• Love on the Spectrum star Pari Kim announced her mom Esme has died after battling cancer, aged 61.
• Pari, 24, shared the devastating news in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday, May 13.
• Her father Henry also died in 2020, leaving Pari without both parents at a young age.
• Castmates including Tina Zhu Xi Caruso, Madison Marilla, and Dani Bowman rallied around her in the comments.
• The loss comes just weeks after Pari confirmed her split from Tina, whom she met on the Netflix show.

Pari Kim is navigating one of the hardest moments of her young life. The Love on the Spectrum star, 24, announced Wednesday that her mother Esme has passed away after a battle with cancer — a loss made even more devastating because Pari has now lost both of her parents before the age of 25.

“Grief and tragedy is not easy and feels very unpleasant,” Pari wrote on Instagram Wednesday night. “It feels like everything is becoming a train wreck and that there are two sides of yourself constantly fighting: the sad, lonely girl missing what was cruelly and unfairly taken from her at such a young age and the girl who has to stay strong and positive because she can’t give up if she wants to keep moving forward.”

Trains have always been central to Pari’s identity — her passion for railroads and public transit was one of the most memorable things about her time on the Netflix reality series — and she leaned into that language to describe her grief in a way that felt deeply, unmistakably her.

“Not every train track is a smooth ride,” she continued. “Sometimes the going gets rough and you need other trains to help you pull through and carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s difficult to keep chugging along when your guardian locomotive reaches the end of the line but you have to keep going somehow even without her.”

In a comment on the post, she added a simple “F*** cancer button,” asking followers to like it if they agreed — a small, raw moment that said everything.

A Loss She Never Expected to Face So Soon

On her Instagram Story, Pari spoke directly to anyone still lucky enough to have their parents around. “If you still have parents and they are loving and caring to you, please be grateful and know how lucky you are,” she wrote. “Time is precious and I didn’t expect to lose both of them so young.”

Esme was 61. Viewers of Love on the Spectrum season three saw how close the two were — Pari lived with her mom while filming, and Esme’s cancer diagnosis was part of their story. “I’m very close with her. I love her very much,” Pari said of her mother on the show.

Pari’s father, Henry, died in 2020 at age 55. His death was by suicide. The weight of losing both parents — in such different and painful ways — is something no 24-year-old should have to carry.

Her LOTS Family Shows Up

The outpouring from Pari’s Love on the Spectrum castmates was immediate and genuine. Madison Marilla wrote, “Soooooooo sorry to hear about the loss of your mom!! She fought very hard!! Your LOTS family is always here for you!!” Abbey Romeo said she wanted to give Pari a big hug. Dani Bowman kept it simple and sincere: “I’m always here for you.”

And then there was Tina Zhu Xi Caruso — the woman Pari fell for on the show and only recently parted ways with. Despite the breakup, Tina showed up. “Thinking of you a lot,” she wrote. “Know there’s so many people who love you.”

That split, announced on April 24, was handled with the same warmth and self-awareness Pari brings to everything. “A few people have been asking if me and Tina are still together,” she wrote on her Instagram Story at the time. “I just wanted to be honest and let you all know that we are just friends now, two trains on different tracks, but I wish her the best and bright T-riffic future!” In a follow-up, she added: “No matter what media and comments may come out about this news, just know I spoke from my heart and handled this with grace. I hope everyone continues to lead with kindness and compassion. I have spoken my truth.”

That was just weeks ago. And now this.

Pari Kim has faced more loss in a few years than most people face in a lifetime. But if her words this week say anything about who she is, it’s that she intends to keep going — even when the tracks ahead feel impossibly hard to travel alone.

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• Donald Gibb, best known as Ogre in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise, died Tuesday at his home in Texas at age 71
• His son Travis confirmed the death was due to ongoing health complications — Gibb was surrounded by family at the time
• Gibb also starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport and had a brief stint with the San Diego Chargers before acting
• His death comes just three months after Revenge of the Nerds co-star Robert Carradine also died at 71
• Travis asked fans for “prayers and privacy,” saying his father “will be deeply missed and forever remembered”

Donald Gibb, the towering, endlessly quotable actor who made Frederick Aloysius “Ogre” Palowaski one of the most beloved comic villains of the 1980s, has died. He was 71.

His son Travis confirmed to TMZ that Gibb passed away Tuesday evening at his home in Texas after battling ongoing health complications. The death was not sudden — Gibb had been dealing with health issues for some time. He was surrounded by his children and family when he died.

“Donald loved the Lord and his family, friends and fans with all his heart,” Travis said, asking fans for prayers and privacy. “Their father will be deeply missed and forever remembered.”

The Role That Made Him a Legend

Gibb’s place in pop culture history was cemented the moment he appeared in the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds, directed by Jeff Kanew. His character — the hulking, beer-chugging Alpha Beta frat brother who leads the charge against a group of misfit freshmen — could have been a one-note bully. Instead, Gibb found something oddly lovable in Ogre, an intimidating presence with just enough absurdity to make audiences laugh with him as much as at him. His 6-foot-4 frame and impeccable comedic timing made the character iconic.

In the film, Ogre and his fellow Alpha Betas — after losing their frat house to a fire — kick the “nerds” out of their freshman dorm, setting off a war between the jocks and the math-and-computer whizzes they underestimated. John Goodman played the team’s coach, Harris. Anthony Edwards and Robert Carradine starred as the nerds fighting back.

Gibb reprised the role in Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise in 1987 and again in the 1994 TV movie Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love. He did not appear in the 1992 TV movie Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation.

Beyond the Nerds: A Career Built on Presence

In 1988, Gibb stepped into a different kind of cult classic. Cast opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport, he played Ray Jackson — a bigger, louder, more explosive American fighter who served as the perfect foil to Van Damme’s cool, calculating Frank Dux. The pairing worked, and Gibb returned for the 1996 sequel, Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite.

Television audiences knew him just as well from HBO’s football comedy 1st & Ten, where he played fan-favorite linebacker Leslie “Dr. Death” Krunchner across the show’s six seasons and 80 episodes — sharing the screen with Delta Burke and O.J. Simpson. He also turned up in The A-Team, MacGyver, Cheers, Seinfeld, The X-Files, Magnum P.I., The Young and the Restless, and Days of Our Lives.

His later film work included the Will Smith blockbuster Hancock in 2008, as well as Amazon Women on the Moon, Jocks, and U.S. Marshals. He also lent his voice to video games including Rage, Mafia II, and Alter Echo. His most recent screen credit was a supporting role in Justin Kuhn’s boxing thriller Hands.

The Athlete Who Became an Actor

Gibb was born on August 4, 1954, in New York City and raised in California, where he attended Notre Dame High School in a suburb of Los Angeles. He went on to the University of New Mexico on a basketball scholarship before transferring to the University of San Diego, where he played both football and basketball. That athletic path led to a brief roster spot with the San Diego Chargers — but a car accident cut his football career short and, as it turned out, pointed him toward Hollywood.

His first screen appearances were small and uncredited — a henchman in Clint Eastwood’s 1980 action comedy Any Which Way You Can, and bit parts in Stripes and Conan the Barbarian. Then came Ogre, and everything changed.

A Painful Coincidence

Gibb’s death arrives just three months after the passing of his Revenge of the Nerds co-star Robert Carradine, who also died at 71. Carradine, who played lead nerd Lewis Skolnick, died in February following what his family described as “a two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder.” His brother, actor Keith Carradine, later confirmed that Robert had taken his own life.

The loss of both men within months of each other marks a genuinely painful moment for fans of the franchise — a film that, more than 40 years later, still holds a warm place in the culture it helped shape.

Those who worked with Gibb remembered him as a kind, down-to-earth person off-screen — a man whose imposing presence on camera had nothing to do with who he actually was. His family’s words say it simply: he loved his family, his fans, and his faith, with all his heart.

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• Scott Probst, younger brother of Survivor host Jeff Probst, has died at 58
• Brother Brent Probst announced the news on Instagram Monday, May 11 — Jeff has not publicly commented
• Scott worked on Survivor himself, as an art assistant and cameraman across 28 episodes between 2006 and 2012
• Scott’s death is the second loss in Jeff’s immediate family in under two years, following their mother Barb’s death in November 2024
• Survivor alums including Adam Klein, Kendra McQuarrie, and Teeny Chirichillo have offered condolences

Scott Probst, the younger brother of Survivor host Jeff Probst, has died at 58. The news was shared Monday, May 11, by their brother Brent Probst in an Instagram post that was simple, heartfelt, and devastating.

