UNDATED (CBS) -- Don Cornelius, the creator of the legendary television dance show "Soul Train" has died. Police say Cornelius shot himself to death Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles.
Police responded to a report of a shooting and found him at his Mulholland Drive home, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 4:56am local time at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Cornelius is being mourned by a lot of entertainment celebrities who benefited from exposure on his show.
The long-running "Soul Train" began in 1970 in Chicago on WCIU-TV as a local program and aired nationally from 1971 to 2006. Stars like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White all credited Cornelius introducing them to television audiences. Cornelius and the show changed with the times adding hip-hop acts to the R & B format of the show.
"Soul Train" was one of the first shows to showcase African-Americans prominently. Cornelius was the first host and executive producer of "Soul Train", which spawned a franchise that includes the Soul Train Music Awards, the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest.
He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 1995 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Don Cornelius was 75.