David Gest

Died: April 12, 2016

DAVID Gest, who has been found dead aged 62, once made his living as a music producer and promoter, but he was really famous for being the archetypal modern celebrity known for who he was married to (Liza Minnelli) and the reality shows he starred in (among them I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Big Brother) as well as his extensive plastic surgery.

He was also famous for his friendships, notably Michael Jackson and his brothers, with whom he grew up in Encino, an affluent neighbourhood in the San Fernando region of Los Angeles. He remained a close friend of the family all his life, particularly Tito and Michael, and it was Michael’s plastic surgeon who also worked on Gest (he later regretted the operations).

As a producer and promoter, Gest did have notable successes. He produced the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special for American television, which was the highest rated special in television history, as well as numerous award ceremonies featuring stars such as Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood. As a young man, he also handled the careers of Tom Jones, ZZ Top and other leading acts.

Born in Los Angeles, Gest showed an entrepreneurial streak from an early age, going down to the local recording studio and blagging free records after telling them he was reviewing for his school newspaper. Eventually, he was asked in to the studio to watch some of the recording sessions and remembers being in the room as Jim Morrison recorded Love Me Two Times.

After school, he started writing interviews and music reviews for newspapers and was taken on by London Records when he was 21. “They hired me as West Coast publicity director and the next year I became national public relations director in New York,” he said. “I was handling the careers of people like Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, ZZ Top and Al Green.”

He then started his own PR company, representing Burt Bacharach among others, but it was much later that he started to achieve notoriety for his personal relationships and reality shows in the UK.

His friendship with the Jacksons started when Gest was 14. “I was about 14 when I became friends with Michael,” he said. “I’d be at his place or he’d come to mine. At 16 I was going out with Latoya Jackson, it was just puppy love and nothing serious. She got sick one night and Michael asked if I would drive him to a memorabilia show in Pasadena. We ended up going out regularly to antique and record stores and became best friends.”

Gest’s marriage to Minnelli happened in March 2002 in a star-studded ceremony with Michael Jackson as best man and Elizabeth Taylor as maid of honour and the relationship became a source of fascination for the celebrity magazines.

It did not last long though and before filing for divorce, Gest sued Minnelli for assault, claiming that she had beaten him so badly during alcoholic rages that she caused him nerve damage and caused him to be treated in hospital for five days.

Minnelli also sued Gest, claiming her estranged husband had stolen at least two million dollars she earned while performing in shows he produced.

The pair ended their dispute in 2007 when their lawyers filed court papers saying they had settled their differences and agreed to get divorced without fault.

In a recent interview, Gest spoke about not wanting to be famous while he was married to Minnelli.

He said: “There’s a part of me that never wanted to be quote ‘a celebrity’ when I was married - I can’t remember the woman’s name.” Prompted by the interviewer that it was Liza, he responded: “I knew it was Elizabeth. I never wanted to be in the public eye. It’s very hard when you wake up each day and there’s press outside your house. I would never want to live that type of life, I live a very simple life.”

However, Gest did go on to develop considerable fame in Britain following appearances in numerous reality shows. In 2006 he appeared in I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here, finishing fourth; the following year he had his own show on ITV This is David Gest, which followed his life in LA. In 2010, he also appeared on an episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me.

Earlier this year, he then added Celebrity Big Brother to his list of reality shows and the name of the UK tour he had been planning, David Gest Is Not Dead, But Alive With Soul, was inspired by an incident on the show when American reality star Tiffany Pollard mistakenly believed Gest had died rather than David Bowie.

Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail recently to promote the tour, Gest said: “Tiffany was told ‘David is dead’ and thought it was me. There was an uproar because I’d been ill. Darren Day pulled back the covers and said ‘are you alive?’ - I said ‘As far as I know I am’.

“It became a sensation all over the country that David Gest is alive and not dead.”

Gest also spoke to The Grimsby Telegraph about where he wanted to be buried.

He said: “I will never go back to LA; I will die here and want to be buried in York. I love this country much more than my own.”

Gest was found dead at the Four Seasons Hotel, in Canary Wharf, at around 10.20am yesterday and his death is being treated as unexplained.

His friend Imad Handi said: “It is with great sadness that I can confirm that David Gest has died today. David was truly larger than life. He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon.

“I know he will be missed by millions of fans around the world, and particularly in Britain, who came to love his charm and blistering one-liners.

“If I may steal the words of one eminent critic, David was a natural star and a genuine celebrity. I will miss him desperately.”