EVENING UPDATE: Sad news, guys.  Patrick Swayze died today at age 57, after a nearly two year fight with pancreatic cancer.  From People:

“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” his rep tells PEOPLE in a statement.

A gifted dancer, a rugged outdoorsman, a romantic leading man and a loving husband, Swayze was also, as his brother Don put it, “a warrior” in his cancer fight.

Patrick Swayze was the son of a choreographer and he trained at the Joffrey Ballet School, he performed on Broadway, he appeared in over 30 feature films, he met his wife when he was 19 and she was 15 and they were together for nearly 40 years, he flew his own planes, he owned and operated a ranch outside of Los Angeles, and he starred in a television series whilst undergoing chemotherapy for one of the most painful forms of cancer.  He is possibly most famous for his roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, but let’s get serious here.  His real legacy is as follows:

1. Road House
2. That Chippendale’s skit on SNL with Chris Farley
3. To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar
   
4. Red Dawn
5. Point Break

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze.

Some girl who auditioned for seasons 7 and 8 of American Idol but never made it to Hollywood was killed over the weekend in a hit and run. According to TMZ

Alexis Cohen was struck on a road in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Her body was found by two pedestrians 350 yards from Cohen’s parked car. She suffered chest, head and abdominal injuries.

Cohen received notoriety for her post-audition rant in Season 7.

Alexis might still be alive today if she’d remembered that old adage “look both ways before you cross the street.” Also that old adage “never fucking live in New Jersey.” My grandma cross-stitched both on a sampler for me so I’d never forget.

Joe Jonas’ girlfriend Camilla Belle in French Elle this month because word on the street is they broke up:

Forget about MJ’s corpse today, shall we? Let’s hear about another living, breathing corpse. Pete Doherty is soon going to be in the hot seat about his possible involvement in the death of actor Mark Blanco in December of 2006. NineMSN reveals,

He fell to his death from the first floor of an East London apartment soon after a confrontation with Doherty and two others.

Police initially recorded the death as accidental and that he fell trying to jump to a lamppost, but a coroner has now ordered the investigation re-opened.

Blanco’s mother says Doherty “must face questioning” over the murder.

“I want the truth to come out,” she added.

The poor bugger was only trying to escape what he clearly thought was an apparition. You tell me if you saw that white clammy thing coming for you, you wouldn’t cry like a little girl and head like a bat out of hell for the nearest exit. Which in this case, was a window. Perhaps if Babyshambles breaks up, Doherty could pick up some extra work being Death’s sidekick. Yeah, he looks the part. Get him a t-shirt with an arrow pointing to the side that says, I’m with Death.

David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand.  Conflicting reports make it unclear who discovered his body, or whether he passed away this morning or on Wednesday.  Carradine’s manager told People he passed away on Wednesday and was discovered by a film producer:

Oscar-nominated actor David Carradine, best known for his leading role of Kwai Chang Caine on TV’s Kung Fu in the 1970s, died Wednesday in Bangkok, where he was shooting a film, his manager confirmed Thursday. The star was 72.

According to manager Chuck Binder, the movie’s producer went to Carradine’s hotel room and found that he had passed away. Binder told Fox News the death is “shocking and sad. He was full of life, always wanting to work … a great person.”

In a conflicting report from the BBC which implies suicide, Thai police stated Carradine was found this morning, not by a film producer but instead by a hotel maid:

Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body.

The US star was in Thailand filming his latest film, Stretch, according to his personal manager Chuck Binder.

A US embassy official confirmed the actor’s death, but added that the cause of death had not yet been established.

However, Thai newspaper The Nation reported that police believe the actor took his own life, and preliminary investigations found that he hanged himself.

It’s unusual that the normally impeccably reputable BBC would run with as-yet-unconfirmed reports from Thailand stating that the circumstances of Carradine’s death do not match up with those described by his manager.  Perhaps there’s been some misunderstanding on the manager’s part, or some miscommunication with Thai police.

In any case, regardless of the circumstances of Carradine’s death, his passing is tragic and he will certainly be missed.

Hi, campers.  It’s Sarah today.  Unfortunately, we’ll be starting off this morning with some terribly sad news:

Natasha Richardson passed away yesterday from complications after her skiing accident earlier this week.  Richardson, who was only 45 years old, was the wife of Liam Neeson and the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, as well as a Tony Award-winning actress.  Neeson’s publicist released the following statement:

“Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

Richardson, who was awake and lucid immediately following the accident, later began showing symptoms of serious head injury and was taken to the hospital, where doctors found she was bleeding in the brain.  Her heartbroken family had her removed from life support yesterday after she was pronounced brain dead.

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson were a lovely couple who seemed genuinely happy and completely devoted to each other, and for 15 years they kept themselves almost fully out of the press except for when they were working.  Even my cold, dead heart is a little bit touched by the incredible sadness of this tragedy.

Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson, and their two boys, Michael and Daniel:

Liam and Natasha: