Sad news. I always loved Jane Russell. Like most screen legends of that time she is blatantly under-rated because of Marilyn Monroe..but Jane Russell was the bomb.

Discovered by Howard Hughes, she left the spotlight in the 1960′s for a quieter life after starring in tons of classic movies.

Russell, surrounded by family members, died Monday at her home in the central coast city of Santa Maria. Her death from respiratory failure came 70 years after Hughes had put her on the path to stardom with his controversial Western “The Outlaw.” She was 89.

Although she had all but abandoned Hollywood after the 1960s for a quieter life, her daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield said Russell remained active until just a few weeks ago when her health began to fail. Until then she was active with her church, charities that were close to her heart and as a member of a singing group that made occasional appearances around Santa Maria.

“She always said I’m going to die in the saddle, I’m not going to sit at home and become an old woman,” Waterfield told The Associated Press on Monday. “And that’s exactly what she did, she died in the saddle.”

Since I’m sure someone will say it..I’ll say it too. She was just THIS CLOSE to getting mentioned at this years Oscars. Now she’ll have to wait until the 2012 broadcast to for her death to be recognized.

Len Lesser, aka Uncle Leo on Seinfeld, passed away at his home in Burbank California from cancer-related pneumonia at 88 years old.

In a statement, Lesser’s daughter, Michele Lesser, said, “Heaven got a great comedian and actor today…. Thank you to all the people who helped make my father’s last journey special, and surrounded with love. The doctors, nurses, and staff have been outstanding, and Dad was in phenomenal hands. His passing was peaceful, with great dignity, and surrounded by those who loved him dearly.”

He was best known as the lovable but crabby Uncle Leo..but Len Lesser worked it on tons of other tv shows over the years before he landed Seinfeld. Over the course of his 60 year career he had roles on “Get Smart”, “That Girl”, “The Munsters,” “The Monkees,” “thirtysomething,” “ER” and “Everybody Loves Raymond. He even recently made a guest appearance on the tv drama ‘Castle’.

RIP Uncle Leo.

Screen legend and father of Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Curtis has passed away at 85 years old.

The cause was cardiac arrest in his Las Vegas home early Wednesday, the Clark County coroner told the Associated Press.

Tony starred in more  than 150 movies, which took place along with an equally extravagant Hollywood high life: six wives, romances with starlets from Marilyn Monroe to Natalie Wood and six kids he candidly admitted he often failed – including Jamie Lee Curtis. Nor did he make a secret of his real name – Bernie Schwartz – or his onetime drug use, or his trips to the shrink to deal with debilitating depression.

You can read more about Tony’s interesting life here. His name may not be a household name to most of us and I’m sure he’s virtually unknown to most of our younger readers…but this dude was mah-jah back in the day.

We all know celebrities die in threes. With Greg Girlado and Tony Curtis both passing away yesterday that leaves one more spot for some lucky celeb.

Five days after he was hospitalized for an accidental overdose, comedian Greg Giraldo has passed away in a New Jersey hospital.

Greg had been hospitalized in New Brunswick, NJ after he overdosed on prescription pills last weekend. A source said the overdose was not a suicide attempt. Giraldo was best known for his celebrity roast appearances. He had also been a judge on “Last Comic Standing.” A source close to Greg tells us, “Greg passed away today at the hospital in New Brunswick as a result of an accidental overdose. His family was by his side.”

Sad news, this guy was really funny. Get ready for the skeleton’s…every time a celebrity dies a drug related death people start the slinging.

Source

Are you over the shock that the Dr. Frankenstein that created Heidi Montag died? You’ve probably already read that Dr. Frank Ryan died in a fatal car crash Tuesday, but did you know that he was tweeting a message about his dog when he accidentally drove himself off a cliff?

Wow. Couldn’t that news have waited at least until the next stop sign.

People magazine quotes Dr. Frank’s ex-girlfriend, publicist Charmaine Blake as saying, “He lived in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff.”

People also notes, “The California Highway Patrol confirms Ryan was texting before the crash, but investigators have not officially determined the cause of the accident.”