David Gest suffered from amnesia before his death, a friend has claimed.
The music producer – who was found dead in a London hotel room earlier this week aged 62 – is said to have blamed his memory loss issues on ex-wife Liza Minelli hitting him on the head with one of her shoes.
His pal Mark Lester said: "He was crippled by amnesia and got in touch two weeks ago. He wanted to remember the happy times with Liza. Although their marriage was volatile and ended badly, he loved her.
"But he said his memory had gone because of clashes in their relationship and being struck on the head by Liza’s stiletto.
"He was frustrated, I feel sad I could not help him close the gaps."
David and Liza had a volatile relationship and he claimed to be a victim of domestic violence when their 16-month marriage ended in 2003, and though the actor admits the romance was full of "extremes", he insists he never saw any violence.
Mark told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "He paid for me to fly to his wedding in Wall Street in New York. With all expenses it was well over £10,000 and the wedding to Liza had around 500 guests.
"In his speech he gushed about how much he loved Liza.
"After the speeches, they had a two and a half minute kiss that was so awkward.
"You could even tell then that their relationship was one of real extremes. After the wedding, I was aware he and Liza had rows but I never saw violence."
A spokesperson for Liza has denied the claims.
They said: "There is no truth to the report whatsoever."
David Gest suffered memory loss
