'Grease' Actor Jeff Conaway Dies At 60

In recent years, Conaway was known for being treated by Dr. Drew on 'Celebrity Rehab.'
By Kara Warner

Jeff Conaway
Photo: MTV News

Troubled actor Jeff Conaway, star of TV and film classics "Taxi" and "Grease," has died. The 60-year-old actor passed away Friday morning (May 27) at the Encino Tarzana Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized in a coma since May 11.

E! Online reports that Conaway's family members, including his sister, decided Thursday to have doctors remove the feeding tube and ventilator that had been essentially keeping the actor alive. Conaway's longtime girlfriend, Vikki Lizzi, reportedly objected to the family's decision and went to court to try to block the move, but the family did not relent.

Conaway was found unconscious and was hospitalized following a suspected drug overdose that involved pain pills. Dr. Drew Pinsky, who worked with Conaway during his time on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab" to treat his drug and alcohol addictions, took to his Twitter account last week to refute claims that Conaway's condition was due to an overdose.

"Just visited Jeff Conaway," Pinsky tweeted. "He is stable & looks like he will recover from his pneumonia. Not an OD like press is alleging & certainly not dead."

Conaway's manager Phil Brock told The Associated Press that the actor was a "gentle soul" but one who has been unable to "exorcise his demons."

Conaway is perhaps best known for his portrayal of high school bad boy Kenickie in 1978's hit movie adaptation of the "Grease" musical, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. He also appeared in the Broadway version of "Grease" and played struggling actor Bobby in the sitcom "Taxi," alongside Danny DeVito and Tony Danza, from 1978 to 1981.

Share your thoughts for Conaway's friends and family in the comments.

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Lady Gaga 'Started To Cry' When She First Heard 'Marry The Night'

'Imagine if Bruce Springsteen had a baby with Whitney Houston — that's what it is,' she says of Fernando Garibay-produced Born This Way track.
By MTV News staff

Lady Gaga
Photo: MTV News

Lady Gaga has been working with producer Fernando Garibay for years, with the first fruits of their labor being the Fame Monster deep cut "Dance in the Dark." But, as Lady Gaga put it in MTV's "Inside the Outside" documentary that premiered Thursday, the pair had yet to "conceive" a hit record when she began work on Born This Way.

That all changed when Gaga heard the church-bell-filled sounds Garibay had concocted while on the road for the Monster Ball Tour.

"He goes, 'Your show is a religion and your fans are a cult,' " Gaga recalled. "It's this epic music. It's just so big. And I started to cry. He said, 'What's wrong?' And I said, 'I can't believe that you hear me so big.' "

Gaga sat down, and lyrics for what would become the Born This Way track "Marry the Night" just started pouring out: "I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life."

"It's like Whitney, but imagine if Bruce Springsteen had a baby with Whitney Houston — that's what it is," she said. "And that was it! We made a baby. Finally. After all that fornication, miserably long and tedious, Fernando and I finally conceived."

When MTV News sat down with Garibay, he told his side of the "Marry the Night" conception. "I just kind of got on the American leg of the tour — this was after Australia — and she goes, 'I want to write another song that can define where I'm at with this album and my life.' "

So Garibay listened again to their first collaboration, "Dance in the Dark," and tried to top that energy. "I remember being backstage and hearing the concert start, so I go out there and hear 'Dance in the Dark' open up the whole concert, and I wanted to outdo that feeling. I wanted to outdo that moment that opens up the show. I'm just that way."

Garibay did his thing while Gaga was onstage doing hers. "I go back to the studio bus; I'm just like working on parts, working on parts, and then, two hours later, she comes offstage, and she goes, 'Do you have something to play me?' " he said. "And I go, 'I do, actually. It's a little different, but I think you'll like it.'

"So I played her the instrumental for 'Marry the Night,' and she goes, 'I love it, but can you change this?' So she starts changing around a few chords, and then she goes, 'Open up a mic.' ... She starts laying down the whole song, like, off the cuff. She didn't have time to live with it. She kind of meditated a few minutes, and then it's like, 'OK, I'm ready. Let's go.' And right offstage, using the energy of that crowd and going into the studio, it was amazing. I can't compare it to anything."

That incomparable feeling was exactly what Gaga was aiming for with Garibay: "I kept saying to him, 'I don't want to do anything I've done before, I don't want to sound like anything I've done before, I don't want to feel like anything I've done before. I want it to be new.' "

Do you think "Marry the Night" tops "Dance in the Dark"? Let us know in the comments!

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Lady Gaga Fans Get Emotional About 'Inside The Outside' Special

'This interview was so sweet, I cried. She gives me hope for humanity,' one fan tweets about the MTV doc.
By James Dinh, with additional reporting by James Montgomery

Lady Gaga
Photo: MTV News

As her quest for world domination proceeds, Lady Gaga teamed up with MTV for an exclusive sit-down chat about her extraordinary journey to pop music royalty for the "Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside" documentary, which premiered on Thursday night. In it, Gaga discusses her early career struggles and whirlwind rise to fame, a tale that has all of her Little Monsters abuzz after watching it.

Reactions to the hour-long special have been strong, with an overwhelming response coming in from fans who were selected to attend our special after-show live stream, users on the MTV News site and the social networks in between.

