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After suffering a long battle with cancer, the world says goodbye to one-third of the group The Bee Gees, Robin Gibb. Robin passed away on Sunday, according to his spokesperson.

His rep released a statement saying, “The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.”

TMZ has more:

Gibb was diagnosed two years ago with colon and liver cancer. He had been hospitalized several times in the last few years, most recently last month with pneumonia.

With that, we’ll leave you with our favorite Bee Gees song, Jive Talkin’:

RIP Robin Gibb.

Disco queen Donna Summer has passed away earlier today as a result of lung cancer. She was 63. TMZ has the scoop:

We’re told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old.

Sources close to Summer tell us … the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago … who says she didn’t seem too bad.

Her family has released this statement:

“Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time” – The Sudano Family.

Rest in peace, Donna Summer and thanks for all of the memories. Your contribution to the music industry will always be remembered.

It is with much sadness that we report that the Beastie Boys co-founder Adam “MCA” Yauch has passed away at the age of 47. The rapper was suffering from a three-year battle with cancer, of which he succumbed to.

In 2009, it was announced that Adam was being treated for a cancerous parotid gland and a lymph node. He underwent surgery and radiation therapy as treatment for the cancer. The treatment delayed the group’s plans to release a new album and go on tour.

Afterward, at the direction of his Tibetan doctors, Adam became a vegan. He passed away earlier today and leaves behind his wife Dechen Wangdu and their daughter Tenzin Losel Yauch.

Here’s a video of our favorite song by the Beastie Boys, “Paul Revere.”

RIP Adam Yauch, you will be missed.

Famed host of the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Dick Clark has passed away at the age of 82-years-old. Earlier this morning, he passed away from a massive heart attack.

Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting duties for the show back in 2006, with Dick co-hosting. TMZ has more details:

Details surrounding his death are unclear, but Clark had suffered a significant stroke in 2004 — forcing him to retire from his hosting gig at “New Years’ Rockin’ Eve,” which he created in 1972.

Before suffering a stroke, Clark told Larry King he suffered from Type 2 diabetes.

Clark has been married 3 times — and has 3 children from his first two marriages. He is survived by his current wife Kari Wigton.
“For now, Dick Clark … so long.”

May he rest in peace. New Year’s Eve will never be the same without him.

Update:

Through his publicist, the Clark family has released the following statement:

“Entertainment Icon Dick Clark passed away this morning (Wednesday) at the age of 82 following a massive heart attack it was announced by his family. Clark, 82, had entered St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica last night for an outpatient procedure. Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful.”

It is with great sadness that we report the untimely passing of songstress Whitney Houston. She has passed away at the young age of 48-years-old.

The singer passed away this afternoon. The details surrounding her death are pretty much unknown at the point…but sources have confirmed her death to TMZ.

TMZ reports:

According to our sources, Houston died at the Beverly Hilton hotel. A police crime lab vehicle was seen outside the hotel just moments ago.

Houston had one child, Bobbi Kristina, with husband Bobby Brown. Houston and Brown were married from 1992-2007.

We are in total shock, having heard the news. This is so sad and she was so young to have died at only 48. She has had previous problems with drugs, but declared that she was drug-free in 2010. At the time, she declared “crack is whack”.

Let’s hope that this has nothing to do with any drug problems, but we are unsure at this point.

Story is developing, so stay tuned for any further details as they are made available.

So very sad, may she rest in peace. People magazine reports:

The singing superstar’s publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that Houston died, but did not reveal the cause of death.

Update: We’ve learned that Whitney passed away at 3:55 PM PST at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. TMZ has another update:

Paramedics were called to the Beverly Hilton today when Houston was found unresponsive in her hotel room … sources tell TMZ.

We’re told police arrived to the scene within minutes and fire was already there on another call. According to our sources, paramedics performed CPR but it did not work and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.

Our sources say there were to signs of foul play. We’re told she was ID’ed by family and friends.

Another update: We’ve also learned that Whitney’s body still remains at the hotel where she was found.

STORY DEVELOPING….STAY TUNED…

Update via WCYB:

The latest facts on Houston death: LA Police say investigators still in 4th floor hotel room where singer Whitney Houston died. Spokesman: 9-1-1 got a call this afternoon and sent an emergency crew to the Beverly Hills Hilton. They tried to revive her, but efforts failed. As of 9pm EST, her body is still on scene and investigators are going through the room. More facts on News 5 at 11pm.

Thanks to Bambi Gullatta for the update.

Photo Credit: Brabus, PacificCoastNews.com

Legendary blues singer Etta James has passed away at the age of 73, according to her manager, Lupe De Leon.

She had a long battle with illness, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, following a terminal cancer diagnosis. She was put under 24-hour care and had been battling cancer throughout 2011. It was then that her manager revealed that she was “in the final stages of leukemia” and was diagnosed with dementia and Hepatitis C.

