Tony Danza Dead? No, But Why Are Celebrity Death Hoaxes So Popular?

Tony Danza is not dead, he's just the latest celebrity "victim" of an Internet death hoax, according to the Inquisitr, which did not name the source of this one.

The celebrities have been "killed" in every manner of mishap from car rollovers to falling off mountains, and Danza was rumored to have fallen off a cliff in New Zealand Monday.

The site claimed about the "Who's The Boss?" star:

"Actor Tony Danza died while filming a movie in New Zealand early this morning - September 10, 2012. Preliminary reports from New Zealand Police officials indicate that the actor fell more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri Cliffs while on-set. Specific details are not yet available. The accident occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +12)."

Danza joins the star-studded ranks of undead figures including Usher, John Cena, Jerry Springer, Eddie Murphy, Reese Witherspoon, Bill Cosby, Tom Kenny (the voice actor for SpongeBob SqaurePants) and most notoriously Morgan Freeman.

To make the site seem more credible, a blurb at the end of the story is added to trick readers.

"New Zealand, in recent years has grown in popularity as a backdrop for Hollywood producers because of its scenic and rugged landscape. Recent movies filmed in New Zealand include The Lord Of the Rings, King Kong, and The Chronicles Of Narnia."

But fear not, Danza is alive and well. He has frequently been on television again to promote his new book "I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had," the Inquisitr reported.

Danza hasn't responded to the death hoax, but you can check out his tweets under @TonyDanza.

Celebrity death hoaxes have been proilferating because of how fast information spreads now and how they play with fans' emotions, Psychology Today explained.

"In Twitter hoaxes, particularly those about celebrity deaths, the perpetrators are counting upon fans' emotional attachment to the celebrities to generate an immediate reaction and override a more measured response of healthy skepticism."

The website continued, "While a hoax may strike some as funny, and there are undoubtedly some instances of funny ones that we might commonly refer to as 'practical jokes,' most hoaxes are designed to promote the psychological or commercial interests of the perpetrator at the expense of the victims."