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Michu Meszaros, the circus star who played "ALF" for four seasons, has passed ... his longtime manager, Dennis Varga, confirmed to TMZ.

He'd been rushed to an L.A. hospital over a week ago after being found unresponsive at his home and had been in a coma since.

Michu was born in Hungary and began performing in the circus in his teens. He was only 33 inches tall coining him the unofficial title as "the smallest man on earth." He eventually joined Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus in the '70s.

He was close friends with Michael Jackson after the pop star saw him perform. Michu was reportedly a regular at Neverland Ranch, present during MJ's courtship to Lisa Marie and even knew Michael's kids.

He landed the role of walkaround ALF in the '80s.

Varga has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral costs and medical bills.

Michu was 76.

One of Omar Mateen's victims was posting videos to social media at the moment he fought his way into the club and opened fire.

25-year-old Amanda Alvear recorded several Snapchat clips from inside Pulse Nightclub -- most of them are innocent fun with friends.

But in the final video Amanda was recording herself when more than a dozen shots are heard.

Many survivors have said clubgoers initially thought the shots were part of the music DJs were playing -- so they didn't react immediately. You can see in Amanda's video -- obtained by the Daily Mirror -- she was not panicked at first by the gunfire.

Johnny Depp will NEVER testify Friday in the restraining order trial ... he'll take the 5th because he's afraid he'll say something that could get him prosecuted for domestic violence -- that's the take of the sources connected to Amber Heard's case, but it may be a little unfair.

Our sources tell TMZ ... Amber's team is convinced Johnny is afraid to testify and, given the police are already involved, it's just too risky to take the oath and endure a hard cross-examination.

What's more ... Amber's team doesn't even believe Johnny will submit a written declaration denying domestic violence. If you recall, Mel Gibson submitted a written declaration in his custody war with Oksana Grigorieva, and in the doc he admitted he had slapped her. That's what got him prosecuted.

Same with Cosby. What he said in his depo formed the basis of the current prosecution.

Amber's team believes they have the restraining order in the bank. Their thinking goes this way ... Amber's eager to testify, and if Johnny is mum, the judge has no choice but to grant the restraining order.

Fact is ... Amber triggered a police investigation, and it's common practice for someone who's in Johnny's position to take the 5th in a civil case ... even if there's hard proof he's innocent.

Mass murderer Omar Mateen was in a fierce gun battle with cops in and outside Pulse Nightclub before he retreated into a bathroom ... where Orlando's Police Chief ultimately made the call to take him out.

Chief John Mina described Mateen's arrival to the club and the firefight that immediately erupted. He also explained why he made the call to use explosives and an armored vehicle to go in and get Mateen when he was holding hostages.

Kylie Jenner spent Sunday night clubbing with a familiar face ... her sister Khloe's ex, French Montana.

Kylie and French hit up The Nice Guy for a few hours during L.A. Pride. Yes, Kylie's a free agent, but don't get any ideas ... French just seems to be the go-to for a good hang.

Omar Mateen's father says he had no clue what his son had planned when he stopped to see him on Saturday ... just hours before the Orlando mass shooting.

Seddique Mateen says he would have stopped his son if he'd known, and says he doesn't want anyone in America to be harmed.

Seddique told The Washington Post he saw no signs of trouble with Omar ... who he claims grew up in a "well-to-do family" with love and care.

However, the Post also says the father posted a Facebook video, speaking in Dari (a Persian dialect), saying God will punish homosexuals ... and it's not the place for the "servants of God."

The video has been deleted.

Taylor Swift ain't swimmin' in tears post-Calvin Harris ... she's doing the crawl in a $40k a month party pad with a spectacular indoor pool.

Taylor's Tribeca apartment is under renovation, so she's taking shelter in a 5 bedroom, 6 bath West Village rental.

The place is huge ... 4 floors, with a basement, a 2-story patio and a private garage so Taylor can slip in and out.

The home belongs to David Aldea, a bigwig at the Soho House. We're told Taylor plans on staying there for about a year ... so there goes an easy half a mil. Not that she's counting.

Show me the trophy!!!!

That's Cuba Gooding Jr. in the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room Sunday night ... leading the victory celebration after the team clinched the Stanley Cup!

Question is ... what the hell was Cuba doing there???

No one seemed to mind -- in fact, it looked like the players got a kick out of Cuba belting out a shouting rendition of "We Are The Champions."

Seriously, we have no idea why he was there -- but who cares ... CUBA!!!!

Nick Carter's firstborn son put a $50k dent in his pop's pockets before the tot could even crawl.