She was hospitalized in December of 2011 after it was reported that she was having trouble breathing. She was finally released from the hospital on January 5, 2012, but passed away today.

May she rest in peace.

The legendary singer is survived by her husband, Artis, and their two sons, Donto and Sametto. RIP Etta. Your talented voice will surely be missed.

It’s a sad day for us to report the untimely passing of a rap superstar. Unfortunately, we’ve learned that rapper Heavy D has passed away.

TMZ has the scoop:

Rap legend Heavy D — one of the most influential rappers of the ’90s — died earlier today … TMZ has learned.

Heavy D — real name Dwight Arrington Myers — was rushed to an L.A. hospital around noon today … and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1 PM. He was 44 years old.

Heavy just performed at the BET Awards in October — and appeared to be fine.

So far, the details of his passing are sparse, so stay tuned as we keep our ear to the ground for more information.

Rest in peace, D, your rapping will be missed. Our condolences go out to his family and close friends. RIP.

Update: Reportedly, a call was made to 911 from the rapper’s home in Beverly Hills at 11:25 AM PST to report that an man was unconscious in the walkway. Paramedics arrived to a conscious and talking Dwight, so they took him to a nearby hospital, where he passed away a short time after. Authorities do not suspect foul play and are investigating the death.

Stay tuned for updates as they are made available.

Heavy D’s most popular recording was Now That We Found Love…check it out below:

RIP.

Update: Heavy D’s last message on Twitter was: “BE INSPIRED!”

It’s a sad, sad day, as we’ve learned that Andy Rooney has passed away. Andy was a mainstay at CBS’ show 60 Minutes for almost sixty years.

He passed away yesterday. Andy was most recently hospitalized for serious complications following surgery that he had.

He offered whimsical opinions on things like the cost of groceries, Kurt Cobain’s suicide and politics, among other things.

The show’s executive producer, Jeff Fager, said in a statement, “It’s a sad day for everybody here at CBS News…it’s hard to imagine not having Andy around. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. We will miss him very much.”

TMZ has more:

Rooney last appeared on “60 Minutes” on October 2 — in which he marveled at the weight of his new laptop computer … saying, “It weights less than 3 pounds … I lose that much getting mad waiting to get on the plane through security at the airport.”

RIP Andy Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011)

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has passed away today at the age of 56-years-old.

TMZ has the scoop:

Jobs suffered a number of serious health issues over the years. In 2004, he announced he had a rare — but treatable — form of pancreatic cancer … and had a tumor successfully removed from his pancreas later that year.

TMZ posted a picture of Jobs two days after he resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, clearly showing a deterioration in his health.

In 2009, Jobs received a liver transplant after announcing his “health-related issues were more complex than I thought.”

RIP Steven Paul Jobs (2/24/1955 – 10/5/2011) He will be missed. Stay tuned as more details are released about his passing. RIP.

Update: Our sister site, Tragicomical, reports that Steve passed away peacefully. They also have his family’s official statement.

Former Alice In Chains bassist Mike Starr has passed away!

He passed away in Utah at the young age of only 44. He appeared on the third season of Celebrity Rehab in 2009 and was busted just last month for possession of a controlled substance. Reportedly, he had 6 Xanax pills and 6 painkillers on him when he was arrested.

His father said, “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy.”

May he rest in peace. So sad.

Stay tuned as more details become available….

We here at Earsucker are hearing a lot of reports surrounding the possible death of legend Aretha Franklin….But we’re not believing the hype just yet!

The rumors of her untimely passing started on Twitter, which has users known for causing rumors such as this to get out of hand. We have heard nothing from any credible news organizations, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled for any news surrounding Aretha.

Until then, we’re calling this as a hoax. Stay tuned as we wait for more information to be made available.

R&B singer Teena Marie has passed away, we are sad to report.

She was reported to have died in her sleep last night after her daughter’s birthday. Her manager has confirmed the news, but no other information has been released.

She was found by her daughter. So sad. We send out our most heartfelt condolences to Teena’s family in their time of suffering.

RIP Teena Marie (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010).

Today marks the second anniversary of the day that Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff was arrested for bilking people out of billions of dollars. His son Mark, sent his wife two strange emails before hanging himself this morning in his Soho apartment building at 158 Mercer St. The emails said that he loved her and asked for her to send someone over to look after their son.

Page Six reports:

The eldest son of Bernie, Mark was “upset” over the two-year anniversary media coverage of his father’s massive fraud, a source said, noting a front-page story of the scheme and its aftermath in today’s Wall Street Journal.

This is so sad. He was only 46-years-old. See more exclusive photos of the scene outside of the apartment building here.

Famous funnyman Leslie Nielsen has passed away. He was 84-years-old.

So far there aren’t any details surrounding his death, as this story is still developing.

Stay tuned, as we know details, they will be made available!

