Celebrity publicist Max Clifford dies at 74 in prison
Max Clifford
LONDON —  Disgraced celebrity publicist Max Clifford  a confidante to the stars who fell from grace amid Britain's investigation of past sexual abuse   died Sunday after collapsing in prison.  He  was 74.
Once one of the most powerful figures in British entertainment   Clifford  was convicted in 2014 of eight counts of indecent assault stemming from attacks on teenagers dating back more than 40 years.
 He  was serving an 8-year prison sentence at Littlehey Prison in Cambridgeshire when  he  died  Britain's Ministry of Justice said.
Clifford was once as well known as the people  he  represented — the go-to guy for celebrities looking to limit the damage from drug problems  legal issues or declining popularity.
 His  clients included TV mogul Simon Cowell and former Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed  as well as dozens of ordinary people who found themselves in the news vortex and sought to sell their stories to the press — a common practice in Britain.
The public relations guru was arrested in December 2012 amid allegations that he lured girls as young as 14 into sex by offering them acting roles.  Clifford  immediately swung into damage-control mode  vowing to clear  his  name of the charges  some of which stemmed from the 1970s and '80s.
"The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false — very upsetting  very distressing  but completely false "  he  told reporters outside  his  home at the time. "I have never indecently assaulted anyone in my life  and this will become clear during the course of the proceedings."
 Clifford  was arrested as part of an investigation called Operation Yewtree  a wide-ranging inquiry into allegations of past offenses spurred by the case of Jimmy Savile  a well-known British entertainer accused of abusing hundreds of girls and women.  He  died in 2011.
Before he was arrested   Clifford  told The Associated Press that he was receiving calls from many celebrities and entertainers who were worried they would be caught up in the widening Savile investigation.
"They're phoning me and saying  'Max  I'm worried that I'm going to be implicated ' "  Clifford  said at the time. "A lot of them can't remember what they did last week  never mind 30 or 40 years ago."
 Clifford 's daughter Louise told the Mail on Sunday that her father first collapsed on Thursday as he was trying to tidy his prison cell. He collapsed again the following day and was taken to a hospital  where suffered a heart attack.
LONDON —  Disgraced celebrity publicist [TGT]  a confidante to the stars who fell from grace amid Britain's investigation of past sexual abuse   died Sunday after collapsing in prison.  He  was 74.
Once one of the most powerful figures in British entertainment   Clifford  was convicted in 2014 of eight counts of indecent assault stemming from attacks on teenagers dating back more than 40 years.
 He  was serving an 8-year prison sentence at Littlehey Prison in Cambridgeshire when  he  died  Britain's Ministry of Justice said.
Clifford was once as well known as the people  he  represented — the go-to guy for celebrities looking to limit the damage from drug problems  legal issues or declining popularity.
 His  clients included TV mogul Simon Cowell and former Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed  as well as dozens of ordinary people who found themselves in the news vortex and sought to sell their stories to the press — a common practice in Britain.
The public relations guru was arrested in December 2012 amid allegations that he lured girls as young as 14 into sex by offering them acting roles.  Clifford  immediately swung into damage-control mode  vowing to clear  his  name of the charges  some of which stemmed from the 1970s and '80s.
"The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false — very upsetting  very distressing  but completely false "  he  told reporters outside  his  home at the time. "I have never indecently assaulted anyone in my life  and this will become clear during the course of the proceedings."
 Clifford  was arrested as part of an investigation called Operation Yewtree  a wide-ranging inquiry into allegations of past offenses spurred by the case of Jimmy Savile  a well-known British entertainer accused of abusing hundreds of girls and women.  He  died in 2011.
Before he was arrested   Clifford  told The Associated Press that he was receiving calls from many celebrities and entertainers who were worried they would be caught up in the widening Savile investigation.
"They're phoning me and saying  'Max  I'm worried that I'm going to be implicated ' "  Clifford  said at the time. "A lot of them can't remember what they did last week  never mind 30 or 40 years ago."
 Clifford 's daughter Louise told the Mail on Sunday that her father first collapsed on Thursday as he was trying to tidy his prison cell. He collapsed again the following day and was taken to a hospital  where suffered a heart attack.