David Gest, who was briefly married to Liza Minelli and counted Michael Jackson among his childhood friends, was found dead at a London hotel.
|||London - US producer and entertainer David Gest, who was briefly married to Liza Minelli and counted Michael Jackson among his childhood friends, was found dead at a London hotel on Tuesday aged 62.
“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that David Gest has died today,” Imad Handi, his friend, said in a statement.
“David was truly larger than life,” Handi said. “He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon.”
Another friend, fellow entertainer Christopher Maloney, paid tribute to Gest on Twitter.
“My thoughts are with your family at this time. RIP David,” Maloney wrote.
London's Metropolitan Police said officers went to the Four Seasons hotel in London's Canary Wharf district on Tuesday morning to investigate a report of “an unexplained death of a man in his 60s.”
Gest had suffered unspecified health problems after a recent appearance in a British television reality show, British media reports said.
He had been scheduled to begin a British tour in July with a musical show David Gest Is Not Dead, But Alive With Soul.
“Due to the latest news regarding the sudden death of David Gest, we are currently awaiting confirmation on the arrangements for this event and will be contacting all ticket holders in due course should this concert be cancelled,” said the organizers of a performance scheduled on July 6 at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.
ANA-dpa