TV

Ex-"Deadliest Catch" star Jerod Sechrist has a trifecta -- 3 arrests in 6 months ... this time for theft, and cops say he admits he's doing it to fuel his addiction.

Sechrist was arrested this week at a Tampa residence for 2 outstanding felony warrants for grand theft. The first alleged heist was a bunch of silver, collectible coins and a Rolex. According to cops, he allegedly swiped them from an ex-roommate and then sold them at a pawn shop.

The second warrant was for allegedly walking out of a Home Depot last month with a bucket filled with more than $800 in tools. Cops say he didn't pay, and when a security guard stopped him outside ... Sechrist dropped the bucket and bolted.

The former deckhand only appeared on 3 episodes in 2016 ... but he made a lasting impression with fans because he continually pissed off his crew members.

When cops hauled him in this week, they say he told them he was hooked on heroin and was only stealing to get money for drugs. He asked if he could get treatment for his addiction.

As we reported, Sechrist was arrested last October for heroin possession, and then again in November for stealing from an Ikea.

Joe Exotic's former campaign manager wants to do for Joe Biden what he did for the 'Tiger King' star -- raise tons of cash with some wild fundraising parties.

Joshua Dial, who ran Joe's failed campaign for governor of Oklahoma, and was heavily featured in the Netflix docuseries, tells TMZ ... Joe's campaign would regularly rake in $5,000 to $10,000 for tiger parties catering to rich folks.

Joshua says they would load a baby tiger into a cage in the back of a van and haul it off to private parties for rich donors ... who gladly paid top dollar to party the night away and play with the tiger cub.

The tiger fundraiser parties were a huge hit, and Joshua says they organized several of them during Joe's 2018 campaign.

Amazon's hit series, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," is ripped straight from the pages of a 6-year-old book with an eerily similar and struggling character ... at least according to the author.

Jodi Parmley just sued Amazon Studios for allegedly jacking several different creative elements from her 2014 book, "F.I.F.I. Financial Infidelity F**k It: The Mistress of the New Millennium" ... and applying them, nearly beat for beat, to their show.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jodi says she wrote this book, and then adapted a screenplay from it. She says she shopped it around to lots of different studios and execs who were supposedly interested.

Jodi doesn't specifically say she met with Amazon's bigwigs, but it seems like she's implying word eventually got around to them. Once she saw 'Marvelous' debut, Jodie claims she was a carbon copy of her own work.

She claims Amazon ripped off the plight, stand-up routine, general plot points and character traits the Amazon's Miriam Maisel lives out -- like seeking financial independence, leaving her crappy hubby, etc.

As a result, she's suing ... and, naturally, wants the profits Amazon made off the show -- which has garnered critical praise and gone on to win several awards.

Jeffrey Katzenberg says his new streaming service, Quibi, is revolutionary in the entertainment game -- bringing the highest quality video exclusively to your phone, and with a starting price ya can't refuse.

The mega-producer launched Quibi on Monday, and joined us on "TMZ Live" to tell us all about his baby. Jeffrey told us smartphone video is the next big medium for premium content that includes shows with Liam Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Chrissy Teigen and Chance the Rapper.

One thing Qiuibi's done is to shorten your viewing time per episode -- much of the programming is 10 minutes or less.

Of course, ya might have heard by now ... TMZ has its own show under Quibi's Daily Essentials category. "TMZ No Filter" features the latest celeb stories and some hot takes on them ... twice a day. It's already streaming, so go check it out.

JK also touches on why Quibi might just be the perfect remedy for folks fighting the quarantine blues. It's easily consumable shows and movies, which you can enjoy from the confines of your home -- and for FREE for the next 90 days too.

Ezra Miller appeared to have a physical altercation with a woman in Iceland, and though it started out seeming like a joke ... people at the bar took it very seriously.

According to our sources ... "The Flash" star was visiting the Prikið Kaffihús bar in Reykjavik on April 1 when this went down. Take a look, Miller seemed to be pretending to be annoyed as a smiling woman danced toward him -- but then he said, "Did you wanna fight? Is that the deal?"

The actor grabbed her by the throat and attempted to throw her down, at which point the person recording the video says, "Whoa, bro. Bro. Bro," and stops shooting.

It's unclear what led to the altercation or if the woman suffered any injuries. Sources at the bar tell us police were not called, but Ezra got booted. He's reportedly a regular at the trendy spot whenever he's in town.

We reached out to Ezra's team ... so far, no word back.

Honor Blackman -- one of the first iconic, and perhaps most iconic Bond girls of the movie franchise -- has died.

