Don Cornelius, 'Soul Train' Creator and Host, Dead of Gunshot Wound

Don Cornelius, the creator and longtime host of "Soul Train," was found dead this morning of a gunshot wound. He was 75. Cornelius was found at his Sherman Oaks home at 4 a.m. by officers responding to a reported shooting. The gunshot wound appeared to be self-inflicted. As a journalist in the Civil Rights Era, Cornelius recognized the lack of a televised venue for soul music. The show he first aired on a low-power station in Chicago became one of the longest-running syndicated hits. From the show's debut in 1971, the always smooth Cornelius was the master of ceremonies for performances by a who's who of soul legends, including Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, Diane Ross, Aretha Franklin and the Isley Brothers. Cornelius coolly presided over each episode's party, interviewing guests in a soft baritone. As it aged, Cornelius' "hippest trip in America" also featured hip-hop acts, including DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and the recently departed Heavy D. But it struggled with how to balance the newer genre with the soul music at the heart of the program. Cornelius stepped down as host in 1993. But as reverence for soul music increased, so did respect for Cornelius, and the role he played in popularizing it. The show continued with other hosts until 2006. Two years later, he sold it to MadVision Entertainment. Cornelius told the Times in a 2010 interview that he was excited about a "Soul Train" movie he was developing. "It wouldn't be the 'Soul Train' dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project," he said. "It's going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show."

Nick and Aaron Carter's Sister Leslie Dies at 25

Leslie Carter, the sister of Nick and Aaron Carter, has died at 25. The aspiring singer passed away in upstate New York. No other details were immediately available. "Our family is grieving right now and it's a private matter," the Carter family said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened for the loss of our beloved sister, daughter and granddaughter, Leslie Carter. We request the utmost privacy during this difficult time." Leslie's song "Like Wow!" was included on the Shrek soundtrack in 2001, but her recording career never took off. Leslie, whose cause of death is unknown at this time, leaves behind her four siblings as well as a husband, Mike, and nearly one-year-old daughter, Alyssa Jane. 


Tracy Morgan's mom pleads for his help saving home; he says stories "untrue"
Tracy Morgan's mother says she struggled for years to provide the comedian with everything he needed as a child, but now that she's out of work and facing foreclosure he's refusing to help her. Alicia Morgan, in a phone interview with CNN Wednesday, said she called her son last month to say she needed $25,000 to pay off her mortgage, but his assistant called back and told her, "Tracy would do a one shot deal of $2,000." "I was so upset, I told her to tell Tracy 'Thank you, but no thanks. I am not some person on the street asking you for a handout, I am your mother,'" she said. "And that was the end of that." His sister, Asia Morgan, said their mother needs his help soon "so she doesn't end up on the streets." Their mother lost her job last year, reducing her income to $600 a month and causing her to fall behind on her $400 monthly mortgage on her Youngstown, Ohio, home, her daughter said. "If her mortgage is not paid by February 23, 2012, her home will go into foreclosure," she said. Tracy Morgan, meanwhile, released a statement to CNN Wednesday night saying he was "saddened that these untrue stories about me have people questioning my commitment to my family." The one-paragraph statement continued, "For reasons that are between us, I have not seen my Mother in 11 years and outside of a random call here and there have had little to no contact with my sister. We all have personal family issues that we have to deal with in life, but I choose to deal with mine in private and not through the media."
 Taran Noah Smith, who played youngest child Mark Taylor on the '90s sitcom Home Improvement for eight years, was arrested early Wednesday for DUI and drug possession. Smith, 27, was arrested  in Los Angeles County. Police say he was driving under the influence of marijuana and also had hash, a type of marijuana, in his car. After Home Improvement went off the air, Smith has mostly retired from acting and stayed out of the limelight. In 2001, he sued his parents over the money he made as a minor, alleging they were squandering his trust fund. Last fall, he participated in a Home Improvement reunion photo shoot and interview alongside his castmates


Snooki Not Pregnant
Despite reports and outrage that surfaced this morning over Jersey Shore’s Snooki being pregnant, the reality star has denied the rumor. And more importantly, she’s worried that people think she’s fat. “Does that mean they’re calling me fat?” Snooki asked on the Opie & Anthony show this morning. “I just lost weight.”

Rock Hudson's Ex-Lover Dead

Marc Christian MacGinnis, who won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 1991 from the estate of his ex-lover, actor Rock Hudson, after convincing a jury Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS, has died. He was 56. Known as Marc Christian, he died of pulmonary problems at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

TV NEWS

Bounce TV will honor Don Cornelius with a seven-hour "Soul Train" marathon Saturday. The marathon will begin with the show's first episode and conclude with his final episode as host. It will be hosted by TLC's Chilli.

Showtime is feeling pretty confident about its Sunday lineup: The network has issued early renewals to sophomore drama Shameless, rookie comedy House of Lies and the five-year-old Californication. 

Army Wives fans! Lifetime has announced that the potentially super-sized sixth season of its flagship series will premiere Sunday, March 4 at 9/8c.


Veronica Cartwright (Eastwick, L.A. Law) will play a judge on an upcoming episode of Revenge, presumably during the impending murder trial.


TNT’s Franklin & Bash‘s second season is getting a boost from actors from American Pie and Nurse Jackie. Chris Klein (Wilfred) has been tapped to guest star in an episode. Klein plays an old high school buddy of Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) who’s described as a charismatic politician who wants out of the race for governor because of a family scandal. Paul Schulze (Law & Order) is also on board. He’s Klein’s campaign manager, who butts heads with Bash and Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer) over the candidate’s decision to drop out of the race.


Cougar Town‘s third season may not launch until Feb. 14, but you can catch up with Big Carl & Co. a few days early when the cast hosts a mini-marathon on ABC, airing Saturday, Feb. 11.


Now that Kyra Sedgwick has ended her seven-season run on TV, it seems fitting that her Hollywood husband Kevin Bacon would finally make his serious primetime television debut in a starring role on Kevin Williamson's untitled drama pilot for Fox. Williamson's TV thriller will center on a "diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers and an FBI agent -- played by Bacon -- who finds himself in the middle of it."


ABC has picked up Bad Girls, a drama pilot (based on the UK series by the same name) from Shameless producers John Wells and Nancy Pimental. The project follows an eclectic group of women in a federal prison.