TV

California-based comedian Christopher Titus shifted his career into overdrive in the early 2000s after he starred as the title role of Titus -- where he would deliver dark comedy commentary in an empty room in each episode in black and white -- on the short-lived Fox family comedy, "Titus."

Christopher Titus cracked jokes on the show alongside some other funny famous people like Cynthia Watros as the blonde love interest Erin Fitzpatrick, Davis Shatraw as the lifelong best friend Tommy Shafter ... and of course Stacy Keach as the tough-loving father figure Ken Titus.

Alex Trebek -- the beloved host of "Jeopardy!" for 36 years and counting -- has reached a new major milestone ... celebrating his 80th birthday.

Alex has turned 80 on the heels of the release of his new memoir, "The Answer Is...: Reflections On My Life," and during a constant battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed last year.

Through it all ... Trebek has been legendary, continuing to host the game show while receiving treatment and providing inspiration to millions of others battling cancer.

Alex opened up this week, saying he is undergoing experimental cancer treatment and this will be his last ... he's already undergone other treatments that have been difficult, and he says he's discussed it with his family and it all came down to a quality of life decision.

And, even after 36 years and 8,132 episodes, Alex says he plans to continue his "Jeopardy!" gig as long as he's around. When he eventually must be replaced, he recently joked with 'GMA' that the perfect person for the job is ... his longtime friend, Betty White.

All kidding aside, Trebek revealed back in 2018 who he really has in mind to replace him -- a fellow Alex ... L.A. Kings play-by-play announcer, Alex Faust, and CNN contributor and attorney Laura Coates. BTW ... don't discount Anderson Cooper.

Happy birthday, Alex!!!

Iowa-born actor David Anthony Higgins is best known for his role as the wacky Lucky Aide employee, Craig Feldspar -- who's deeply in love with his coworker, Lois -- in the super funny family sitcom, "Malcolm in the Middle."

David Anthony Higgins was cast alongside some hilarious actors including Frankie Muniz as the title character, Malcolm, and Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek as the manic parents, Hal and Lois.

Higgins got his start in the entertainment biz in the early '90s when he scored the role of Joe Farrell on the iconic ABC sitcom, "Ellen," with Ellen DeGeneres.

KJ Smith's enjoying her time in quarantine, because thanks to Tyler Perry ... she's able to work, make new friends without worrying about her health ... and the food's good too!

The "Sistas" star joined "TMZ Live" Monday to describe what life's been like inside Perry's massive studio complex in Atlanta, where she's been the past couple weeks filming her BET dramedy series.

KJ says the cast and crew are undergoing consistent COVID-19 testing, which makes her feel safe and secure, and everyone's being treated with their best interest in mind ... beyond just focusing on the business side of things.

On that note ... the actress says the bubble-like setup for shooting "Sistas" is allowing everyone to make real human connections they wouldn't otherwise make if it was a traditional Hollywood set.

KJ even called the experience fun ... and said on set they all refer to it as "Camp Quarantine."

Johnny Ortiz -- who starred alongside Kevin Costner in "McFarland, USA" -- is currently sitting behind bars after being charged with premeditated attempted murder charges ... TMZ has learned.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ortiz and another man, Armando Miguel Navarro, allegedly tried to kill a man named Brian Duke "for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang with the specific intent to promote, further and assist in criminal conduct by gang members."

Navarro is the one accused of pulling the trigger, and while it's unclear exactly what role Ortiz played in the crime ... prosecutors felt it warranted the attempted murder charge.

Ortiz -- who starred as one of the cross country runners in the based-on-a-true-story Disney flick, "McFarland, USA" -- was arrested in late May, and remains behind bars. The judge set his bail at a whopping $1,120,000.

His family insists he's not guilty, and is trying to raise his bail through crowdfunding. They wrote on the site, "Johnny is everything to our family. Johnny does everything to help the community and the Hispanic community especially ... he is in jail fighting for his case that he is innocent on."

The actor's also appeared in "Ali," "American Crime" and "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie."

It was like a scene outta 'Kill Bill' -- a WWE superstar had his eye popped out of his head on live TV!!

And, just like that scene in 'Kill Bill' -- it was totally scripted and not real!!!

Still kinda gross/cool though ... that is, if you dig content involving a detached eyeball!

Here's the deal ... Rey Mysterio was taking on Seth Rollins on Sunday in a match dubbed the Eye For an Eye at an event called The Horror Show.

Rollins took control and shoved Rey's eye into the corner of the steel steps -- and the POP GOES THE EYEBALL!!!

It wasn't exactly as violent and gory as when Pai Mei snatched the peeper from Elle Driver's head ... but still, gnarly!

Rollins -- playing up the moment -- was so "grossed out" by the bloody eyeball forced himself to BARF! So gross!!

Ash Armand, famous for appearing in the Showtime series, "Gigolos," has been arrested for murder -- cops in Vegas say he beat his girlfriend to death.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says Ash called 911 Thursday morning to report his girlfriend was unresponsive in their home, and when police arrived, they found the woman's lifeless body.

Cops say the woman, who was in her early 30s, showed signs of trauma and Armand was detained on the spot and detectives were brought in to investigate. Police believe Armand, who appeared in Season 3 of "Gigolos," was under the influence of narcotics and beat the woman to death.

Ash is a stage name, BTW -- he was booked for murder under his real name, Akshaya Kubiak, and is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center.

Nick Cannon will NOT make his daytime talk show debut this fall ... it's being pushed to next year on the heels of his anti-Semitism controversy.

Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury -- the co-producers behind his nationally syndicated daytime talk show -- announced Friday, Nick's debut will be pushed from this September to fall 2021. The production company said, "After conversations with Nick, we do believe that his public comments don’t reflect his true feelings and his apology is heartfelt and sincere."

