RussellDeath.jpgThe sudden and untimely death of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Russell Armstrong has left the show's execs scrambling to remove any mention of the reality TV hubby, and now his mom is threatening legal action if even one frame of her deceased son is shone on the upcoming season.

John Ann Hotchkiss told the Daily News in a tell-all interview, on Thursday:

    "He said he wasn't sure he could survive it. I think he could see the walls caving in. He thought they were destroying what pride and reputation he had left. He felt so alone toward the end."


Hotchkiss says she will take legal action if her son is at all featured in the upcoming season, set to premiere Sept. 5 on Bravo. The 69-year-old says Armstrong's ex-wife, Taylor, has been "very gracious" about the request that her son be removed from the program.

Armstrong's mother also says she's too distressed to travel to California for the funeral, so she is holding an Episcopalian service for her son in Texas. Taylor has agreed to hand over some of her husband's ashes so Hotchkiss can bury them in a family plot overlooking a lake.

"I'm thinking maybe we'll put Russell in the middle between me and my late husband — the step-father who raised him. I'm grateful we'll always be together," Hotchkiss reveals.

Bravo has yet to comment on how the shocking death will affect the show's upcoming second season, but the sudden death has caused a major delay in production.