While working as a limo driver, John Cunningham had the chance to meet movie stars, sports moguls and rock legends, but he was a private man who died alone, and the police can’t find any of his relatives.

Earlier this month, those who knew the longtime Riverside resident grew concerned after not seeing him around Toronto’s east end, which he’d called home for more than 50 years. Cunningham’s body was found in his apartment at 668A Queen St. E., just west of Broadview Avenue. Toronto police believe he died on Jan. 2. A will has not been located.

Despite making every effort, authorities have not been able to find a single relative. Toronto police are asking anyone who knows Cunningham’s family to get in touch with them.

“We don’t ask for the public’s help (in a case like this) unless we’ve exhausted our investigative resources,” Const. David Hopkinson told toronto.com.

“We’re not able to find the family, the next of kin for this man and we’re hoping the community can help us. We want to notify his family and hand over his belongings.”

Cunningham, who was known to many as J.T. or Jack, was a bit of a man of mystery.

Always ready to spin a colourful tale, he hardly divulged a thing about his past and his family.

Leslieville resident Joanne Baker met Cunningham about 11 years ago when she opened The Underground Café on the main floor of the building where he lived and which he helped manage.

“At first, he didn’t like the noise we made, then we warmed up to each other,” she said with a smile, sharing a story about how she helped Cunningham evict a “bad tenant” about seven years ago.

“That kind of broke the ice,” said Baker, who would see Cunningham every day having a smoke out front.

Like other tenants, she grew concerned when she hadn’t seen him for a few days and was sad to learn he’d died alone in his neatly arranged, one-bedroom apartment, which she saw once and said was filled with “weird antiques” and other miscellaneous stuff.

Baker said Cunningham was notorious for his long, drawn-out stories and protracted rant sessions. One of his favourite subjects was the community’s gentrification, especially the many condos being built nearby.

“On the surface he came off as a bit cranky, but deep down I knew he had a good heart,” she said, adding he never said anything about his family or personal life.

“I think he was just a settled bachelor … He seemed like one of those guys who blew with the wind.”

Baker said she’ll never forget Cunningham’s unique sense of style.

“He looked like he was out of a Tim Burton movie,” she chuckled.

“He wore this small, rim-top hat and he’d wear a long black coat with big buttons and his long hair … His shoes were shiny. They were perfect. He had these shiny Oxfords he wore.”

Harry Saint will forever remember his old chum as “immaculate,” a “perfectionist,” a “real class act” who was deliberate in his manner, his speech, and his fashion sense.

The longtime Mississauga resident, who grew up in Toronto’s east end near Eastern and Logan avenues, first met Cunningham in the late 1970s through mutual friends in the limo business.

During a recent chat with a reporter, Saint, who worked as a truck driver, said Cunningham “hobnobbed” with important and well-heeled people who hired him to drive them around in his prized 1967 Lincoln stretch limo. Saint said some of Cunningham’s clients included former Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard and his family, Hollywood actress and dancer Ginger Rogers, and rock star Elton John.

Despite knowing so many people, and having a lot to say, Saint said his friend never shared much about his past or his family.

“He was the kind of guy who told you what he did last night, who he was in love with,” shared Saint, who has fond memories of shooting the breeze with Cunningham as they sipped coffee at the now-closed Sutton Place Hotel, after a day’s work.

“(Jack) was sort of a loner. He was his own person, a Clint Eastwood type.”

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Saint hadn’t seen Cunningham — whom he remembered as always having a smile on his face — since the mid 1980s and was heavy-hearted to learn his friend had died.

Anyone with information about John Cunningham’s next of kin is urged to call 416-808-5500.

In Ontario, a person who dies without leaving a will has their estate handled by the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee. The office plays a role in searching for the heirs of estates it administers. It can also invest funds to arrange perpetual care in a cemetery.