When Clive Davis was released from a hospital last month after suffering an upper respiratory infection, it seemed that the nonagenarian music industry titan was thankfully on the mend.
The iconic producer, known for shaping the careers of legendary artists such as Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen, was admitted to a New York City hospital in May out of an abundance of caution, his representative confirmed at the time.
He was expected to be released within 24 hours, though the Daily Mail has now learned that Davis didn’t return to his New York home until ‘about a week later’.
Nevertheless, his loved ones were hopeful after Davis showed signs of getting ‘better,’ a source close to the music executive said.
Perhaps the most optimistic of them all, the insider said, was real estate agent Greg Schriefer, 65, Davis’s boyfriend of some 21 years, who had been by his side throughout the ordeal.
But less than a month later, Davis’s ‘sudden’ passing at age 94 on Monday has now left both Schriefer and the music executive’s devoted family reeling. Despite his advanced age, insiders say David had ‘seemed well’ and in good health just weeks before his death.
Clive Davis, legendary music executive and Grammy-winning record producer, died on Monday aged 94 following a recent hospitalization for an upper respiratory infection (pictured last month at his final public appearance)
For two decades, Davis had been in a relationship with New York City-based real estate agent Greg Schriefer (left)
‘He seemed fine. There was nothing odd,’ his friend Randy Edelman, 79, told the Daily Mail.
Edelman, a celebrated composer known for scoring films such as My Cousin Vinny and The Last Of The Mohicans, last saw Davis in New York just a few months ago.
‘For years, he’s always seemed well. His energy level was always up and he was, of course, always so engrossed in what he did,’ Edelman said.
Indeed, the music executive and founder of Arista Records and J Records – who had an estimated net worth of $850 million at the time of his death – kept himself busy with work well into old age.
His last public appearance was on May 19 at The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction 2026 in New York City, just 10 days before he was hospitalized.
The month prior, Davis had posed for photos at the opening night of the Broadway musical The Lost Boys alongside Schriefer.
In fact, Schriefer has spent much of the last two decades devotedly by Davis’s side – and he was there at the very end, with a friend of couple confirming that Schriefer was a source of comfort at the moment of Davis’s ‘sudden’ passing.
‘It’s really sad. He was a great man, but my heart goes out to Greg because they’ve been together so long,’ the longtime friend told the Daily Mail.
Composer Randy Edelman, 79, told the Daily Mail that Davis ‘seemed fine’ during their last interaction in New York a few months ago
‘They weren’t a secret,’ the friend added, noting that the couple – who had a 29-year age gap – shared a dog together named Prince Charles.
‘To me, [their relationship] was just very regular. I don’t know how else to describe it. There was a lot of love there,’ the friend said. ‘Greg is a great guy and he loved Clive. He was very receptive to taking care of him.’
In a statement on Monday, Schriefer told Page Six: ‘For the past 21 years, Clive has been my partner, my greatest source of inspiration, my teacher, my confidant and my best friend. Together we traveled the world, shared countless adventures, celebrated life’s greatest joys and faced life’s challenges side by side. Every day with him was a gift.’
It is understood that Davis was hospitalized last month for ‘some kind of bacterial, respiratory infection’ but was ultimately sent home ‘about a week’ later, an insider said.
After Davis received a clean bill of health from doctors, Schriefer apparently expressed his great relief to friends that his partner was finally able to come home. And as Davis’s health improved, the couple were making plans for the near future.
‘He was getting better. He had gotten invited to a show in New York and [Davis and Schriefer] wanted to come,’ the insider added.
‘Did they see it coming? Who knows. I mean, he was 94 years old… It happened so suddenly.’
Tony Orlando, a singer and longtime pal of Davis, told the Daily Mail that his last phone call with the music executive was just like any other conversation they’d had over the years.
‘He didn’t sound bad to me at all. I knew he was having some lung issues, respiratory stuff. But I didn’t think there was a problem, no,’ Orlando said.
A source close to the couple (pictured in April 2026) told the Daily Mail, ‘My heart goes out to Greg because they’ve been together so long’
An insider said the music executive’s death happened ‘so suddenly’ as Davis and Schriefer were making plans for the near future
Pictured with George Clooney (left) in November 2025: In 2015, Davis enlisted Schriefer as the interior decorator for his $4.2 million duplex at the Ritz Tower on Park Avenue
Many of details about Davis’s relationship with Schriefer remain private. It is thought that they met around 2004, but kept the relationship secret for many years until Davis came out as bisexual in his 2013 memoir, The Soundtrack Of My Life.
In 2015, Davis enlisted Schriefer, a famous interior designer, to renovate his $4.2 million duplex at the Ritz Tower on Park Avenue in New York.
The two units were purchased by the music executive for $1.925 million and $1.475 million, respectively.
Schriefer – who also lives in the building, according to property records – led the gut renovation and redesign of the pre-war apartment to specifically highlight Davis’s extensive art collection.
The apartment was then listed in 2017 at $7.8 million, before it was ultimately sold in 2021 at nearly half that price.
While Davis is best known for an illustrious career in the music industry, including his particularly close relationship with the late artist Whitney Houston, his love life and low-key relationship with Schriefer has been kept somewhat out of the spotlight.
Davis had been married to women twice before: Helen Cohen from 1956 to 1965, and Janet Adelberg from 1965 to 1985. Between his two marriages, Davis welcomed four children: sons Fred, Mitchell and Doug, and one daughter, Lauren.
In his 2013 memoir he wrote that when he separated from Adelberg, he decided to ‘open myself up to the possibility of a relationship based on the person and not on gender.
‘I enjoyed my time with all of them [past partners] and honestly felt I had no strong sexual preference.’
In his 2013 memoir, Davis publicly revealed for the first time that he was bisexual. He had previously been married to women twice before, and has four children (pictured in 2006)
Upon becoming aware of his sexuality in the 80s, the music mogul said he ‘immediately’ told his children, with whom he maintained a ‘very, very close’ relationship up until his death, his friend Randy Edelman said.
An insider said: ‘After Clive told his wife, it wasn’t a secret. Everyone in the world knew. It was definitely not a secret, definitely not hidden.’
Still, he felt ‘intimated’ by the societal stigma that is oftentimes associated with bisexuality.
‘It was frankly intimidating in the sense that the adage is true… nobody believes in it. You’re either gay or straight or you’re lying. You get tired of not making any progress,’ Davis said in 2013.
In 1990, he entered into a ‘monogamous relationship’ with an unnamed male doctor. Their relationship ended in 2004, and he has been in a relationship with Schriefer ever since.
The Daily Mail has contacted Schriefer for comment.
Back in 2021, Davis was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy – a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face – which caused him to postpone his famous annual Pre-Grammy Gala party.
At the time, a representative for Davis said the star was in ‘good spirits’ following the diagnosis.
Really, it would seem that maintaining good spirits had been a major through line in the music executive’s illustrious life.
‘He had many, many people he was close with – friends over the years – and that always impressed me about him,’ Edelman recalled.
‘He was in touch with people, whether they were on top of the charts or bottom of the charts. He was really, very good about that. If you were his friend, you had a friend. If you needed something, you could always ask him.’
