David Gest, Liza Minnelli’s ex-husband, found dead in London

(JTA) — David Gest, a Jewish reality television star in Britain and the ex-husband of actress Liza Minnelli, was found dead in a five-star London hotel on April 14.

Police and paramedics were called to the luxury Four Seasons Hotel early on April 12 to find the 62-year-old Gest’s body, The Sun, a British tabloid, reported.

Gest, a former contestant on Britain’s “Celebrity Big Brother,” married Minnelli in 2002 but they separated after a year. The couple officially divorced in 2007.

In recent years Gest had complained of amnesia caused by head trauma he suffered from items like stilletto heels and lamps he claimed Minnelli had thrown at him.

A Los Angeles native who became a music producer, Gest had been due to tour the United Kingdom in a musical show called “David Gest Is Not Dead, But Alive with Soul” starting in York on July 1. He also was known for being a close friend of the late pop superstar Michael Jackson and had organized the comeback of The Jackson Five on the occasion of Jackson’s 30th anniversary in show business.

According to The Sun, his company, David Gest Limited, accumulated a $500,000 debt after he became addicted to gambling in his final months.