“Some sad news, our brother Scott is no longer with us,” Brent wrote. “He was a great brother, son and friend. I will miss him so much ❤️ I’m so sad he is gone.”

A cause of death has not been shared. Jeff, 64 and the oldest of the three brothers, has not publicly commented as of publication — he is currently in the middle of filming Survivor Season 51.

A Family Deeply Tied to Survivor

The Probst family’s connection to Survivor runs deeper than most fans might know. Scott wasn’t just Jeff’s brother — he was part of the show himself, working as an art assistant from 2006 to 2008 and then as a cameraman from 2011 to 2012, racking up credits on 28 episodes total, according to his IMDb page. Away from the show, he also worked as a producer on video games including Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight and Medal of Honor: European Assault.

The family ties don’t stop there. Brent’s daughter Abigail Probst currently works for Survivor as a member of the Dream Team — the crew that tests challenges before the cast ever sees them. Brent’s other daughter, Amanda Probst, commented on her father’s post with four quiet words: “I love you, Dad.”

The Survivor community rallied quickly in the comments. Adam Klein, who won Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, wrote, “I am so terribly sorry, Brent. Sending love to you and your whole family.” Kendra McQuarrie from Season 45 added, “So so sorry for your loss. Sending lots of love to the family,” and Teeny Chirichillo from Season 47 commented, “Thinking of you and your family. I’m so sorry.”

A Second Loss in Less Than Two Years

This is the second death in Jeff’s immediate family in under two years. Their mother, Barb Probst, passed away in November 2024, and Survivor honored her with a tribute card during a Season 47 episode — a quiet acknowledgment of how much the show and the Probst family are intertwined.

Jeff has spoken openly about how personal Survivor is to him. “I mean, my blood is in this show, right? I literally bled for this show for nearly three decades,” he told Us Weekly ahead of the Season 50 premiere in February. That season — currently in its final stretch, with the penultimate episode airing May 13 and the live finale on May 20 — features returning fan favorites including Mike White, Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth, Savannah Louie, and Dee Valladares.

For now, the family is grieving privately. Brent’s words say everything that needs to be said.

The post Survivor Host Jeff Probst’s Brother Scott Probst Dies at 58 appeared first on Cream.

• Michael Pennington, who played Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, died Sunday at age 82.
• Born in Cambridge, England in 1943, Pennington was also a celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company stage actor with over 70 screen credits.
• His most memorable scene as Moff Jerjerrod features a tense confrontation with Darth Vader over the delayed construction of Death Star II.
• Pennington also appeared opposite Meryl Streep in the 2011 biopic The Iron Lady.

Michael Pennington, the British actor best known to Star Wars fans as the imposing Death Star Commander Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, has died. He was 82.

Pennington passed away Sunday, according to The Telegraph, which reported his death in the U.K. No cause of death has been announced.

Born Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington on June 7, 1943, in Cambridge, England, he began his screen career in 1965 with a supporting role in the BBC miniseries The War of the Roses. Over the decades that followed, he built a remarkable body of work — more than 70 screen roles — while also earning serious respect as a stage actor and longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Scene That Stayed With Fans

For millions of moviegoers, Pennington’s face is forever tied to one of Return of the Jedi‘s most quietly chilling moments. As Moff Jerjerrod, he’s the Imperial officer tasked with overseeing the construction of Death Star II — and he’s behind schedule. Darth Vader (physically portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) arrives to make very clear that the Emperor’s patience has limits.

When Jerjerrod promises that his crew will double their efforts, Vader delivers the line that made an entire generation of kids nervous: “I hope so, commander, for your sake. The emperor is not as forgiving as I am.”

It’s a short scene. But Pennington played it with exactly the right mix of authority and barely-concealed fear — the kind of performance that sticks even when you can’t quite name the actor who delivered it.

A Career That Went Far Beyond a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Pennington’s work extended well beyond the Star Wars universe. He appeared in the 2011 biopic The Iron Lady alongside Meryl Streep, who took home her third Academy Award for her portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was the kind of prestige project that reflected what Pennington was — a serious, classically trained actor who happened to also have one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises on his résumé.

He married actress Katharine Barker in 1964, and the couple had a son, Mark, before divorcing in 1967.

Pennington was 82. His work, from the stages of the RSC to the bridge of a Death Star, leaves behind a legacy that spans the full range of what an actor can be.

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