Celebrity Deaths and Tributes

Joe Negri, the musician best known for his work as the guitar-playing handyman on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” died May 30 in Pittsburgh. He was 99. Negri’s death was announced by his family. Negri and Fred Rogers first worked together in the early 1960s on a local Pittsburgh children’s TV show. F

Ronnie Schell, a prolific TV character actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of the amiable Pvt. Duke Slater, pal of Jim Nabors’ hayseed Gomer Pyle on the ’60s sitcom of that name, died of natural causes today at UCLA Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 94. His death was announced by fa

EXCLUSIVE: Independent Artist Group (IAG) has signed actress Nikki Rodriguez for representation. Rodriguez is the star of the Netflix hit YA series My Life with the Walter Boys, based on Ali Novak’s Wattpad novel of the same name. The coming-of-age series debuted its third season on the streamer on

Following her breakout role as cheerleader Claire Bennett on NBC’s Heroes, Hayden Panettiere in 2012 was cast as the co-lead opposite Connie Britton in the ABC country music drama Nashville. Following Panettiere’s passing at the age of 36, Britton posted a heartfelt tribute on Instagram.