David Gest facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Gest
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Gest in 2007
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David Alan Gest
May 11, 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | April 12, 2016 (aged 62) London, England
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| Years active | 1970–2016 |
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David Alan Gest (May 11, 1953 – April 12, 2016) was an American producer and television personality. He was known for creating big events and appearing on TV shows.
Gest started the American Cinema Awards Foundation in 1983. He also produced a famous TV special in 2001 called Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration. This show brought Michael Jackson and the Jacksons together again after 17 years. David Gest was also a contestant on the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2006. In 2016, he joined Celebrity Big Brother 17 in the UK. He left the show after 13 days because he wasn't feeling well.
Contents
David Gest's Career Highlights
Starting Out in Entertainment
When David Gest was 17, he got a job at London Records. He pretended to be 24 to get the position. After almost a year, he was promoted. He became the national director of publicity and moved to the company's New York office.
Singer Al Green encouraged Gest to start his own company. At 18, Gest created David Gest & Associates. Al Green became his first client and also helped him learn the business. Soon, Gest was managing 25 different artists and became very successful.
Later TV Appearances
In 2006, Gest finished in fourth place on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. This was just one day before the show ended. Two days later, he performed at the Royal Variety Show in London. He received a standing ovation from the audience, including Prince Charles.
A few days after that, a small issue came up. Some newspapers reported that over 30,000 votes for Gest were not counted. This was due to a technical problem with the TV network's voting system. This might have changed the show's final results. However, Gest decided not to ask for a recount.
In January 2007, Gest was a judge on ITV1's Soapstar Superstar. He filled in for Michael Ball for one night. Later that month, ITV announced that Gest would have his own reality series. The show was called This Is David Gest and started on April 22, 2007. For this show, he visited the Jackson family house in Encino, California. There, he met Tito Jackson and his children, as well as Katherine Jackson. Gest was also one of the four judges on Grease Is the Word. He also appeared on Greased Lightnin'. In 2007, Gest was featured in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word.
Gest later asked ITV to end his contract early. He wanted to host The Friday Night Project on Channel 4. He told The Sun newspaper that his lawyers helped him get released.
David Gest's Life and Passing
Personal Life
David Gest was born into a Jewish family in Los Angeles. He grew up in Southern California.
Gest married famous singer and actress Liza Minnelli on March 16, 2002. They separated in July 2003.
David Gest was a very close friend of Michael Jackson. After Jackson passed away, Gest produced and starred in a documentary film. This film was about Jackson's life and was called Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon.
In 2009, Gest sold his large house in Memphis, Tennessee. He also sold many items from his rock music collection. He then moved to England. He rented a house in St John's Wood, North London. In the same year, he was a guest on the TV show Celebrity Fantasy Homes with Gaby Roslin.
His Passing
On April 12, 2016, David Gest was found in his room at the Four Seasons Hotel. This hotel is in East London's Canary Wharf area. He was 62 years old when he passed away. Police said there were no suspicious reasons for his death. It was later reported that he died from a stroke.
Before he passed, Gest was planning a new tour. It was called David Gest Is Not Dead but Alive With Soul. This name was a funny reference to a misunderstanding on Celebrity Big Brother. On the show, people thought he had passed away when he had just gone to bed early feeling unwell. This happened on the same evening that David Bowie's death was announced. Even after Gest's passing, his tour still went ahead as planned.
David Gest's funeral service was held at Golders Green Crematorium in North London. This took place on April 29, 2016. His ashes were later scattered in York, England.
