Dick Clark – famed TV producer, and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” host — died from a massive heart attack this morning … TMZ has learned.

Clark’s rep tells TMZ, the TV icon had been in St. John’s hospital in L.A. after undergoing an outpatient procedure last night. Clark suffered the “massive” heart attack following the procedure. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Clark was 82.

Clark’s health had been on the decline since he suffered a significant stroke in 2004 — forcing him to retire from his hosting gig at “New Years’ Rockin’ Eve,” which he created in 1972.

Ryan Seacrest took over in 2006. Dick has appeared on the show sporadically ever since.

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

Clark was 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.”

Source: TMZ.

Actor Robert Hegyes, one of the stars of the 70s sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter”died today of an apparent heart attack.

Hegyes was best known for his role as the Puerto Rican-Jew on that show — Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein. Epstein for short.

Hegyes reunited with John Travolta and the rest of the Sweathogs last year to accept TV Land’s 35th Anniversary Award.

He also co-starred on the hit drama, “Cagney and Lacey.”

Hegyes was in his New Jersey home this morning when he suffered the heart attack. He died at JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ. He was 60 years old.

*Taken from the Daily Caller.

In the weeks before former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead in a Chicago hotel room on Saturday, he sent out several messages via Twitter and Facebook that seemed to predict his demise.

“Dreamt I died in Chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). Need to write my will today,” Welsh tweeted on Sept. 26. Then, “correction-the weekend after next.”

On his Facebook page, Welsh — who took up painting after his stint in the famous pop-punk band — wrote beneath a showcase photo of a painting he was selling for $250, “if i am still alive at time of purchase, price to increase exponentially if I expire prematurely.”

The tweets and Facebook post have since been scrubbed from his accounts.

Staff at the Raffaello Hotel discovered Welsh’s body after he failed to show up for a 1 p.m. check-out time. Authorities suspect he died of a drug overdose.

A statement on Weezer’s website praised Welsh’s contribution to the band:

“We will never forget him. His chapter in the Weezer story (’98 – ’01) was vital, essential, wild, and amazing.”

A woman died from a heart attack caused by shock after waking up to discover she had been declared dead – and was being prepared for burial. As mourning relatives filed past her open coffin the supposedly dead woman suddenly woke up and started screaming as she realised where she was. Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov, 49, had been wrongly declared deceased by doctors but died for real after hearing mourners saying prayers for her soul to be taken up to hea … Read More

via Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

My Two Cents: Man, this guy was one of my favs as a kid. The 2nd time I met him, he accidentally slammed a trash lid on my finger. He felt so bad, he bought me a soda and a couple Hot Dogs at the RaceTrac by Lee Civic Center in Ft. Myers, FL. The first time I met him, he was really cool and showed me around the locker room, where I met a lot of the other wrestlers. End Two Cents.

*Taken from TMZ.

Macho Man Randy Savage – one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time — died today in a car accident in Tampa, Florida … TMZ has learned.

TMZ spoke with Randy’s brother, Lanny Poffo, who tells us the wrestling legend suffered a heart attack while he was behind the wheel around 9:25 AM … and lost control of his vehicle.

Earlier this month, Savage celebrated his 1-year anniversary with his new wife Lynn.

Savage was 58.

Macho Man began wrestling in the WWF in 1985 and became a superstar with his trademark catchphrase “Ooooooh Yeaahhhhh.” Savage was so popular, he became the spokesperson for Slim Jimin the mid ’90s … and became virtually synonymous with the brand.

UPDATE: Florida Highway Patrol tells TMZ … Savage was driving his 2009 Jeep Wrangler when he veered across a concrete median … through oncoming traffic … and “collided head-on with a tree.”

Savage was transported to Largo Medical center, where he died from his injuries.

Savage’s wife was a passenger in the vehicle during the collision — but survived with “minor injuries.” She was transported to a different local hospital where she was treated.

According to officials, Randy and Lynn were both wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident.

Cops say alcohol was NOT a factor.

An investigation into the accident is underway.

*Taken from the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Written by Edward Stringham.

We have all heard that alcohol in moderation appears to offer health benefits, from reducing the risk of heart attack to even decreasing susceptibility to the common cold. And for the many people who consume alcohol, drinking sometimes has entertainment value, as well.

But here in North Carolina, we have some of the highest beer taxes in the nation and I still cannot buy spirits from private stores. Nationally, we hear from groups such as the American Medical Association that alcohol has many downsides, such as it gets in the way of peoples’ careers. Even Donald Trump says, “I’d like to see the lawyers start going after the alcohol companies, ’cause I think alcohol is a much greater detriment than cigarettes.”

But there’s good news for those who like drinking and want good careers: economic data show that drinkers actually earn significantly more money than non-drinkers.

In an article in the Journal of Labor Research, co-author Bethany Peters and I looked at data on 7,500 people. We held numerous variables, such as education and age, constant in order to isolate the effects of drinking. Roughly 75 percent of adults are drinkers and 25 percent are abstainers. Holding everything else equal, we found that someone who drinks earns 10 percent more on average than someone who does not. We also found that men who reported going to a bar at least once in the last month earn an additional 7 percent. That’s 17 percent more money than people who don’t go out or drink.

Why do drinkers earn more? We believe it’s because drinkers have bigger social networks and that enables them to make more money. If drinkers know more people, they will be more likely to find a better job. In addition, drinkers also may be more likely to get along well with coworkers and clients than the person who likes to stay at home and play video games. That can explain why drinkers who drink in bars tend to earn the most.

This is not to say that everyone should aim to become an alcoholic, because the data also suggest that if you drink too much, your earnings fall. And, of course, all this deals with averages and so there are always exceptions. But the data show that, on average, one has to drink more than 21 drinks per week to start earning as little as a non-drinker.

Such data should give pause to politicians, lobby groups and modern prohibitionists who want to restrict alcohol consumption through higher taxes, lawsuits or other get-tough-on-alcohol campaigns. Not only do such policies reduce drinkers’ fun, but they also may decrease drinkers’ earnings. Rather than viewing alcohol consumption as a vice, we might think about considering drinking as an economically productive activity. So you want to make more money? Oh, waiter.