TV

One of the guys who successfully pitched the Paint Brush Cover to Mark Cuban and the rest of the "Shark Tank" team got swept up in a cocaine bust this week.

John DePaola was arrested Sunday as part of a massive drug bust in New Jersey in an operation prosecutors are calling Operation Snowball. Law enforcement officials believe DePaola is one of 9 people tied to a cocaine distribution ring.

The group was allegedly moving about one third of a kilo per week. Cops say they confiscated more than 700 grams of coke, and $14,943.

Rob Lowe took matters into his own hands as a wildfire crept toward his Santa Barbara home -- by helping firefighters battle the flames, and then fueling them up.

Rob's home was spared even though it looked like the blaze was knocking at his front door early Sunday morning. The Thomas Fire's been raging for 2 weeks now and has made its way to Santa Barbara where Rob, Oprah, Ellen and Katy Perry's folks have had to evacuate their homes.

To show his gratitude for saving his community, Rob later invited the fire crew over for dinner to the home they saved, where they recharged on spaghetti and burgers.

No stopping for these guys as the fire's only 45 percent contained. So far, Rob's been spared, but 18,000 structures are still in danger.

It's a good thing to look like Amy Adams -- but if you're 15-year-old Sophia Lillis it's even better --because those looks come with a hefty paycheck.

Lillis, who plays Beverly Marsh in "It" just signed on to play the young version of Adams' character, Camille Preaker, on HBO's upcoming series, "Sharp Objects."

According to her contract, obtained by TMZ, Sophia's set to haul in at least $50k for the gig.

It's unclear just how many episodes Lillis will appear in, but the money can only go up from here.

Marc Summers -- the host of the '90s hit kids' show "Double Dare" -- just evacuated his home amid a growing inferno in Santa Barbara, and took what mattered ... his TV clips.

Marc posted a video Saturday showing blazes from the Thomas fire at what might as well be a stone's throw away in the Santa Barbara mountains near his property.

TMZ spoke to Marc, who tells us ... he and his fam just left this weekend, but packed up a lot of their valuables about a week ago, including jewelry, family photo albums, marriage and birth certificates, passports ... and over 1,000 tapes of Marc's TV gigs.

We're told he was able to convert those tapes to DVDs a while ago, and saved a good chunk -- which, of course, contain episodes from "Double Dare" and other TV appearances.

David Spade continues to pay the price for starring on "Just Shoot Me!" ... especially when the cast gets together for a reunion dinner.

We got David, Laura San Giacomo, Wendie Malick and pretty much everyone else from Blush magazine Saturday night at Craig's in WeHo. We asked who picks up the tab, and Dave says it always seems to make it to his seat, for some reason.

Laura had a great response, btw, when we asked if Blush got swallowed up by Disney -- since it seems to be buying everything else in media these days.

We're guessing Spade would appreciate the Mouse House buying one of these dinners.

Sofia Richie won't be on "Keeping up with the Kardashians" even though she's dating Scott Disick because they haven't crossed a certain bridge yet ... his kids.

Production sources tell TMZ ... there's absolutely zero plans for 'KUWTK' to cast Sofia, contrary to reports. While she's been with Scott a lot, we're told she's NOT with him when he's around his kids ... which is when he's usually taping the show.

Our sources say this isn't a jealously thing -- Kourtney didn't influence producers to keep Sofia off cam. We're told the sisters don't personally know Sofia.

Turns out Omarosa WAS tossed out of the White House on her ass by the Secret Service because she wanted it that way ... according to the folks at SNL.

President Trump's former adviser's firing/resignation was roasted by Leslie Jones and Michael Che during the Weekend Update. The bit is funny, but when you're dealing with Omarosa ... it could be reality.

C'mon, you can totally see her retelling the story of her White House exit exactly this way.

The handgun cops say was used to kill Tupac Shakur -- which mysteriously disappeared 11 years ago -- should be in the hands of the L.A. Sheriff's Dept. ... according to the detective who was on the case.

TMZ broke the story -- the .40 caliber Glock was found in a Compton backyard in 1998, and according to docs, LASD Detective Timothy Brennan was the guy who ordered the ballistic testing which revealed it was used in Tupac's murder.

Brennan, who's now retired, tells TMZ ... there should be NO mystery about where the gun is now ... IF everyone followed protocol. As Brennan recalls ... he gave the gun to ATF agents who conducted the testing. Once it came up a match, in a federal law enforcement database, he says ATF sent it to Las Vegas cops.

Now here's the rub. Brennan says law enforcement in Vegas didn't believe it was a match. He says he was never told why they reached that conclusion, but they rejected the weapon. Brennan says what should have happened next is the ATF to send it back to L.A.

As we reported ... the document dug up by producers of A&E's "Who Killed Tupac?" says a federal prosecutor recommended the gun NOT be turned over to Vegas -- but Brennan insists it was.

Former "Baywatch" star Angelica Bridges turned a new leaf with her whip -- she's gone eco-friendly.

Daniel Bottiglieri of Elite Auto Group in Palm Springs tells TMZ ... his dealership's handling the sale of Angelica's 2005 Bentley Continental GT. It's got 56k miles, and selling for $43,500 ... a relative bargain.

The Bentley's loaded -- 2-tone Magnolia leather, 22-inch Giovanna Haleb wheels and a V12 engine.

As for what Angelica's driving now -- we're told she bought a 2017 BMW i8, a plug-in hybrid that gets 76 mpg.

So, Angelica's loss could be your gain ... if ya dig gas guzzlers.

The abode Drake Bell and Josh Peck called home on their popular Nickelodeon show just hit the market ... and it's got plenty of room.

The San Fernando Valley crib show producers used for exterior shots is up for a cool $1.85 million. It's got 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, a tennis court and a pool.

Drake and Josh shared a bedroom on TV ... but the real crib has enough space for both brothers, their parents and little sister -- played by Miranda Cosgrove -- to each have their own room.

Mario Batali is officially cut from "The Chew" ... for good.

ABC completed its review into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the celeb chef -- and says, "While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show, ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct."

As we reported ... 4 women claimed Batali had inappropriately touched them in the past, 3 of whom used to work for him. Batali said some of the accusations matched up with ways he'd acted.

Ronan Farrow's whistleblowing article on Harvey Weinstein opened the floodgates of sexual harassment allegations in and out of Hollywood -- and he says it's exactly what America needed.

We got Ronan catching a flight out of LAX Thursday and asked him about alleged sexual abusers starting to fight back. As we reported, PBS host Tavis Smiley believes he was railroaded by a "sloppy" investigation.

Ronan says even if some of the accused are pissed off, it's worth it because victims have had to be silent for decades -- and conversations about sexual misconduct are long overdue.

50 Cent's got a lot more money -- 8 figures worth -- to bring a lot more than just "Power" to the screen with Starz ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the deal tell us ... it includes 3 projects the rapper-turned actor/producer already has in development -- "Black Mafia Family," "Tomorrow, Today" and a third to be announced soon.

As you may know ... Fiddy currently boasts the hugely successful show "Power" on Starz, the most-watched series on the network. He also produces "50 Central" on BET and releases exclusive new music through his shows.

Justin Bieber's going hard into the acting world, working with a professional who's helped some of the biggest names in Hollywood -- but don't count on seeing his skills on a screen anytime soon.

Sources close to the Biebs tell TMZ ... he's taking acting lessons for the fun of it. We're told he's NOT working on any kind of project, he simply wanted to try acting lessons. Up til now, his resume consists of getting gunned down on 'CSI' and playing himself in "Zoolander 2."

Even though he says he's just goofing around, Justin's learning at Nancy Banks' studio in L.A. -- the same place celebs like Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Forest Whitaker and many more hone their craft.

First a Grammy ... Emmy, Oscar and Tony next?

Anna Faris' posse is back to a party of 3.

Anna was out Sunday in L.A. taking a stroll with her boyfriend, Michael Barrett, and her son, Jack.

Jack looks pretty chill up on Barrett's shoulders and it shouldn't come as a surprise since Anna and Michael have been spending plenty of time together. The two were spotted just a couple weeks ago when they went house hunting together.

As for things with estranged hubby Chris Pratt, the two filed for divorce simultaneously Dec. 1 ... and they're asking for joint custody of Jack.

"Life in Pieces" actress Ana Sophia Heger's stashing $70k in the bank and co-starring with James Brolin and Colin Hanks ... while most kids her age are just trying to color within the lines.

We got ahold of 4-year-old Ana's contract for the hit series -- filed in court because she's a minor -- and it's clear she's already a seasoned pro. She was guaranteed $10k an episode for 2 guest appearances playing Lark.

Kid must've killed it 'cause now she has 5 more episodes to her credit ... at that same rate. That's a whole lotta animal crackers!

Sophia also gets her own trailer complete with TV, DVD player, sofa, bathroom, microwave and more. Beats building a fort with pillows and blankets.