Caitlin Doughty believes her fascination with death started when she was a little girl and she witnessed a girl fatally fall from the balcony of a local mall. She went on to get a degree in mortuary science and start a delightful (no, really!) web series about death. more ›

How does a tattered notebook crammed with doodles and poems, a prom picture, an essay written in penciled block letters, or an unsent love letter saved in a shoebox or album shape who we are today? We talk to David Nadelberg, host and creator of the new series "The Mortified Sessions" to find out. more ›

Got a product that needs hawking? A recent poll suggests that Betty White is your Golden Girl. Reuters/Ipsos asked Americans the dubious question of which celebrity they most trust. White, continuing to ride a crest of late-career popularity, came out just ahead of Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock. Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Kate Middleton and Morgan Freeman also made the top 10. more ›

As we mentioned earlier, officials have been traffic courting celebs to help get the word out about the short term end of the world known as Carmageddon. As if our prayers were answered in tight shorts and retro shades, Metro has announced a new Public Service Announcement alerting the public of the July 16-17 I-405 closure with the help of none other than our our hometown CHiP, actor Erik Estrada. more ›

If you are gaga over Lady Gaga sufficiently to monitor her 140 characters-or-less Twitter thoughts, would she be who helped you understand that Carmageddon isn't the end of the world? If that sounds as ridiculous as her meat dress, don't laugh just yet: The Los Angeles Police Department has been trying to recruit celebs, including Lady Gaga, to use their Twitter accounts to get the word out about the upcoming three-day 405 Freeway shutdown. more ›

Today, the question of marriage equality made its way to Hollywood as a number of celebs signed on to petition President Obama to reconsider his stance against same-sex marriage. The petition was launched earlier this month by Freedom to Marry, a campaign that seeks to legalize gay marriage on a state and federal level. After gathering signatures -- including those added today of Lance Bass, Cyndi Lauper and Verne Troyer -- an open letter will be sent to the President asking him to "end exclusion from marriage." more ›

Joining the ranks of Madonna, Beyonce and Jesus, Lindsay Lohan is planning to drop "Lohan" from her name and just go by Lindsay, reports Popeater. Apparently, the actress had been planning to shorten her name for some time, but wasn't sure people would still know who she was, what with Lindsay not being quite as recognizable as, say, Prince. more ›

See what they wore to walk the red carpet on a hot January day. more ›

The Halloween hijinx keep coming with today's installment of TMZ celebrity pumpkin stencils! The gossip goblins are offering downloadable images to trace and cut and illuminate this day of candy-filled fear. Slash-o-lanterns! Ozzy-o-lanterns! Chuck Norris-o-lanterns! Ice-T-o-lanterns! Really, who among us wouldn't like to carve up Paris Hilton's face into the side of a tufted gourd? Angelenos, ready your scalpels. more ›

Santa Monica Police officials say things have improved over the last several months at a local nursery school where celebrities pick up their children. After complaints that paparazzi were becoming unruly at the First Presbyterian Nursery School on 2nd Street, the City Council agreed to a "good faith" effort last October in lieu of creating an ordinance that could have violated the 1st Amendment. However, one councilman believes the problem hasn't been solved, despite the police department's report, says the Santa Monica Daily Press. more ›

Last Sunday the backlot of CBS Radford Studios in Studio City was filled with some of the biggest names...in food. The 23rd Annual Great Chefs of LA was indeed the promised food and drink filled afternoon of music, swag bags, and auctions, all to benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. Hosted by comedian and TV star George Lopez, the event drew some celebs (so we hear!) from entertainment and lots of food talent (so we ate!). more ›

Many people in Los Angeles consider a trip downtown as practical as visiting the moon, which may explain why it was never a big deal to Buzz Aldrin. "I used to come down to the Midnight Mission, I had a lot of friends working there," recalled the astronaut. Another charitable cause brought him back on Monday night, a fundraiser gala that generated over $300,000 for Virgin Unite and the Eve Branson Foundation. The charitable arm of Sir Richard Branson's empire supports social and environmental causes, including health care in rural parts of Africa. more ›

