Celebrity Deaths | featured news

Many of the biggest names in entertainment gathered Saturday to say celebrate and bid farewell to singer Whitney Houston in the church in Newark, N.J., where the late singer, who died on Feb. 11, started her singing career.

Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, Alicia Keys and gospel greats Kim Burrell and BeBe Winans will perform.

Whitney Houston was discovered unconscious and underwater in the bathtub the day she died -- but a friend of Houston's mentor Clive Davis says the singer was supposed to be under 24-hour supervision, even in the bathroom.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has strongly defended his decision to have flags flown at half-staff Saturday for Whitney Houston, despite receiving emails and other messages disparaging the singer and criticizing him.

Singer Whitney Houston's family has decided against a public memorial for her at a New Jersey sports arena, and will hold an invitation-only service at the church where she first sang publicly.

Irish actor David Kelly, known for starring in the films Waking Ned and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, dies aged 82.

Los Angeles County coroner's officials said Monday they have not established a link between prescription drugs and the death of Whitney Houston, adding such a determination could only come after toxicology tests are completed.

Investigators probing the death of Whitney Houston are trying to determine whether she drowned while in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday shortly before she was set to attend a pre-Grammy Awards gala, according to a source who has been briefed about the case.

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow was killed Friday when he lost control of his car on a snowy road after promoting his latest book in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula. He was 53.