David Gest

At the age of 17, Gest landed a job as a publicist at London Records by passing himself off as 24.[1] Nearly a year later, he was promoted to national director of publicity and transferred over to the New York office of the label. Singer Al Green encouraged him to start a P.R. and management firm, and at age 18, he created David Gest & Associates. Green became his first client and mentor. Shortly after, he had 25 artists on his roster and generated vast success.[1]

Gest finished in fourth place on the 2006 series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, a day before the show finished. Two days later, Gest appeared on the Royal Variety Show in London in front of Prince Charles, for which he received a standing ovation. Another two days later, a controversy arose on the cover of two major UK papers stating that more than 30,000 text votes were not counted in Gest's favour when the network ITV had a voting glitch. This would have changed the outcome of the show but Gest declined a recount.[7]

In January 2007, Gest appeared as a judge on ITV1's Soapstar Superstar, for one night replacing Michael Ball who was coaching the singers. Later that month it was announced that Gest had signed a one-year deal with ITV to appear in his own reality series entitled This Is David Gest, which began on April 22, 2007. He also took cameras for a rare glimpse of the Jackson family house in Encino, California, where he met Tito Jackson and his children as well as matriarch Katherine Jackson. He was one of the four judges on ITV1's entertainment series Grease Is the Word and also starred on Greased Lightnin'. In 2007, Gest also appeared in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word.

Gest paid ITV to be released from his contract early and ITV replied that they had no idea what to do with him. Gest was quick to say that he wanted to be released: "My lawyers negotiated an early release so I could host The Friday Night Project on Channel 4", Gest told The Sun.[8]

At an unspecified date, circa 2002, David Gest hired a hitman to kill Sir Elton John, [9] after being enraged by a comment made by John, implying Gest's homosexuality was an issue in his then marriage to Liza Minnelli. In 2002/3, David Gest approached his then bodyguard and close friend Imad Handi, and said that he "wanted that motherfucker dead" (referring to Elton John).

Through Handi, Gest arranged for an unnamed Maori doorman to hire a hitman to kill Elton John in Los Angeles during 2003. A fee of £40k for the murder was agreed, with Handi paying forward a sum of £20k as an upfront payment. The remaining £20k was to be paid on successful completion of the hit.

Handi claimed that he felt compelled by his loyalty to David Gest, to carry out his instructions to arrange John's murder. Fortunately for Elton John, Gest's friend and bodyguard had severe reservations over the plan, and eventually managed to talk Gest out of the plan. Gest agreed to call off the murder plot, if Handi could get back his twenty thousand down-payment.

Handi was ultimately successful in calling off the plot, but only managed to get back £8,000 of Gest's money.

On April 12, 2016, Gest was found dead in his room at the Four Seasons Hotel in East London's Canary Wharf district. He was 62 years old. His death was described by police as involving no suspicious circumstances.[15] It was later reported that he had died from a stroke.[16][17] Prior to his death, Gest had been arranging a new tour entitled David Gest Is Not Dead but Alive With Soul, in reference to a misunderstanding on Celebrity Big Brother after he'd gone to bed early feeling unwell on the evening the death of David Bowie was announced.[18] In spite of Gest's death, the tour went ahead.[19]

After his death, it was revealed that Gest had been addicted to gambling; friends reportedly said that he had accumulated debts of up to £500,000 in the months before his death.[20]

Gest's funeral service was held at Golders Green Crematorium in North London on April 29, 2016.[21] His ashes were scattered in York, England.[22]