The 1960s and '70s movie and TV star -- who was considered a bonafide bombshell in her day -- passed away peacefully at her home in Lewes, Sussex, surrounded by loved ones. Her family says she died of natural causes, unrelated to the coronavirus.

Her fam says, "As well as being a much-adored mother and grandmother, Honor was an actor of hugely prolific creative talent; with an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess, along with her unique voice and a dedicated work ethic, she achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavours she contributed to some of the great films and theatre productions of our times."

Honor starred as Pussy Galore opposite Sean Connery in 1964's "Goldfinger," which was the first smash hit Bond film to emerge from the series at that point. Pussy was the leader of a group of acrobatic women who worked for the villain, but she falls in love with 007, naturally, and helps him defeat Goldfinger. They also memorably banged under a parachute.

The actress' other huge role was as Cathy Gale in 'The Avengers' -- not the Marvel series you know today, but the black and white show from the '60s. It was a British espionage show, and Honor played one of John Steed's bright and beautiful assistants.

Her acting career went way beyond those two projects, though ... Honor has 115 credits to her name dating back to the 1940s. She had prominent roles on shows like "Probation Officer," "The Four Just Men," "ITV Play of the Week," "The Lives of Benjamin Franklin," "Never the Twain," "Doctor Who," "The Upper Hand," "Coronation Street," and others.

Of course, she's also worked in countless films over the years.

Honor was 94.

RIP

If you're ever stranded along the side of the road in L.A. ... don't be surprised if you see Jay Leno pull up and ask you to pop the hood so he can get a good look at what's up.

That's exactly what happened Sunday to luxury real estate agent Dwayne Henry of Westside Estate Agency, who had a little car trouble off the Sunset Strip ... and was somewhat rescued by none other than the legendary late night talk show host in the flesh.

Dwayne tells TMZ ... he took his 1953 Mercedes-Benz -- a classic car if there ever was one -- out for a spin 'cause of the nice weather and to beat the quarantine blues, and almost immediately ... he knew something wasn't right mechanically. So, naturally, he pulled over.

DH says the issue was so bad, he called a tow truck right away ... but between the time he called and the truck arriving, Jay pulled up with his wife in a Tesla seemingly out of nowhere. Sure enough, Dwayne says Jay walked over and asked to have a peek inside.

Of course, Jay is the owner of SEVERAL classic cars -- including an even older Mercedes-Benz than this one. So, it's no wonder he spotted this whip -- but wild he actually reacted.

Anywho, as Jay was fiddling around in there, the tow truck driver showed and tossed Jay a wrench so he could tinker some more. Eventually, Dwayne tells us Jay had the diagnosis ... a brake issue that was also screwing with his fluid. Unfortunately, we're told he wasn't able to band-aid it on the spot, but hey ... an official car workup from JL ain't too shabby.

Jeff Lowe -- Joe Exotic's ex-business partner and mentor -- raised eyebrows on 'Tiger King' over his search for a nanny and has folks speculating it's all a stunt ... but the nanny in question tells TMZ -- she's legit, just not full-time.

Masha Diduk is the hot nanny Jeff and his pregnant wife, Lauren, wanted to hire on the Netflix docuseries, and Masha tells us ... she was indeed hired by the couple in September to care for their daughter.

She says she actually met Jeff and Lauren 4 years ago in Las Vegas -- where she lives and works as a model -- back when they drove to Sin City with a few tiger cubs ... as those who have seen 'Tiger King' recall.

We're told Masha's agreement was to work part-time as their baby girl's caretaker during business hours at Jeff's Oklahoma zoo -- mostly on weekends -- which she's been doing recently.

The nanny recently appeared with Jeff, Lauren and the baby on "Lights Out with David Spade," and rumors began swirling she was paid by Jeff to be there simply for the TV interview ... but she says that's not true.

Masha tells us her Vegas work has dried up because of the pandemic -- and Jeff's been busy moving the zoo to a new location -- so she really has been with the family taking care of baby Sarah.

Granted, the timing with the release and popularity of 'Tiger King' is suspicious at best.

As for 'Tiger King' ... Masha says it's entertaining, but she feels the producers twisted some things about Jeff. She says it made it seem like Jeff mistreated animals the way Joe Exotic did, but that's wrong ... and she wouldn't work for him if he did.

"Love is Blind" contestants might be blindsided by their fiance's sexual orientation, but the shot callers sure won't ... they're already asking potential cast members how they identify.

