Posted Jan 3rd 2009 8:30AM by TMZ Staff
Rand Memorial Hospital in the Bahamas tells TMZ the son of John Travolta died today.
We're told 16-year-old Jett was vacationing with Travolta and wife Kelly Preston.
There have been reports that Jett was autistic, though Travolta has denied it, saying he suffers from Kawasaki Syndrome, a condition which often leads to heart disease.
UPDATE 5:15 PM ET -- Police just released more details. According to a report, Jett was last seen going into the bathroom at their private suite at the Old Bahama Bay Resort sometime yesterday. The body was discovered by the caretaker, Jeff Michael Kathrein (pictured bottom right with Travolta in 2006), at 10:00 AM today. The report says Jett suffered from seizures.
An autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of death.
UPDATE 4:54 PM ET -- A police spokeswoman says Jett hit his head in a bathtub.
UPDATE: 4:40 PM ET -- Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium in the Bahamas tells TMZ Jett's body would be transferred there on Monday.
UPDATE: 4:00 PM ET -- Travolta's attorney Michael Ossi says Jett suffered a seizure at his family's vacation home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died on scene.
Robert Gidel, president of Ginn Properties (which owns the Old Bahama Bay Hotel), tells TMZ, "The Travolta family has become like family to us at Old Bahama Bay and we extend our deepest sympathies to them."
Filed under: R.I.P., John Travolta
Posted Dec 26th 2008 5:46PM by TMZ Staff
Justin Eilers was found shot and killed on Christmas night -- the second MMA fighter to die in a week.
Eilers died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to KIVI TV in Idaho. James Malec, the suspect, is reportedly the boyfriend of Eilers' mom. Malec has been arrested and charged with second degree murder and held on $1 million bail.
According to Sherdog.com, Eilers had a career fighting record of 19-7-1 and went 1-3 in the UFC.
On December 18, Justin Levens and his wife were found dead from gunshot wounds in a home in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Dec 26th 2008 2:15AM by TMZ Staff
Eartha Kitt -- the legendary actress, singer and dancer -- died yesterday of colon cancer. She was 81.
Kitt was perhaps best known for her role as Catwoman on 60s TV series "Batman" -- a role that was later played with diminishing success by Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry.
She recently won back-to-back Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for the show "The Emperor's New School."
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Dec 25th 2008 2:05AM by TMZ Staff
John Costelloe -- who played Johnny Cakes during a brief run on "The Sopranos" -- killed himself last week.
According to the New York Post, Costelloe shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on December 16.
Costelloe, a former N.Y.C. firefighter, played a cook on "The Sopranos" who had a brief homosexual affair with Vito Spatafore.
Joseph Gannascoli, who played Spatafore, told the Post, "I was shocked when I heard, and it still hasn't really sunk in ... I never detected anything troubling about him. I enjoyed all the time I ever spent with him."
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Dec 19th 2008 9:05AM by TMZ Staff
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Dec 18th 2008 5:00AM by TMZ Staff
This pic should give you a better idea how a shark managed to jump from her tank and onto a waterslide in The Bahamas earlier this week.
FYI -- the slide goes through the shark area (the open air slide becomes an enclosed tube) and lets out in a small pool down below.
The female reef shark somehow cleared the 18-inch wide and 1-foot high barrier around the bottom of the Mayan Temple's Leap of Faith slide -- then slid down the rest of the slide and into an empty pool. It died from complications from the pool's chlorinated water.
The shark was at least 12 years old.
Filed under: R.I.P., Critters
Posted Dec 18th 2008 12:15AM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned former UFC fighter Justin Levens and his wife were found dead from gunshot wounds in a home in Laguna Niguel, Calif. earlier today.
Sources say cops are investigating their deaths as a possible murder/suicide.
Levens had a career record of 9-8 and fought in several different MMA leagues, including the IFL, WEC and UFC.
In a morbid twist, Levens once lost to Evan Tanner -- the UFC fighter who was found dead in the desert back in September.
Filed under: R.I.P., Talk Sports
Posted Nov 23rd 2008 3:15AM by TMZ Staff
Rapper MC Breed -- who once worked with Tupac -- was found dead at a friend's house in Michigan yesterday.
Breed -- who was hospitalized in September when his kidneys collapsed -- died in his sleep. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
He was 36.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Oct 15th 2008 7:15AM by TMZ Staff
Our spies say Khloe Kardashian will visit a morgue today ... not for her show and not for makeup tips. It's one of the strings attached to that whole DUI thing, and a dead celeb will be there to get the point across.
Brad Stewart -- former bassist for Marilyn Manson -- died last Thursday of an apparent drug overdose, and his body is lying at the morgue Khloe will visit.
We're told Khloe took a red-eye from NYC to L.A. to make her 8:30 AM appointment. The coroner's office tells us there are 20-30 bodies there -- and Brad's will be one of them.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Oct 6th 2008 12:31PM by TMZ Staff
Rose McGowan was in a great, Palin bashing mood outside Madeo Friday night -- but it quickly dropped six feet under when a pap brought up her dearly deceased pup.
Filed under: R.I.P., Critters
Posted Oct 5th 2008 8:25AM by TMZ Staff
A DUI bust may have triggered the suicide of a big time hip-hop producer.
Johnny Jackson, aka Johnny J -- famous for such albums as Tupac Shakur's "All Eyez on Me" -- was in L.A. County Jail after getting arrested for DUI. Authorities say he took his own life by jumping off a tier in the jail.
Johnny J also produced the epic jam "Knockin' Boots" by Candyman.
He leaves a wife and two children. He was 39 years old.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Oct 2nd 2008 9:20AM by TMZ Staff
Mr. Clean has gone off to that big sanitized house in the sky.
House Peters Jr., the actor that played the original Mr. Clean in TV commercials, died of ammonia pneumonia on Wednesday. He was 92.
In the '50s and '60s, Peters became famous for playing the household cleaning product's bald muscular hoop-earing clad spokesperson. The Castro would never be the same.
Peters is survived by his wife, three adult children and four grandchildren.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Sep 28th 2008 3:00PM by TMZ Staff
A truck driver hauling a load of sound equipment for VH1's "Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels' caused a crash that killed two people and seriously injured two more.
According to the Illinois State Police, Dennis D. Hernandez fell asleep at the wheel on Friday while on Interstate 57 in West Frankfort, Ill. His truck crossed the median and struck two vehicles. In one car, two 19-year-old female passengers were killed -- and in the second car, an older couple suffered major injuries and were airlifted to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Cops told StlToday Dennis' truck was a part of Michaels "Rock of Love" fleet.
Two tour buses for "Rock" -- which Michaels' website said were heading to Texas -- stopped at the crash scene. Hernandez -- who sustained minor injuries -- was charged with driving with a suspended license and four other traffic violations.
Calls to VH1 and Bret's people have not been returned.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Sep 27th 2008 3:00PM by TMZ Staff
Paul Newman made everything better, from salad to movies to charity work. Check out the TMZ photo tribute to a true legend.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Posted Sep 27th 2008 12:00PM by TMZ Staff
Paul Newman 1925 -2008.
He was awesome.
Filed under: R.I.P.
