Who was David Gest? I’m A Celebrity star, friend of Michael Jackson and ex-husband of Liza Minnelli who died a year ago
DAVID Gest first came to attention when he married legendary superstar Liza Minnelli in 2002.
Completely eccentric, there was much more to him than the marriage that lasted just four years, and he made his home in the UK in the later period of his life.
Here's what we know...
Who was David Gest and when did he die?
David Gest was an American entertainer, comedian, producer and television personality.
He was born on May 11, 1953 in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California.
His father was an IT engineer and his mother was a nurse.
He has one sister, Barbara and at the end of his life, his net worth was estimated at around £40 million.
Following his reality show success, David settled in the UK, making guest appearances on numerous celebrity programmes and touring his soul legends shows.
He was found dead in the Four Seasons Hotel in Canary Wharf on April 12, 2016.
In the final days leading up to his death David had been pictured on the London Underground looking frail.
He had been living in a suite at the hotel for six months when staff became concerned after he had not been seen for two days and asked security to enter the suite.
He died aged 62, of a stroke and The Sun exclusively revealed in November 2016 that his family had begun legal action after they were left nothing in his will.
When did David Gest marry Liza Minelli?
David and Liza married on March 16 2002 in what was an unforgettable ceremony.
The wedding party was a curious mix of old showbiz and hangers-on. The matron of honour was Elizabeth Taylor and best man Michael Jackson was on hand to support David.
The most excrutiating part of the whole spectacle was when Gest kissed his bride - the manner in which he devoured her had everyone agog.
Minelli had been through a difficult period preceding the marriage and it was hoped that her new husband would give her the support necessary for a professional and personal makeover.
Unfortunately however, the marriage imploded and turned into one of the dirtiest divorces in Hollywood history.
They split in 2006 and he filed lawsuits saying he was a "victim of domestic violence", which Liza denied.
She counter sued for £1.4 million alleging that he had stolen money from her.
They finally divorced in 2007 after the suits were dismissed.
How was David connected to Michael Jackson and what did he do for a living?
David Gest met Michael Jackson at school in California when Michael was 10 and David was 15.
Gest became close friends with Tito as well as Michael and lived with the Jackson family for a period when he was a teenager.
They remained friends until Michael's death in 2011 and Gest produced and starred in a documentary about Jackson's life called Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon.
Both were known for their extensive plastic surgery, and Gest told how Jackson convinced him to have his first surgery.
In the early 1980s Michael had already had a nose job, and at his encouragement David had a nose job, facelift and a hair transplant, which he later regretted.
Gest said on Loose Women not long before he died, "I had a facelift when I was very young because Michael Jackson said to me, "You've got to make yourself always look better.
"I thought to myself, "Oh I'll do this because Michael told me." What an idiot I was."
He went on to say of his late friend; "Michael was so concerned with looking good. He had great looks to start with and never needed to do anything, but the plastic surgery was an obsession.
"He took it too far, and I think he realised that later in life. The surgeon should never have done any more after the second nose-job but people wanted to keep him in the fold, and that was one of the big problems in his life."
Gest produced one of the highest rated TV special in history, Michael Jackson: 20th Anniversary Celebration: The Solo Years in 2001.
When did David Gest appear on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here?
It was his stint on the popular jungle show in 2006 that gave David Gest fame in the UK.
His eccentric, name-dropping, entertaining camp-fire stories saw him come in fourth place.
The King of the Jungle that year was Matt Willis, and Gest became close friends with the Busted star and his wife Emma Willis, and he also became friends with ex-EastEnders actor Dean Gaffney, Myleene Klass and Toby Anstis.
He famously refused to eat the camp fare during his time down under and lost a staggering two stone during the show.
When was David in the Celebrity Big Brother house?
David entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in January 2016 but had to pull out after just 13 days for medical reasons.
He had become ill while in the house and was given some time on his own in a separate part of the house to try to recover.
During his short time there, he was at the centre of confusion among the housemates, following the announcement that housemate Angie Bowie's ex-husband had died.
Angie simply told Tiffany Pollard, "David is dead", meaning of course David Bowie. However Tiffany got the wrong end of the stick and assumed Angie meant David Gest, who she had last seen under a quilt in the bedroom.
Tiffany became completely hysterical and would not accept that she had misunderstood and ran around the house having to be restrained from chasing after Angie Bowie who she thought had deliberately misled her.
David Gest saw the funny side of the farce however, and was due to embark on a tour titled David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul when he died.
The shows went ahead featuring some of Gest's' favourite musicians, but re-titled A Tribute To David Gest.
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