“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that David Gest has died today”, his friend Imad Handi said in a statement released to media.
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The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called to “reports of an unexplained death of a man in his 60s” at the Four Seasons Hotel in London’s Canary Wharf on Tuesday morning.
Born in LA, recently living in York, Gest had huge success touring previous year – 14 cities in the United Kingdom with David Gest’s (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Tour.
Here’s a clip from “This Is David Gest” …
One gambler wrote on Twitter: ‘I once saw David Gest in a casino playing two slot machines at once.
His sudden death comes just three months before he was due to kick off his United Kingdom tour of his show “David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul”, due to start in York in July.
According to reports, David had suffered from ill health in recent months and had been taking medication to treat pneumonia. Gest attempted to sue Minnelli for $10 million on the grounds that she had physically abused him during the relationship, an accusation Minnelli denied.
It’s believed that amongst the items he was willing to auction off included items that had once belonged to his late friends Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
Minnelli countersued, saying that Mr. Gest had stolen at least $2 million she earned while performing in shows he produced.
In January 2007, Gest and Minnelli worked out their differences and agreed to divorce without fault.
A reality TV aficionado, particular in the UK, Gest made a name for himself starring in I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in 2006 and Celebrity Big Brother just months ago.
He was also the producer behind 2001’s “Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special”.
Eventually, he found fame, beyond his notorious association with Minnelli, in the United Kingdom after appearing on I’m a Celebrity…
“I was handling the careers of people like Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, ZZ Top and Al Green”, he told the Yorkshire Post in 2014.
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The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant and ex-husband of Liza Minnelli was seen being helped on to a London Underground train and looked “pale”, an onlooker told The Sun. On the insurance form he filled out for the producers, he listed among his ailments vertigo, hypertension, scalp tenderness, insomnia, dysphoria (a constant feeling of unease), photosensitivity, recurrent vomiting, anorexia and shingles.
