An expansive range of coveted items collected by David Gest are set to be auctioned off in Liverpool.
Cherished items of music and movie memorabilia gathered over many years by the I'm a Celebrity star will be auctioned next month.
The music supremo was encouraged to begin the vast collection by his close friend Michael Jackson - an avid collector himself - who convinced him he was not buying "junk".
Such was its size that following his death in 2016, it filled three lock-up storage units in Liverpool, where he also had an apartment overlooking Sefton Park.
Among the goods being sold on behalf of his estate are signed items from his many showbiz friends including Jackson, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Al Green, Bette Davis, Jane Russell and John Mills.
ECHO columnist John Crane said that it was a privilege to be invited to hold the auction in Liverpool where David Gest had made his home in recent years.
He said: "I met David Gest a few years ago to view the collection and every item was acquired for a reason and certainly not random hoarding
"It has taken over a year to sort out and catalogue; we anticipate bids from the four corners of the globe via the Internet.
"There are a few seats available in the saleroom for attendees but they will be very strictly united and need to be pre-booked. Viewing the lots must also be pre-booked."
"The full auction will be online by midweek."
Gest found fame in the UK when he appeared in the 2006 edition of the ITV show I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
A decade later, in January of 2016, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother but left the show on medical grounds.
He died aged 62 in April of the same year.
In his native US, he became a prominent figure in the music industry after starting his own PR business where his first client was soul singer Al Green, and he later became a renowned music and concert producer.
Gest met Jackson when he was a teenager and his neighbour in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley.
One of the auction lots is 26 pages of an unpublished book by Gest on Jackson typed on A4 paper, thought to be dated to 1984, with the opening lines: "The thought of writing a book about Michael Jackson never really crossed my mind until recently. For one, I hate to write, and secondly, so much has been written about Michael Jackson.
"Most of what has been written is untruths and lies, and it was a number of our mutual friends who suggested I write a book to help set the record straight."
Jackson was later accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy - with similar allegations to follow - but Gest wrote in his 2007 autobiography Simply the Gest that he knew the singer "inside out" and was adamant he was innocent.
Other items on sale include his birth certificate, his high school graduation yearbook and an engraved Waterford Crystal display piece invitation to his wedding with singer Liza Minnelli in March 2002.
The couple separated just 16 months later.
The ultimate David Gest personal collection will go on sale on July 8 and 9.
For more details of the online auction at Liverpool Auction Rooms, visit catocrane.co.uk or easyliveauction.com