One of those Monsters chosen to visit MTV studios Thursday night was Adrianna, who told MTV News that she was personally touched by Gaga's account of her bullying incident. "I was been bullied all through high school, and I kind of want to thank those people in an awkward way because I wouldn't be the same person, just like Lady Gaga wouldn't be the same person," she shared. "We wouldn't be as strong and confident with ourselves if it wasn't for those people."

Decked out in Gaga-like leather gear, Adrianna explained that Mother Monster is a role model to those who may still endure bullying, and that ultimately she is an inspirational star.

MTV News' Facebook page was also flooded by a wave of Little Monsters who couldn't help but gush about the doc. Users like Jimmy Aleman got emotional watching the special, saying, "I saw it :) It made me cry. She is a true woman." And Rossi Ruska Coles appreciated the pop star's defiant story, writing, "Thank you for this great one hour, the true and real Gaga! Love her and her self-identity!"

Chifi55 also got in on the fun by commenting on MTV News' site, saying, "She's so honest and true ... You just can't believe how amazing and loving and kind she is. She was nothing and became the world's greatest pop star ... There is no one who deserves it more than her!"

Despite the 140-character limit, Gaga fans were also quick to hit us up via Twitter to share their thoughts on "Inside the Outside." Superfan Ryan Lee tweeted, "I cried watching the special. Whoever made it should win an award because they captured the beauty of the angel that is Lady Gaga."

HausOfKels revealed she also couldn't hold back tears, writing, "This interview was so sweet, I cried. She gives me hope for humanity. Her message changed my life + made me stronger. xo #MTVGAGA."

And it wasn't just Little Monsters who tuned in to the MTV special, but also some non-fans, including sayjay41297, who admitted she's been transformed. "I didn't know all that much about Gaga, but now I'm really inspired and I think I've just became a Little Monster. #mtvgaga," she wrote.

Like sayjay41297, RickG63 shared a similar reaction to the doc, but had one minor complaint, tweeting, "Fantastic show, but her interviews are never long enough. Thank you for the show. It was great to see. Now you know why we love Gaga."

Did "Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside" shed a new light on the pop star for you? Share your comments below.

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Taylor Swift Explains How Her Songwriting Has Grown

Since recording her first album at 16, what's changed most is 'the kind of things you say when you're hurt.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Taylor Swift and Sway
Photo: MTV News

Taylor Swift's musical evolution has been pretty clearly aligned with her age. While she's writing about love and heartbreak, as she did when she was a teenager, the way she expresses that joy and pain has grown from the puppy-love lyrics to more mature reflections.

Back in the day, on her self-titled debut album, she was writing odes to country superstars, like in "Tim McGraw," and using metaphors to try to understand emotions that she hadn't yet fully experienced. With a career in full swing and a highly publicized love life, three albums later, it's apparent that Swift drew on real-life experiences for Speak Now.

When she sat down with MTV News earlier this week during "MTV First: Taylor Swift" Sway asked what she felt about her musical coming of age. "I don't know," she said. "I think retrospect will tell a lot. Years from now [and] I'll look back and go, 'I didn't know anything then.' "

Swift said the biggest difference between her teenage songs and her current ones is "the kind of things you say when you're hurt."

"I had this song called 'Picture to Burn,' that's talking about how 'I hate your truck,' and 'I hate that you ignored me,' 'I hate you,' " she explained. "Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different."

But Swift has no regrets about her earlier songs. "But I think that my first record came out when I was 16, the next one, Fearless, came out when I was 18 and this one came out when I was 20, so I think there's a lot of personal growth.

"I look back on the record I made when I was 16, and I'm so happy I made it," she continued. "I got to immortalize those emotions that when you're so angry, you hate everything. It's like recording your diary over the years, and that's a gift."

What do you think about Swift's growth as a musician? Tell us in the comments!

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Robert Pattinson In 'Cosmopolis': First Look!

RPattz and co-star Sarah Gadon appear to be in the back of a cab in photo from David Cronenberg movie.
By Eric Ditzian

Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in "Cosmopolis"
Photo: Caitlin Cronenberg's Twitter

Robert Pattinson spent eight months on the set of "Breaking Dawn" and was immediately pulled from the set to begin his whirlwind press duties for "Water for Elephants" last month. After perhaps just enough time to take a quick nap, RPattz is now back on a new set: "Cosmopolis," director David Cronenberg's adaptation of the slim Don DeLillo novel.

With production under way, Cronenberg's daughter has posted the first look at Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in character. The photo appears to capture the duo in a cab, though the great majority of the action, or lack thereof, in the book takes place in a limousine. Pattinson plays Eric Packer, a young and rich asset manager who, over the course of one day, manages to lose millions of dollars yet remain oddly detached from it all as his limo plods through horrendous New York City traffic. Gadon portrays Elise, a rich and beautiful heiress who is married to Packer but who doesn't seem to care for him very much at all and who certainly won't sleep with him.

"I had read the script about eight months ago and thought, 'Wow, this is something that hasn't been made in a long time,' "Pattinson told MTV News in March. "Which I think, like 'Water for Elephants' as well, I'm just trying to find that kind of stuff, because what else is the point? There's so much generic, everything's the same. So you might as well attempt to try something different."

When we caught up with him again in April, Rob revealed that he'd been working with a dialect coach to achieve a "very specific accent." But he still hadn't spoken with Gadon about the upcoming project. "I've seen a couple of things she's done," he said. "She's really good."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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