Whitney Houston Dies in Beverly Hills at 48

The following updates were posted Saturday night as news of Whitney Houston's death was breaking. The latest information is that Houston was of her Beverly Hilton hotel room:

Update 9:00 p.m.:  spokesman Lt. Mark Rosen said during a news conference at the  that Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the hotel at about 3:55 p.m.

Rosen said Beverly Hills emergency personnel responded at 3:43 p.m. to a 911 call to Houston's fourth-floor room and began resuscitation efforts, but they were unable to revive her.

A member of Houston's entourage made the call to police, Rosen said.

According to Rosen, Houston's body remained in the room while investigators sought details about a cause of death. There were no immediate indications of criminal intent, he said.

The 48-year-old Houston was in the Los Angeles area for Sunday night's Grammy Awards at the Staples Center and was expected to attend a tribute Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton for music executive Clive Davis, the man who discovered her in the 1980s.

TMZ reported that Houston's mother, singer Cissy Houston, and her cousin, vocalist Dionne Warwick, both talked with Houston Saturday by telephone and nothing seemed unusual.

Cissy Houston talked with her daughter about 30 minutes before she died, according to TMZ.

Reactions to Houston's death have poured in locally and from across the nation.

"It's a tragedy," singer Tony Bennett wrote on his Twitter page. "Whitney Houston was the greatest singer I've ever heard and she will be truly missed."

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow called Houston, a six-time
Grammy winner, "one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time."

"A light has been dimmed in our music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice," Portnow said in a statement.

Influential musician and producer Quincy Jones said he was "absolutely heartbroken at the news."

"I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her," Jones said in statement. "She was a true original and talent beyond compare."

The First AME Church of Los Angeles, where Warwick and other members of Houston's family have attended services, announced it will dedicate a Sunday morning service to her memory.

Houston was "one of the most dynamic voices of our time," church Pastor and Senior Minister John J. Hunter said in a prepared release. "We are all saddened by her passing and our hearts go out to her family."

Academy Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson reportedly was scheduled to perform a tribute to Houston Sunday evening at the Grammy ceremony.

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Pop star Whitney Houston died today at the age of 48, the Associated Press is reporting.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, confirmed the death of the singer Saturday, but did not reveal how or where the singer had died.

According to the Los Angeles Times and the website TMZ, Houston died at the hotel. TMZ published a photograph taken Saturday of a Beverly Hills police crime lab vehicle outside the hotel. The Hilton is hosting a pre-Grammy party Saturday evening.

Houston's death comes one day before the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which are being held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. A six-time Grammy winner herself, Houston reigned over the pop charts in the 1980s and 1990s with hits like How Will I Know, Saving All My Love for You and I Will Always Love You. She also crossed over into acting with starring roles in The Bodyguard, Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife.

One of the world's best-selling artists, Houston's career and strong voice suffered during a tumultuous marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown that lasted from 1992-2007. The couple reportedly battled drug and alcohol addictions. They had one child together, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, who was born in 1993.

To read the AP report, click here.
To read the Times report, click here.
To read the TMZ report, click here. 

This report was compiled with information from City News Service.

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