R.I.P. James Gandolfini. The “Sopranos” star has died at age 51, HBO has confirmed.

Photo: Gandolfini in Los Angeles in 2012. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Bringing Lucha Libre stateside

Luchadors and Lucha Libre may be wildly successful south of the border, but the industry has yet to achieve much mainstream success in the U.S. - something Lucha Libre is hoping to fix.

Putting the services of Starlight Runner Entertainment in a headlock, luchadors are hoping that the same company that helped reboot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers can work the same magic for the machismo of the mysterious masked men.

Read more over at Company Town.

Photos: David McNew / Getty Images, Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times

It’s Elton John’s 66th birthday. Here’s former L.A. Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn’s review of John’s 1970 Los Angeles debut, at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. As you can see (and this seems like a good time to point out that you can click to enlarge it), it was a rave. 

It’s Stephen Sondheim’s birthday today (he’s 83), so we took a spin through our archives in search of interesting Sondheim stories. Here’s one: A 1969 item from gossip columnist Joyce Haber on an apparent run-in between Sondheim and his Manhattan neighbor, Katharine Hepburn, over a party that was too noisy for Hepburn’s liking.

For sale: One used lion costume. 

Yes, that lion costume. (A textile conservator with the L.A. County Museum of Art confirmed after examining it that its “variation in color and tone, all of the hair whorls, bumps, nick, hair length were exact” matches of the costume seen in “The Wizard of Oz’s” major scenes.)

Its current owner hopes its sale will help fund his planned Museum of Television in Phoenix. 

Photo: The Comisar Collection

Happy birthday, Bob Marley: He was born 68 years ago today, on Feb. 6, 1945, and died when he was just 36, on May 11, 1981.

More on Marley: A 1976 profile by former Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn, a 1978 concert review and film critic Kenneth Turan’s review of the 2012 documentary “Marley.” 

Photo: Marley in 1976. Credit: Los Angeles Times

The Times’ Patt Morrison and Robert Lloyd and OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano shared their personal and professional remembrances of public television host Huell Howser, who died Sunday, in a Google+ Hangout today.

Just one of many topics covered: How an episode of one of Howser’s shows led to the reemergence of the lovely old murals that grace our very own Globe Lobby, which had been covered over until he drew attention to them. Here’s the replay of their discussion. 

Thar be spoilers: Those who’d like to relive last night’s U.S. season premiere of “Downton Abbey” may be interested in the recap in our Show Tracker blog.

More on “Downton”: Photos of Highclere Castle, Downton’s stand-in; portraits of the cast members; photos and a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of season three; critic Robert Lloyd’s review of the season premiere; and critic Mary McNamara’s love letter to the acting prowess Dame Maggie Smith.

Photo: Actors Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville during filming of Season 3 of “Downton Abbey” at Highclere Castle in England on June 13, 2012. Credit: Matthew Lloyd / For The Times

Huell Howser, the folksy host of “California’s Gold” and other popular public television travelogue programs, has died. He was 67.

Famed for blurting out “That’s amazing!” or “Oh my gosh!” during interviews, Howser, who died last night, had recently retired from making original episodes of “California’s Gold,” in which he traveled around the state tracking down interesting people and places. The program aired statewide on public TV stations.

The Tennessee native’s retirement was announced on Nov. 27.

Photo: Howser interviews a student at Evans Adult School in Los Angeles. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Ravi Shankar, the revered master of the sitar who introduced Indian music to much of the Western world, has died at age 92. 

Photo: Shankar at his home in Encinitas, Calif., earlier this year. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Mexican American singer Jenni Rivera, a popular recording artist and reality television star, is feared dead after a small plane crashed early Sunday in northern Mexico. 

Mexico’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications said the Learjet carrying seven people, including Rivera, was found in mountainous terrain in Nuevo Leon, just south of Monterrey. There were no survivors, authorities said.

Photo: Rivera at Verizon Amphitheater in 2010. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times