Here's the deal ... the popular Netflix reality dating show was recently renewed for a second season and is currently casting in the Chicago area, with producers asking a pretty personal and important question: What's your sexual orientation???

Remember, it became a huge deal first season ... Carlton didn't tell Diamond he was bisexual until AFTER they got engaged, leading to an epic spat and some much-needed therapy.

The questionnaire asks potential cast members if they consider themselves straight, gay, bisexual or other.

The other casting questions are pretty standard ... age, ethnicity, hair color, eye color, occupation, hobbies etc. Casting also wants face photos and complete body shots.

There's also questions about dating status, where the applicant meets prospective mates, what qualities they look for and deal-breakers like religion, ethnicity and cultural differences.

The casting call also asks about cigarette and alcohol use, desired and undesired physical traits in a partner, and descriptions of current dating history and longest relationships.

Interesting ... no questions about politics, which has become a tried-and-true dealbreaker.

The big question now ... do producers want another Carlton situation or not?!?

WWE legend Mark Henry believes WrestleMania 36 will be the most-watched U.S. sporting event EVER ... telling TMZ Sports the 2-night show could get 200 MILLION VIEWERS!!!

"What can WrestleMania do, two days?! Livestreaming and watching a network?! That could be 200 MILLION people watching," Henry says.

Let that sink in.

To compare, the most-watched Super Bowl is XLIX, which reportedly attracted 114 million. The only other U.S. TV event to beat that was the moon landing with an estimated 125-150 million tuning in.

Of course, there have been major changes to this year's WrestleMania due to the coronavirus pandemic ... with Vince McMahon's org. electing to keep fans home and splitting the Rob Gronkowski-hosted event into 2 nights.

We spoke with Henry about the different approach this year ... and he thinks this could be a monumental moment in sports history.

"I think 20 years from now, we'll talk about this moment in history and it will be like 'hey man, the only thing that was on television during that time was pro wrestling,'" Henry tells us.

Henry points out the massively successful IG Live DJ set by D-Nice that helped people from Drake to Michelle Obama to Rihanna pass the time in quarantine ... and thinks WrestleMania can fill a similar void for people in desperate need of sports content.

FYI -- the most-watched WrestleMania is 33 ... which was reportedly seen by 1.95 million people. So yeah, Henry thinks this will SHATTER that record.

Remember, he says this year could get 200 MILLION.

Fire back up the NFL return rumors for Rob Gronkowski ... after he was cut from "The Masked Singer" Wednesday, he refused to close the door on his football career once again!!

Gronk had been participating on the blind singing show this season ... and it was pretty damn obvious the former Patriots tight end was rockin' the "White Tiger" outfit the whole time.

His dance moves -- even in full costume -- were very Gronk-esque ... there was plenty of twerking, flossing and overall spasming on the stage weekly!!

Surprisingly, only two of the judges were able to correctly guess it was him ... but when Jenny McCarthy was interviewing him after the reveal, she made a comment about his NFL career.

"We hope we see those moves back in the locker room soon," she said.

Gronk's reply?? "Oh. You never know!"

BOOM!!! GET THOSE #87 JERSEYS READY IN TAMPA!!!

In all seriousness, 30-year-old Gronk hasn't given much indication he will, in fact, make a comeback to the league ... with his brother, Chris, even telling TMZ Sports last month he'd be SHOCKED to see Rob return.

The 'Tiger King' leading man, Joe Exotic, was done dirty by vultures and snakes in his inner circle, and shouldn't be the only one suffering ... so says his role model, Doc Antle.

We talked to the owner and founder of Myrtle Beach Safari -- heavily featured in the documentary -- and he gave us his hot take on how everything played out for Joe ... his one-time friend and comrade in cats.

Doc tells us Joe was taken advantaged of and set up by Jeff Lowe and his cronies, who came into the picture once Joe was desperate amid ongoing lawsuits between himself and his nemesis, Carole Baskin. He says that was a bad idea, 'cause it ended up with the 'King' himself paying the price, while everyone else walked away clean.

Doc says, yes, Joe ultimately achieved what he wanted -- fame and glory -- but he can't even enjoy it while behind bars. He also says others were just as bad, or worse, than Joe and shouldn't be let off the hook just because they ratted out their buddy.

On a lighter note, we also asked about his, um, lifestyle ... ya know, the multiple wives thing and the commune, of sorts, he's set up for himself. Doc says he's been getting BLOWN UP by people wanting to join, men and women alike.

Unfortunately for them -- and all three of his wives, apparently -- Doc says his heart belongs to one woman and one woman only ... and she ain't even human. Sorry, folks ... the harem is closed.