Ex-Memphian Gest found dead
LONDON — David Gest, a music producer, reality TV star, former husband of Liza Minnelli, and onetime Memphian, was found dead Tuesday at a London hotel. He was 62.
Gest’s friend Imad Handi confirmed his death, remembering Gest as “a natural star and a genuine celebrity.”
“David was truly larger than life. He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon,” Handi said.
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. The force said an autopsy would take place “in due course” to determine the cause of death, but it was not being treated as suspicious.
Gest, who lived in Memphis for several years in the mid-2000s, was raised in southern California, where he became friends with Michael Jackson and his fami-
ly. Gest remained a lifelong confidante of Jackson’s and, after the singer’s death in 2009, he produced a documentary, “Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon.” Gest later gained a following of his own in Britain with appearances on reality TV shows including “I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here” in 2006 and “Celebrity Big Brother” earlier this year.
Mostly, Gest spent his career behind the scenes, working as a music promoter and television producer. He was introduced to Minnelli by Jackson when Gest produced the King of Pop’s 30th anniversary tribute concert for television in 2001. The couple married in 2002, at a celebrity-studded ceremony with Jackson as best man and Elizabeth Taylor as maid of honor.
They separated in a burst of headline-grabbing acrimony in 2003. Gest sued Minnelli for $10 million, alleging that she beat him so badly during alcoholic rages that he suffered permanent injuries. Minnelli struck back with a $2 million suit claiming Gest had stolen money from her.
The pair ended their dispute in 2007 when their lawyers filed court papers saying they had settled their differences and agreed to divorce without fault.
Following his split with Minnelli, Gest relocated to Memphis, where he settled in a million-dollar riverfront home, living there on and off between 2004 and 2006.
In the wake of his tabloid notoriety, Gest’s sudden, surprising presence in Memphis was the subject of much curiosity. But Gest actually had previous history in town. In the early-’70s, while still in his teens, Gest was hired by soul music producer Willie Mitchell to do publicity for singer Al Green and various other artists in his Hi Records/ Royal Studios stable.
“He was like family,” said Mitchell’s grandson, Grammy-winning engineer/producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell. “He was always a funny, cool cat. He was just David — there’s so many funny David Gest stories. But he was his own character. To know him was to love him.”
While living in Memphis, Gest proved an outgoing and philanthropic figure. He arranged and paid for several holiday meals for the poor, homeless and disabled at area restaurants and staged a massive, starstudded Memphis music tribute concert in 2004 at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. The performers included the Box Tops, Martha Reeves, the Emotions, Billy Paul, William Bell, and Archie Bell, while old guard entertainment figures Patricia Neal, Tippi Hedren and Jane Russell all attended.
“I’ve always had an affinity for Memphis,” Gest told The Commercial Appeal in 2011. “When I was a kid I represented Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas and many of the legends. ... I remembered Memphis the way it was when I was a kid and I thought it would be fun to live here. And I really enjoyed it. I wanted to do something for the city.”
He returned to Memphis again in 2011 as producer and host of “An Evening of Classic Soul,” a fundraiser for The Med Foundation at The Peabody, which honored soul singer/songwriter Peabo Bryson on his 60th birthday.
Gest most recently visited the Bluff City in October, where he hosted a dinner for a contingent of friends and music luminaries — including Mitchell, Ann Peebles, David Porter, Anita Ward, Dorothy Moore, and Donald Bryant — on Beale Street.
Gest had been planning another local concert production, “A Toast to Canada,” in conjunction with Memphis in May International. The May 6 event at The Peabody is set to feature Petula Clark, The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, and Candi Staton, among others.
Memphis in May officials confirm that the event will go on as planned.