Richard Buckley, Tom Ford’s husband & partner of 35 years, has passed away
Tom Ford was in New York this month to show his latest collection during New
Michael K. Williams has died at just 54 years old
Michael K. Williams, one of the best character actors of all time, has died at
The BBC won’t cover royal deaths the same way after Prince Philip’s passing
When Prince Philip died in April, we heard from British Celebitches that the coverage on
People say their loved ones lost to coronavirus have contacted them
More than 600,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since it arrived in the US last
Did Jennifer Aniston’s late mother Nancy Dow cut Jen out of her will?
Jennifer Aniston’s mother Nancy Dow passed away back in May. I actually covered it at the time because Nancy Dow was an actress at one point, and because Aniston and her mom had a very public falling out back in the 1990s. Aniston would occasionally reference her mother in interviews, giving updates about the state of their relationship. From what I remember of Aniston’s interviews over the years, she let Nancy back into her life circa 2005, but there were still significant rifts between mother and daughter. Still, Aniston apparently paid her mom’s bills, especially after Nancy’s health declined over the past five years especially. And after all of that… Nancy Dow didn’t leave her daughter anything in her will, apparently. Not only that, Nancy left her “private writings” about Jennifer to someone else, someone who will likely sell the material. In its latest issue on newsstands now, an insider tells In Touch magazine that Jennifer Aniston’s late mom Nancy Dow, bequeathed her home, all of her money and other personal items — including scores of personal writings about Jen — to another relative. Nancy, who died at 79, “changed her will about a year ago, and no one in the family knew a thing about it,” the insider tells In Touch exclusively. “Even though Jen and Nancy had a very strained relationship, Jen still paid almost all of Nancy’s bills in her final years,” says the insider. Jen famously stopped talking to Nancy in 1996 after she gave an interview about her daughter to the tabloid TV show Hard Copy. Three years later, the rift widened after Nancy wrote — against Jen’s wishes — about their painful falling-out in the tell-all From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir. Instead of paying Jen back after her death, “Nancy left the relative her condo and more than a million dollars that she’d saved. She was a penny-pincher, and the alimony she received from Jen’s dad, John [Aniston], was pretty much never touched.” Even worse, Nancy left all of her private writings to the relative. “Nancy wrote down everything about Jen, and that material is now in the hands of someone who could profit from it,” the insider tells In Touch. [From In Touch Weekly] If this is true – and I think it’s probably true – this should answer all of your questions about Jennifer and Nancy’s estrangement. Even in death, Nancy Dow was trying to stick it to her daughter. It’s so nasty, passive-aggressive and ridiculous, it’s almost funny in a very dark and f—ked up way. I mean, Aniston doesn’t need her mother’s money or her estate, but if Aniston was paying her mother’s bills (which I also think is true), then this is just one final screw-you from mother to daughter. How would you take it if your own mother treated you like that, up until the very end? Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.
Prince’s cause of death ruled to be accidental opiate overdose by fentanyl
It’s been six weeks since Prince passed tragically at his home just before he was scheduled to see an addiction specialist to seek treatment. The report on his cause of death has now been released. Prince’s death has been ruled an accidental opiate overdose. While Prince was said to be addicted to Percocet, the medical examiner found that the drug which killed him was fentanyl, another far more powerful opiate. Toxicology tests for Prince concluded that the entertainer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl, according to a report on his death by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. Fentanyl, prescribed by doctors for cancer treatment, can be made illicitly and is blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in the United States. It’s 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died April 21 at age 57, after being found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The report from the medical examiner’s office, which was released on Twitter, didn’t provide many details. “How injury occurred: The decedent self-administered fentanyl,” the report said. For manner of death, a box was marked for “accident.” The report didn’t specify how the drug was taken and if the fentanyl was prescribed or illegally made. The music superstar weighed 112 pounds and was 63 inches tall when he died, the report said. He was wearing a black cap, shirt, pants, boxer briefs and socks and a gray undershirt, the report said. His occupation was listed as “artist” and his business as “music.” The full autopsy and toxicology reports will not be released, the office told CNN. [From CNN] At 5’3″ and 112 pounds Prince was in the normal range with a BMI of 19.8 and was not technically underweight. NBC reports that he was being “being treated for opioid withdrawal, as well as anemia and a fatigue” at the time of his death. I’ve only heard of fentanyl in passing and was not aware that it had so much potential for abuse and for overdose. Many outlets are reporting how potent it is, it’s the most powerful opiate available and is 25 to 50 times stronger than heroin, along with the fact that it’s caused thousands of accidental deaths. According to experts quoted by People Magazine, the drug was originally meant to be used for pallative, or end of life care, but is now routinely given to patients who have become habituated to other opiates and aren’t getting the same pain relief. It’s unknown if Prince had a prescription or how he obtained the drug, but a criminal investigation is underway. This also brings attention to the street use of the drug, which can be highly deadly as users may not realize how much stronger fentanyl is than heroin. Just touching or inhaling the drug can be fatal. NBC News quotes the chief pathologist at Tufts University, Barbarajean Magnani, who says that Prince’s case is sadly all too common. “This was a man in his 50s who may have been struggling with pain and took a very potent opioid analgesic and died accidentally from an overdose. Celebrities bring it to our attention, but we see this every day.” RIP Prince. photos credit: WENN and FameFlynet
Garry Shandling has passed away at the age of 66
Garry Shandling passed away on Thursday, March 24, in Los Angeles at just 66 years old. Shandling was one of the most beloved and influential comedians of his generation, with a dry, deadpan wit and a penchant for observational humor. He was well-regarded, respected and adored within the acting and comedic communities. He was most famous for his two popular and Emmy-winning shows, The Larry Sanders Show (where he played a late-night talk show host) and the It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. You can see his IMDB here. I had actually forgotten that he was still getting acting work – he’s been in a handful of Marvel movies over the past few years. Shandling had recently been diagnosed with a hyper parathyroid gland, which he discussed on his last episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. He apparently collapsed at his LA home on Thursday, then he was rushed to the hospital, which is where he passed away. Many are talking about Shandling’s appearance on that Seinfeld show – it’s an episode called “Isn’t It Great That Garry Shandling Is Still Alive” and you can watch it here. Twitter and the late-night shows were full of tributes to Shandling. Here are just a few along. RIP Garry Shandling and thank you for all the laughs. Shocked and saddened to hear about Garry Shandling's sudden death. I was honored to get to work with him. He will be missed. — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 24, 2016 Garry Shandling was as kind and generous as he was funny and that is saying a lot. — Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) March 24, 2016 Garry was/ will always be my teacher. He redesigned the wheel of comedy and was the kindest and funniest of geniuses Will miss him so much. — Jeffrey Tambor (@jeffreytambor) March 25, 2016 Lost a friend and a mentor. One of the funniest. pic.twitter.com/aiTOrvzqp1 — Chris Rock (@chrisrock) March 25, 2016 Sunday, my longtime friend Garry Shandling was here, making every1 laugh. I loved him. I'll miss our talks the most. pic.twitter.com/Ud8AQXNBXN — Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 24, 2016 .@MLauer shares he was in the audience at the Tonight Show the night Garry Shandling first appeared. https://t.co/gJqQGDj3OT — TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 25, 2016 photos credit: WENN.com