Nick's son, Odin, was born April 19th, and the Backstreet Boy and wife Lauren went all out on Odin's naptime digs by hiring celeb designer Stephanie Avila from Rock a Bye Mommy to build the nursery while Tori Swaim from New Arrivals, Inc. hooked up the baby bedding.

The hefty price included construction and furniture ... and these ain't discount items. The crib was $700, $1,200 for sconces, a $550 lamp and a $2,500 couch.

We're told Lauren and Nick loved the steampunk wallpaper, and decided to run with the industrial motif for the whole room.

James Corden opened the Tony Awards in NYC with a heartfelt dedication to the victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre and their families.

It's a tough position for Corden -- hosting something as trivial as an entertainment award show ... while the country is reeling in the wake of its worst mass shooting ever.

Corden and the show's producers probably handled it the best way possible, under the circumstances -- addressing the horrific events head-on, while vowing ... "Hate will never win."

Ex-NFL running back Travis Minor tried to pay $40 for some lovin' in Florida ... but his plans were foiled when the hooker turned out to be an undercover cop ... this according to police.

James Howell -- the 20-year-old Indiana man who was arrested with an arsenal in his car hours before his planned arrival at the West Hollywood Pride parade was arrested less than a year ago for pointing a gun in a threatening manner ... TMZ has learned.

Howell got in an argument with his Indiana neighbor last October when he pulled a gun in anger. He was arrested and charged with pointing a firearm at another, as well as intimidation.

Howell copped a plea -- the firearm charge was dropped, and he pled to intimidation. Howell is currently on one year probation for that crime.

TMZ broke the story ... Howell was arrested in Santa Monica early Sunday morning after a homeowner reported a prowler. Police found an arsenal in his car, including three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, ammunition, and a 5 gallon bucket with chemicals to make a bomb. He told police he had traveled to California to attend the Pride parade.

TMZ also found this video posted by Howell, who clearly seems to have a fondness for firearms.

Omar Mateen married a woman he met online, but the relationship quickly fell apart because of his abusive behavior ... according to the now ex-wife.

Omar and Sitora Yusufiy hooked up in 2009 ... he was living in Florida, and she moved there to be with him when they got married. she says his temper quickly became apparent -- "He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.”

The ex-wife spoke to the Washington Post, and says the abuse came just a few months into the marriage, and when she told her parents ... they came and got her.

She says she never saw or spoke to Mateen again. According to docs, their divorce was finalized in 2011 -- 2 years before the FBI's first run-in with Mateen.

According to records TMZ obtained ... he worked for a security company called G4S. The Sitora said he was a guard at a juvenile delinquent facility. She also said he owned one handgun while they were together, but she never saw any sign he was radicalized.

Important to note ... that was 7 years ago.

Sitora also gave a press conference at her home in Colorado.

Omar Mateen -- the self-proclaimed ISIS follower who slaughtered 50 people at an Orlando gay nightclub -- was well known to the FBI, which just admitted he's been a terror suspect on and off since 2013.

FBI official Ronald Hopper just said in 2013 Mateen made, "inflammatory comments to coworkers," -- presumably terrorism related -- which caused the FBI to investigate and interview him ... not once, but twice.

The FBI closed the investigation because they could not connect him to a specific terrorist threat.

In 2014, Mateen was investigated again by the FBI ... this time for a possible relationship with an American suicide bomber. The FBI official says they interviewed Mateen again, but ultimately determined his contact with the suicide bomber was, "minimal," so that investigation was closed.

The FBI official added confirmation Mateen called 911 during the attack at Pulse nightclub, and mentioned the Islamic State.

An offiical from the ATF also spoke -- saying Mateen made at least 2 legal firearm purchases within the last week. He was not on a watch list.

2:40 PM PT -- Cops have identified the suspect -- 20 year old James Howell from Indiana. Police say they found, "three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and ammunition." Also, they found a 5 gallon bucket with chemicals capable of forming an improvised explosive device.

Cops also say as of now, there is no connection between James Howell and the shootings in Orlando.

A man with assault rifles was arrested early Sunday after telling cops his destination was the Pride parade later today in West Hollywood ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say Santa Monica PD responded to a prowler call and found the man nearby the house that was allegedly targeted.

We're told he informed cops he was on his way to meet a friend for the Pride parade 10 miles away in WeHo. At a point cops searched his car and our sources say they found multiple assault rifles with a number of loaded magazines that were stacked and taped together -- a marker for someone looking to fire multiple rounds in rapid succession. Cops reportedly also found explosives and camouflage gear.

We're told the man has been arrested.

Santa Monica PD will not comment.