Update: TMZ reports that Leslie passed away earlier today, surrounded by friends and family:

Legendary funny man Leslie Nielsen died today of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, this according to his agent. He was 84.

His agent tells TMZ Nielsen passed surrounded by his wife and friends at about 5:34 PM ET.

Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Tom Bosley, who rose to fame playing the role of Mr. Cunningham on Happy Days, has passed away today. He was said to be battling a staph infection and passed away in his home in Palm Springs, California.

He was 83-years-old.

So sad. I loved him on that show. He will be missed. RIP Tom Bosley (October 1, 1927- October 19, 2010).

Update: His former co-stars, Henry Winkler and Scott Baio have given their kind words about the acting legend.

Henry said, “I saw him before I ever got to Hollywood on Broadway, and he was great. And then I got to act with him for 10 years and he was great. Tom Bosley was our mentor. He was a true artist … a great husband, and a fabulous father and grandfather. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.”

Scott Baio added, “He was a good man who taught me a lot about the business and business itself. He was a professional guy … I’m sad.”

May he rest in peace.

Legendary Some Like It Hot actor Tony Curtis has passed away at the age of 85.

He died in his home in Las Vegas yesterday. TMZ reports:

As we previously reported, Tony — who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — was hospitalized in July near Las Vegas after suffering breathing problems while making an appearance at a local Costco.

Curtis starred in such classics like “Some Like It Hot” and “Spartacus” — and was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “The Defiant Ones.”

RIP 6/3/1925 – 9/29/2010 He will be missed.

Comedian and all-around funnyman Greg Giraldo has passed away after overdosing on prescription medications over the weekend. He’s best known for his appearances on Comedy Central’s roasts and leaves behind three children.

On September 25th, Greg overdosed on prescription pills and was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ hospital. It was said that the overdose was not a suicide attempt. His rep said that it was an accidental overdose.

He was in critical condition, until today, when he passed away at the age of 44. So sad. RIP.

Rumor has it that Lindsay Lohan has died, at the young age of only 24 years old. There are no reports of this from any reliable sources, such as TMZ or the L.A. Times, so we’re going to take this as a rumor, solely until we hear otherwise.

The rumor stated that Lindsay overdosed from crack, but I highly doubt that’s true. Someone took the time to update her Wikipedia entry to show that she’s deceased as of July 14, 2010, but there are no details surrounding her supposed death.

The last tweet from Lindsay’s official Twitter account was from eleven hours ago. We’re calling hoax until we hear something to the contrary.

Stay tuned…

Update: Kim Kardashian just tweeted, “Omg!! Is @lindsaylohan dead?! I keep hearing these rumors from my friends n stuff!! Is it true?!”

We’ll keep you posted…

Sleep deprived update: That was a fake Kim Kardashian. The real one doesn’t care enough to tweet.

Ronnie James Dio passed away yesterday, after suffering a six-month battle with stomach cancer. He was 67-years-old.

His wife, Wendy posted this on his official website:

Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.

- Wendy Dio

You can leave your condolences here on his Facebook page, per her instruction.

So sad. May he rest in peace. A true metal legend is lost.

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Mark Linkous, the singer, songwriter and instrumentalist for Sparklehorse, has committed suicide.

His family released a statement saying:

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.”

According to Wikipedia:

Linkous committed suicide with a gunshot to the heart outside a friend’s house in Knoxville, Tennesee on March 6, 2010.

So sad. May he rest in peace.

The autopsy results are in for Jay Reatard, who died mysteriously at the age of 29. According to Contact Music, the culprit in his death was a mixture of cocaine and alcohol.

Memphis Medical Examiner Dr. Karen Chancellor has ruled that he passed from “cocaine toxicity”, adding that “alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.”

Reatard passed away in his sleep on January 12, 2010.

RIP.

The founding member of the Matthew Good Band, Geoff Lloyd has sadly passed away this weekend.

He was most recently a part of The Slickjacks, who have updated their Facebook page with the following message:

It is with a heavy heart I have to announce the passing of Geoff Lloyd. Frontman for The Slickjacks, a Brother, and a talented and helpful guy with a heart of gold. Geoff and his wife Lisa were also a huge part of the Cobalt Volunteer army, it would never have re-opened on 06/06/06 without them.

Sadly Geoff had been fighting his inner demons for a number of years, and they finally got the better of him.

Read more about their concert to benefit Geoff’s wife here.

RIP.

“Poltergeist” phenom Zelda Rubinstein passed away today at the age of 76. She was most known as Tangina Barrons in “Poltergeist”, where she played the short psychic who was called to rid the family home of evil forces.

Late December, it was reported that Rubinstein had suffered from both kidney and lung failure. It was said that she was taken off of life support at that time, due to her failing condition.

Friends denounced that statement, saying that she was on her way to recovery.

She passed away earlier today at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles.

RIP.