

"Diff'rent Strokes" star Danny Cooksey is a jealous maniac whose anger is horribly out of control ... so claims his estranged wife who just got a restraining order against him.

Amber Cooksey filed docs seeking a restraining order claiming Danny's abusive ways have exasperated her epilepsy condition. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Amber says Danny lashed out in profanity-laced phone calls while accusing her of having multiple affairs.

In docs, Amber says a recent curbside custody exchange of their 8-year-old son, Jackson Paul, went terribly south. She claims Danny started cursing at her, but she says she was horribly shocked when her son bit her and called her a bitch.

In another incident, Amber claims Danny once sent their son into her house with the sole purpose of trying to catch her with another man. In the docs, she also accuses Danny of having followed her to the grocery store to take pics of her car and license plates.

Andy Dick got his ass handed to him after allegedly picking a fight with an Uber Eats delivery man ... and adding insult to injury, he's now a suspect in a battery investigation.

Ya gotta see the video of the wild street fight ... Andy's fighting with the delivery guy's little brother when the delivery guy comes up from behind, grabs Andy above the shoulders, lifts him up and ragdolls him to the ground.

The worst part ... Andy's head slamming against the pavement.

Folks who were there tell us Andy started the beef when he attempted to wrestle some food away from the delivery guy ... and in the video you hear Andy telling the dude, "It's my food now, bitch!"

After a brief struggle, Andy walks away ... but when he returns, he catches the beatdown of a lifetime. The guy who body slammed Andy claims Dick spit on his friend, and in the video you see Andy trying to grab and slap the guy.

Diahann Carroll -- the iconic, pioneering actress for African-Americans -- and star of the groundbreaking sitcom, "Julia," died Friday from cancer at her home in Los Angeles.

Diahann -- who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 -- was a native New Yorker, born in the Bronx, who first made it big on Broadway. She won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 1962 for her role in "No Strings."

Her huge break in Hollywood came as the star of NBC's "Julia" ... the first network series to have a black actress as the lead character. Diahann played a widowed nurse who was raising a son. The show premiered in 1968 and ran for 3 seasons -- and Diahann earned an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe for the role.

There is nothing blessed about a bride and groom's wedding photo in front of the notorious Wall from "The Handmaid's Tale" ... so say some outraged fans of the show.

A photography company shared this shot Wednesday of the happy couple kissing on their big day, but the location and Photoshopping of the pic has not drawn much praise ... instead, people find it sickening.

The newlyweds' photo is in front of the wall in Cambridge, Ontario used for filming "The Wall" on the Hulu series.

For those unfamiliar ... The Wall is a boundary of the city where "The Handmaid's Tale" takes place, and bodies of executed men and women who have disobeyed the laws are often hung there as a warning to others.

Yeah, pretty dark stuff.

The photographers who shared the photo had a much brighter take on it, though, writing ... "Praise be! Kendra & Torsten are married!" If there’s any The Handmaid's Tale fans out there, you’ll know most of it is filmed in Cambridge!"

Zak Bagans is trying his darndest to bring more spirits to his Haunted Museum ... because he just dropped a huge stack of cash on the famous ghost trap from "Ghostbusters."

The "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ ... he spent a whopping $310,000 for a haul of "Ghostbusters" memorabilia that includes the Hero Ghost Trap used to capture Slimer and Gozer.

Zak also got a bunch of props and costumes Harold Ramis used in the 1984 classic -- such as Dr. Egon Spengler's jumpsuit, utility belt and boots, plus a proton pack shell!!!

But, the ghost trap is the pièce de résistance among Zak's new additions. He dropped $230k alone to score that piece of movie history from Prop Store ... a huge auction house.

Mama June's home where all sorts of bad and crazy things happened is on the market, and you won't believe how it's been rehabbed.

As we reported, the Hampton, GA home is where June's BF, Geno, got in his car wasted, drove in the gated community and ended up crashing into their driveway. He was so intoxicated he had to be carried into the house.

It's also where June and Geno had a massive garage sale. The pics showed the house in shambles.

Well, check out the digs now. It was almost like 'Extreme Home Makeover,' where contractors came in for 3 days and made the house look brand spanking new.

The cute little kid who became a little brother to Gary Coleman on "Diff'rent Strokes" is all grown up ... and now, he's about to get divorced.

Actor Danny Cooksey's wife of over 20 years, Amber, just filed legal docs asking a judge to make the split official. According to her divorce petition, obtained by TMZ, she's citing irreconcilable differences ... and says their date of separation is June 1, 2019.

Danny -- who played little Sam McKinney on the hit sitcom in the later seasons, and also starred on Nickelodeon's "Salute Your Shorts" -- got hitched to Amber in 1998 ... and the couple had 2 children together, Jackson Paul and Zoe Leigh.

Zoe is 21, but Jackson is only 8 years old. Amber is asking for sole legal and physical custody of him, with visitation rights for Danny. She also wants the court to award her spousal support, and to block any attempt by Danny to get spousal support from her.

Lori Loughlin has a very serious legal battle ahead in her college bribery case -- but she hasn't shunned the life of the rich and famous just yet.

The embattled "Full House" star arrived Tuesday at the Bel-Air Country Club ... grinning ear to ear as she got out of her vehicle and went inside, donning a pretty swanky outfit that would probably sit well with the members.

She got a bit more serious as she got into motion, perhaps realizing cameras were on hand and capturing her giddy mood alongside her hubby, Mossimo.

It's interesting, 'cause Lori appears to be carrying on like normal ahead of her trial ... and it would seem she's still in the good graces of at least some at the Bel-Air Country Club, of which she's presumably a member as well. This might be telling, actually.

Of course, actress Felicity Huffman -- who was also indicted in the scandal -- just got her sentence of 14 days in jail a few weeks ago after pleading guilty. It was essentially a slap on the wrist, and a big defeat for the prosecution ... who wanted way more time -- we're told they wanted a year minimum, then scaled it down to 4 months and then 1 month.

Dr. Drew says Aaron Carter's face tattoo immediately reminded him of when Britney Spears shaved her head ... a huge sign Aaron needs hospital treatment, stat.

We got Drew outside Chelsea Studios Tuesday in NYC and he said it's quite possible Aaron's facing serious mental issues similar to what Britney went through in 2007. You'll recall she infamously shaved her head less than 24 hours after leaving a rehab facility.

TMZ broke the story ... Aaron's tattoo artist had to cut off the singer from getting his whole face covered in new ink. The artist, Herchell Carrasco, told us he "genuinely felt he was in a good place mentally to get tattooed." Clearly, Dr. Drew disagrees.

For what it's worth ... Herchell says he only saw Aaron smoke cigarettes and weed, and didn't see him using any other drugs. Nevertheless, Drew says Aaron needs professional help if he's gonna pull through like Britney did -- with help from her dad at the helm of her conservatorship.

Stacey Dash was arrested for domestic violence in Florida over the weekend ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the "Clueless" actor was busted Sunday in Pasco County -- where she owns a home -- after getting into a squabble with her new husband, Jeffrey Marty, and allegedly putting hands on him.

We're told cops were called to a home around 7:45 PM to respond to a domestic dispute between Stacey and Jeff. Our sources say Stacey allegedly pushed and slapped him and that's when officers arrived ... they saw scratches on his left arm.