Carradine, 72, was found naked in a closet in an upscale Bangkok hotel on Thursday with cords around his neck and his genitals. The police are checking DNA found on the cords, but say they found no signs of a struggle, suggesting that Carradine might have either tied himself up or submitted voluntarily to his incapacitation.

Thai police seem to be insinuating that it was one of those choke-yourself-and-masturbate things where then the person slips or whatever and dies (although they're not sure if he was alone or not). Carradine's friends are universally of the opinion that he wouldn't kill himself. A full autopsy is scheduled to come out on Saturday.

Celebrities, please take this to heart: just masturbate in a normal fashion. You all love autoerotic asphyxiation until it kills you. And haven't we already learned the consequences of tying a cord around your genitals?

Update: And, as it turns out, Carradine's ex-wife once accused him of participating in "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly" and of having an "incestuous relationship with a very close family member." Terrific. [TSG]

The New York Times confirmed Richardson is in New York, adding that her mother, the actress Vanessa Redgrave, was spotted walking into Lenox Hill, the NYU-affiliated hospital considered among the top neurology centers in the country.

People said friends and family were gathering for a "vigil in New York to be with Richardson." Gotham tabloids were more dire, with the Daily News joining in the chorus of earlier reports from the Post and Time Out New York that Richardson is brain dead.

Her family, which includes Richardson's husband, actor Liam Neeson, has gathered to "say farewell," the Daily News reported. The tabloid also offered an explanation for all the confusion over Richardson's status today:

Last night, there were tears as Richardson's family prepared to follow the heart-crushing choreography that goes with making the decision to let a loved one go.

"The rule of thumb is: You have two neurological exams 12 hours apart to show that there is no evidence of higher brain activity," said Dr. Philip Stieg, chairman of New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell's department of neurological surgery.

"If that is so, the patient is brain-dead; they are clinically dead."

Even at that point, the patient's heart can be kept beating to give the family "time to say goodbye," the doctor added.

One hopes the family has at least gained some clarity on Richardson's situation, or does so soon, even though the decisions following such knowledge may not be easy ones.

The website added that it's not clear whether Neeson, the Irish movie star, is at his wife's side. After starring in the title role in 1988's Patty Hearst, Richardson went on to leading roles in Fat Man and Little Boy, Nell and the Parent Trap, among other films.

In the U.S., Richardson has been involved with amFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

No one has yet confirmed IrishCentral.com's report.

UPDATE: People confirms "a serious head injury."

Clooney accepted the blame for the incident - and made the generous gesture of giving her a brand new car.

When the woman went to collect her vehicle from the repairers, she discovered the movie star had splashed out $28,000 on a new replica of her Lancia Ypsilon model.

And he had even left her a note of apology on the windscreen, saying: "I'm so sorry. Hope you'll forgive me. George Clooney."

Meanwhile, ex-girlfriend Sarah Larson inhaled sharply on her Camel Light, muttering, "He gave me the exact same goddamned note, Unnamed Woman — and if I got a car for every time I got rear-ended in Italy, you think I'd have to settle for Playboy and a stint on Fear Factor?"

[Photo Credit: Bauer-Griffin]

• George Clooney Buys Crash Victim New Car [Showbiz Spy]

"the accident happened when the car used by two stuntmen rammed into a filming lorry and then into a wall on set near the picturesque Lake Garda in northern Italy..."

"...one of the two men, a Greek national, ended up in intensive care in a hospital in the nearby town of Verona."

On a certain level, there is little as beautiful as Los Angeles burning. Be it actual fire, Ed Ruscha's work or the end of Miracle Mile when the ICBMs are coming over the Hollywood Sign, we find the destruction of the City of Angels to be gorgeous. Very Oedipal, we know. That said, 53 cars – mostly Chryslers and Lincolns – were tragically incinerated Sunday right across the freeway from where Griffith Park went up in flames. Up a few miles from Dodger Stadium and across the river (yeah, we have a river) sits an industrial section of Atwater Village. All of the dealers in Glendale use this part of town as an overflow facility for new cars. The cars are kept outside next to dilapidated warehouses. One of which caught fire and destroyed 53 cars. Embers from the blaze ignited dry palm tress half a mile away. It must have been quite a sight. Thanks to the Mike Meadows for the image. – Jonny Lieberman

Warehouse Fire Destroys Nearly 60 Cars [cbs2.com]; Fire Destroys Dozens of Cars and Vacant Building in Atwater Village [lafd news & information]

Related:
San Diego Arsonists Apparently Unhappy With Toyotas [Internal]