If you were in downtown Los Angeles this week and saw a bunch of large men coming out of the Standard Hotel with duffel bags full of loot, don't worry ... it wasn't a stickup. A lot of goodies were handed out at ESPN The Magazine's "ESPY Style Studio," primarily to famous athletes and actors. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers), Kurt Warner (Cardinals), Terrell Owens (Bills), Matt Leinart (Cardinals), Shannon Brown (Lakers) more ›

The Grammy Museum welcomes veteran singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw for “The Drop” -- a program where musicians talk about their recently or upcoming releases. Crenshaw will discuss and perform selections from his newest album Jaggedland. He’ll be in conversation with Museum Executive Director Robert Santelli about the songwriting, collaboration, and production behind his first new studio recording in six years. He’ll also take a few questions from the audience. The event begins at 8 pm tonight, and tickets are $14.95 ($12 for members). more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." more ›

While watching the Oscars at home in my bedroom, I got an email informing me that I was invited to Prince's Post-Oscar party. Me? The guy who was sitting in his room watching the Oscars in a sweaty t-shirt and shorts thanks to some much needed time at the gym was now going to be partying with Prince at his ultra-exclusive post-Oscar party. more ›

Here's a little of what we saw while on the red carpet at the Oscars... more ›

Councilman Dennis Zine's, who created a regional Paparazzi Task Force this summer, has proposed an ordinance to keep paparazzi a modest 20 feet away from schools, hospitals and medical facilities when recording celebrities. Zine defines the prohibition for photographers and videographers taking photos/video for a "'commercial purpose" defined as the expectation of a sale, financial gain, or other remuneration. However, the celebrity or facility can give consent for photographs. But does 20 feet matter? With a long lens or a great zoom function, the product won't change much. What will happen is an easier walk from the door to the curb for the celebs. more ›

Stand Up To Cancer announced on Sunday that "from its launch on May 28, 2008, through September 5, 2008’s historic simultaneous commercial-free telecast, the initiative has raised more than $100 million to accelerate ground-breaking research and bring new therapies to patients more quickly." more ›

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama will be in town this afternoon. And while the man has a plan to move people (not just cars), his visit does come with traffic impacts, however minor: more ›

The names of the twenty-five 2009 honorees to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame were released today by the Walk of Fame Committee of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The group considers hundreds of annual submissions and the final recipients are ratified by the Board of Directors. more ›

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Last week it was Disney. This week, it's Diddy, or as the star says -- Sean Diddy Combs. Located outside the Hollywood & Highland Center, Puffy's star was dedicated late this morning as a crowd of locals, paparazzi and fans watched him pose before signing autographs. The Associated Press explains that honorees usually show up to these Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremonies and just go through the motions. But not Combs: more ›

He may be young and may not have billboards of himself around Hollywood like Angelyne, but the twenty-something Chad Luckette does have a van and trailer displaying his name, which seems to be found in Silver Lake Sunset Junction area more than often. more ›

Most people are probably aware of how difficult a thing it is to satirize something large. One runs the risk of either cutting so broadly as to make the observation meaningless, or being so specific that only those being described will even get the joke. Which is to say, it's a fine line. Not as fine as "Was your father a thief? Because I'd really like to have sex with you." But nearly so. Just ask Tom Wolf. more ›

Enough with the Oscar talk -- Kimmel's long-awaited response to "I'm Fuckin' Matt Damon" is here and it's chock-full of hilarity: more ›

The Super Bowl isn't just the center of the universe for the sports business, but also for anybody working at E! or People. Even TMZ had a giant mobile billboard just outside the stadium in Glendale -- probably reminding party-goers to send them any interesting photos. more ›

Just when you thought that "I see dead people!" joke would finally die...Lindsay Lohan has to go and get herself a gig at a morgue. What a girl has to do these days to dig up a decent date! more ›

Pop the pink champagne and slip on that tiara to help welcome the arrival of 2008's first celebrity socialte and rock star spawn, Harlow Winter Kate Madden, who came into the world at the nicest hospital money can buy, aka Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, today. more ›