Soul Train Host Don Cornelius Dead At 75; Investigated As Possible Suicide

By:Radar Staff

Feb. 1 2012, Published 9:30 a.m. ET

By RadarOnline.com Staff

Soul Train’s legendary creator and host Don Cornelius is dead -- in what could be a case of suicide.

Police tell RadarOnline.com that Cornelius, 75, was found shot in the head at his home in Sherman Oaks, California at approximately 4 a.m. PT Wednesday.

Authorities say Cornelius was taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

We’re also told that he was alone in the home at the time, and officials are investigating it as a possible case of suicide.

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His family has been told of the death.

A source told the L.A. Times there were no signs of foul play.

Soul Train premiered in 1971 and stayed on the air until 2006. Cornelius stopped hosting in 1993.

In 2010, he told the newspaper he’d been in talks to put Soul Train on the silver screen.

"We've been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn't be the 'Soul Train' dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project," he said. "It's going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show."

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Celebs such as Wyclef Jean and Ice Cube had taken to Twitter Wednesday to pay tribute to the music mogul.

Jean: “JUST WOKE UP TO SOME SAD NEWS , R.I.P. Don Cornelius founder of SOUL TRAIN”

Ice Cube: “Rest in Peace, Love & Soul...Don Cornelius.”

Cornelius was sentenced to three years of probation in 2009, after pleading no contest to misdemeanor spousal battery.

Stay with RadarOnline.com for more on this story as it develops.