John Hughes made Molly Ringwald a teen star after casting her in his 1984 movie Sixteen Candles. After learning about the writer-director’s death on Thursday, Ringwald shared fond words about her frequent collaborator.

“I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes,” Ringwald said in a statement. “He was and will always be such an important part of my life.”

“He will be missed – by me and by everyone that he has touched,” she added. “My heart and all my thoughts are with his family now.”

Ringwald, who now stars in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, also had leading roles in Hughes’s 1985 classic The Breakfast Club and 1986′s Pretty in Pink, which he wrote.

Another actor Hughes made famous, Matthew Broderick, who starred in 1986′s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, also shared his condolences with the director’s family.

“I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes,” Broderick said in a statement. “He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

John Hughes, who directed iconic 1980s films Sixteen Candles (one of my favorite movies ever!!) and The Breakfast Club, died today. He was 59.

A spokesman for the filmmaker says he suffered a heart attack during a morning walk while in New York City visiting relatives.

Hughes’ directorial debut, 1984′s Sixteen Candles, became a teen cult classic and started Molly Ringwald’s career. She went on to star in his movie Pretty in Pink.

“I was stunned and incredibly sad to hear about the death of John Hughes,” Ringwald told Usmagazine.com in a statement. “He was and will always be such an important part of my life. He will be missed — by me and by everyone that he has touched. My heart and all my thoughts are with his family now.”

The Chicago native also directed Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and all the Home Alone movies, which made Macaulay Culkin a star.

“I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person,” Culkin tells Us in a statement. “The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man.”

Steve Martin, who starred in Hughes’ 1987 film Planes, Trains & Automobiles alongside the late John Candy, told Us the late director was an even better writer.

“John Hughes was a great director, but his gift was in screenwriting,” Martin told Us in a statement. “He created deep and complex characters, rich in humanity and humor.”

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She charmed millions without ever saying a word, and managed to make fast food tacos adorable. Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign, died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15.

“She made so many people happy,” says Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton. People met both Gidget and Sue at a Hollywood animals photo shoot in February, where the pup was a consummate pro and delighted the crew with her playful nature.

The mostly retired actor lived out her days laying in the sun – “I like to joke that it’s like looking after a plant,” says Chipperton – and entertaining at shoots when her trainer brought her along. “Gidget,” says Chipperton, “always knew where the camera was.”

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Last night, this is what Ed McMahon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star looked like just outside of the Roosevelt Hotel.

There were no flowers or no notes, just newspaper stuck to the sidewalk with some black paint or tar over his name.

Accident? Vandalism? Probably the latter–there are some crazy and mean spirited people out there. Luckily, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce cleaned it up that night and things are back to normal.

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We’ve just heard rumors that Golden Girls actress Betty White is dead. Don’t believe the hype!

TMZ reports:

We’ve lost a lot of icons recently — but no matter what NBC says, Betty White isn’t one of ‘em!

During a report yesterday morning at Forest Lawn Cemetery, “Today’s” Michael Okwu listed the “Golden Girl” as one of the celebrities already buried there.

Meredith Vieira corrected him — he probably meant Bette Davis.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

More details about David Carradine’s death are coming to light.

The actor died from accidental asphyxiation, a medical examiner who performed a private autopsy on the actor has concluded. “The cause of death was asphyxiation, an inability to breathe, now why that happened is still what we’re working on,” Dr. Michael Baden, who was hired by the late actor’s family, told Reuters.

The ties that bound Carradine, who was found hanging in the closet of his Bangkok hotel on June 4, helped Baden rule out suicide as well. “He didn’t die of natural causes, and he didn’t die of suicidal causes from the nature of the ligatures around the body, so that leaves some kind of accidental death,” he said.

Baden also clarified that Carradine’s hands were tied above his head and not behind his back, as some had previously reported. His report also did not rule out the possibility that the former Kung Fu star died of auto erotic asphyxiation, though he did not say that was the cause of death, either.

Results from an earlier autopsy performed on Carradine after his death at age 72 were unclear, though on June 11, Baden did publicly state the actor’s death was not suicide.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

TV legend Ed McMahon was remembered by friends and family yesterday, at a memorial service held at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in the Hollywood Hills, Entertainment Tonight reports.

Around 200 guests were on hand to memorialize the late entertainer. Natalie Cole sang her touching ballad “Smile,” while Ed’s wife Pam and his children and grandchildren spoke as well.

Jimmy Kimmel, Tony Danza and his wife, George Schlatter, Johnny Carson’s former wife Joanna Carson and other celebrities were also there to celebrate the TV icon, who passed away last Tuesday after battling systemic cancer.

Source, Bauer-Griffin