SOUL TRAIN host DON CORNELIUS is dead - commits suicide

The late Don Cornelius

Don Cornelius, creator of the long-running and pioneering US TV dance show Soul Train, has been found dead at his LA home at the age of 75. A police officer responding to a report of a shooting found Cornelius at his Mulholland Drive home at around 4 am today (February 1).

He was pronounced dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, said Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter. Music producer Quincy Jones led the tributes. "I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague, and business partner Don Cornelius," he said."Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Before MTV there was Soul Train, that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched."

Soul Train was one of the first US shows to showcase African-Americans prominently, and it introduced television audiences to such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White.

Source - Press Association