The company added, "We want to continue the healing process as he meets with leaders of the Jewish community and engages in a dialogue with our distribution partners to hear their views. We are standing by Nick in our hope that by fall 2021 he will be able to use his extraordinary talent and platform to entertain, enlighten and unite his audience on the ‘Nick Cannon’ talk show."

As we reported ... Nick said Thursday night the black community turned on him after he apologized for the anti-Semitic remarks he made on his "Cannon's Class" podcast. The comments triggered ViacomCBS to cut ties with him ... because the company said he refused to apologize

"Mob Wives" star Drita D'Avanzo wants the judge in her husband's federal gun case to cut him a little slack come sentencing, and she fired off a handwritten letter to make her case.

Drita wrote to Judge Kovner, pleading with him to show leniency on Lee D'Avanzo because he's a caring family man who needs to come home to his wife and kids.

In the handwritten letter, obtained by TMZ, Drita says Lee is an amazing father to their children who "never missed a soccer game and was very involved in our kids school work and any activities they were involved in. He is a family man and is missed!"

Drita adds ... Lee "has a family that is fully supporting him and hoping he comes home soon!"

Lee pled guilty to gun possession charges in March after the NYPD raided the family home and allegedly found 2 loaded handguns. Drita was eventually cleared of all charges.

Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme prosecuted the case against Lee, and the sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Hayden Panettiere's allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is now facing serious criminal charges in California ... this, days after Hayden got an order of protection against him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Hickerson was charged Thursday in an 8-count complaint that includes domestic violence charges, assault charges. Seven of the 8 charges are felonies.

Panettiere recently reported her ex-BF to the Teton County Sheriff in Wyoming -- along with the Santa Monica police and LAPD -- for multiple incidents involving extreme domestic violence against her during their year-and-a-half relationship.

The former "Nashville" star tells TMZ ...  “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life."

Hayden's attorney, Alan Jackson, says ... "After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life. Hayden has found the strength and courage to share the truth about her abuse and her abuser, and she intends to assist the prosecution to see that justice is served. As a survivor, she recognizes that her arduous journey of healing has just begun."

As we reported ... Panettiere recently got court-ordered protection from Hickerson in  Wyoming, and a California judge just granted her that same protection in the Golden State.

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.

Nick Cannon's seeking enlightenment following his anti-Semitic comments and subsequent apology ... according to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who says they're getting to work right away.

Rabbi Cooper tells us his first step was sending Cannon a report on Louis Farrakhan -- whose teachings Nick has vocally supported -- to show him the Minister's pattern of hate speech ... and then they started talking on the phone.

As you know ... "The Masked Singer" host came under fire for pushing anti-Jewish rhetoric on his podcast, and though he was initially defiant ... Nick eventually said he was sorry and credited Cooper for helping him understand why his words were hurtful.

The rabbi says Cannon was apologetic upfront, but more importantly ... he listened when Cooper explained how some of his perceived "facts" were actually hateful and harmful propaganda.

Rabbi Cooper says Nick's owned up to his wrongdoing, and he's even requested another discussion to gain more knowledge. The rabbi's obliging and says their having a face-to-face meeting Thursday evening, which he thinks could lead to some major progress.

Grant Imahara is getting a TV memorial, of sorts, from the TV networks where he became a famous and beloved host.

Honchos at Discovery and Science Channel tell TMZ ... the networks are paying tribute to Grant this weekend with a marathon line-up of his favorite "MythBusters" moments and other engineering programs.

As you know ... Grant, a brilliant electrical engineer, became a TV star with Discovery as one of the hosts of "MythBusters."

Discovery says some of Grant's favorite "MythBusters" moments from his 10 years on the show include episodes where he and his team tested "armor" made of folded paper, and tried to see if a hotel room shower curtain could be transformed into a life-saving parachute.

Imahara was a BattleBots champion, and the networks are also airing Grant's appearance in "Killer Robots: Robo Games 2011," when he served as a tour guide for the international competition.

As we reported ... Grant died suddenly this week at just 49 years old from a brain aneurysm.

The tribute marathon airs from 8 AM to 1 PM Friday on Discovery, and picks up Saturday on Science Channel from 3 PM to 9 PM ... ending with one of Grant's other famous hosting gigs, "White Rabbit Project."

W. Kamau Bell says Nick Cannon's anti-Semitic comments were wrong -- full stop -- but he has a theory about how Nick got himself into this bigoted mess.

The "United Shades of America" host told us he thinks Nick wanted to show that he supports the black community, no matter what ... so he leaned in to defend Professor Griff and repeat some of Minister Farrakhan's preachings.

Kamau joined on "TMZ Live" Thursday when he suggested Nick can still be a strong voice for African-Americans ... but it should be done without promoting divisive and anti-Semitic ideas.

As we've reported ... Cannon has since apologized, and FOX has said he'll remain the host of "The Masked Singer."

Kamau's show returns to CNN on Sunday night for its 5th season, and he'll be taking a hard look at anti-Semitism and white supremacy -- in all its forms -- on the premiere episode. That got us talking about all the violence between citizens, police brutality and general contentiousness across the country.

Carole Baskin ... what the fudge is this??

The 'Tiger King' star's been cashing in doing Cameo vids for a bit now, but her latest submission -- a birthday shout-out to a fan named Charlotte -- is ... well, priceless.

Carole -- joined by her husband Howard -- kicks off the video message with her tagline, "Hey all you cool cats and kittens," before saying they're "here with the crip mates" to wish Charlotte a happy bday.

And, then it gets REALLY interesting.

Watch for yourself ... pretty sure 50 Cent's "In Da Club" has never been done like this. And it probably shouldn't be ever again.