Liberace - Pianist - Biography.com Liberace Liberace was a flamboyant pianist who twice had his own TV show and frequently performed in Las Vegas. IN THESE GROUPS Liberace - Mini Biography (TV-14; 3:36) Liberace, the highest-paid pianist of all time, embodied flamboyant showmanship with his incredible stage performances in Las Vegas. Find out more about his life in this mini biography. Synopsis Born in Wisconsin in 1919, Liberace appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 16. He later began giving concerts in flamboyant costumes with ornate pianos and candelabra, playing primarily popular music. Very successful, he hosted his own TV variety series, The Liberace Show (1952–55, 1969), and appeared in films such as Sincerely Yours (1955). In later years he performed frequently in Las Vegas. Early Life With his unique blend of classical training and over-the-top showmanship, Liberace was one of the most famous performers of the 20th century.

Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919, in West Allis, Wisconsin, his middle name was taken from one of his mother's favorite film stars—Rudolph Valentino. Little did she know that her son would develop a devoted following of his own one day. Both of Liberace's parents were interested in music, and he began piano lessons very early on in his life. A child prodigy, he began his studies at the Wisconsin College of Music when he was only seven years old. Liberace started performing with orchestras in his early teens. Musical Sensation To make a living, Liberace played in movie theaters and night clubs. He even adopted the stage name "Walter Busterkeys" for a time. Before long Liberace found some success in mixing his love of classical music with more contemporary tunes. His real career breakthrough, however, came in 1951 with the premiere of The Liberace Show. The musical program first aired locally in Los Angeles before going national a few years later. Viewers—35 million of them at the program's height—couldn't get enough of Liberace's piano prowess and his cherubic charms.

With his trademark candelabra resting atop his piano, Liberace played with great ease and glee. His largely female audience also admired for Liberace's great devotion to his mother Frances. His brother George played the violin on the program and acted as his orchestral arranger. In addition to his television show, Liberace sold out many of his live concerts and sold millions of records. He even starred in the 1955 film Sincerely Yours, which served as a showcase for his talents. In Las Vegas, Liberace became one of the city's most popular performers and one of its top-paid stars. He became equally famous for the glitz and glamour of his shows and costumes as he was for his music. In 1956, Liberace was joined on stage by Elvis Presley. Around this time, however, Liberace's personal life was turned into a legal drama. He had long been derided for his effeminate ways, and he ended up suing a British publication for libel after the magazine implied that he was gay. Liberace later won another court battle against a British columnist over his comments.

While he was later revealed to be gay, Liberace worked hard to conceal this fact to maintain his dominantly female following. While interest in his television show eventually faded, Liberace remained popular with concert-goers. His shows and costumes seemed to get more elaborate and ostentatious with the years. His hands showcased a number of ornate, piano-shaped rings, and he draped himself in long, heavy fur capes. He even drove to his piano on stage in one of his many luxury automobiles. In the mid-1970s, Liberace decided to give the public a peek into his lavish lifestyle. He transformed his Hollywood home into a museum. He later displayed his collection of costumes, cars and other treasures at his own museum in Las Vegas. Final Years Once again, Liberace found himself in a legal struggle. He was sued by his former bodyguard and chauffeur Scott Thorson in 1982. Thorson claimed that he had been in a relationship with Liberace and that Liberace had promised to take care of him and support him. The case was later settled out of court. Shortly before his death, stories circulated that Liberace had AIDS.

He and his staff, however, vehemently denied that the entertainer had the disease. Liberace passed away on February 4, 1987, at his home in Palm Springs, California. Initially, his doctor reported that the showman died of cardiac arrest. Later, an autopsy by the Riverside County coroner concluded that Liberace had actually died of AIDS-related pneumonia. While some critics have dismissed him for being overly sentimental, Liberace has left a lasting impact on the world of entertainment. His elaborate and sometimes garish style has influenced the likes of Elvis Presley, Elton John and David Bowie to name a few. An HBO film celebrating Liberace's life is slated to be released in 2013, with Michael Douglas playing the legendary showman. Related Videos Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information Liberace biography | birthday, trivia | American Pianist | Who2 Liberace Biography Name at birth: Wladziu Valentino Liberace Liberace was the flamboyant and rhinestone-studded pianist and entertainer whose death in 1987 raised public consciousness of AIDS.

A child prodigy, Liberace was only seven when he won a scholarship to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. As a young man he made a living playing movie theaters and burlesque clubs, then moved up to the concert circuit, where he began to mix pop and classical tunes while adding jokes, patter and elaborate showmanship. It worked: by 1949 he was playing for President Harry Truman at the White House, and in 1951 he began The Liberace Show, his own syndicated TV program. His signatures included a shiny candelabra on his piano, charmingly silly patter, and ever-more-elaborate capes, costumes and jewelry. His audience ate it up. He toured widely, starred in the 1955 movie Sincerely Yours, and eventually landed in Las Vegas, becoming one of the city’s biggest draws.

Liberace’s heyday was the 1950s, but he remained a popular guest star on TV in the 1960s and 1970s, and he opened the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas in 1979, with displays including fur-trimmed robes and his mirror-tiled Rolls Royce (complete with matching mirror-tiled mechanic’s toolbox). A former chauffeur, Scott Thorson, sued Liberace in 1982, saying that they had been romantically involved and that Liberace had promised to take care of him. The case was settled out of court, but it caused a scandal and the cat was out of the bag about Liberace’s sexuality. He never publicly acknowledged being gay, but died in 1987 from pneumonia brought on by AIDS. Extra credit His name was pronounced libber-AH-chee… Friends often called him “Lee”… His brother, George Liberace, was a violinist and bandleader.

“I wish my brother George was here” became one of Liberace’s signature sayings… During his early years as a performer he sometimes used the name Walter Busterkeys… Scott Thorson wrote the 1998 memoir, Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace. The book was made into a 2013 movie starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Thorson… The Liberace Museum closed in 2010. Liberace - Biography - IMDb Biography Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (46) | Personal Quotes (15) Overview (5) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Most remembered for his extravagant costumes and trademark candelabra placed on the lids of his flashy pianos, Liberace was loved by his audiences for his music talent and unique showmanship. He was born as Wladziu Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919, into a musical family, in Wisconsin. His mother, Frances Liberace (née Zuchowski), whose parents were Polish, played the piano.

His father, Salvatore Liberace, an immigrant from Formia, Italy, played the French horn. His siblings, George Liberace , Angie Liberace and Rudy Liberace , also had musical ability. Liberace's own extraordinary natural talent became evident when he learned to play the piano, by ear, at the age of four. Although Salvatore tried to discourage his son's interest in the piano, praises from Ignacy Jan Paderewski , a famous Polish pianist, helped the young musician follow his musical career. As a teenager, Liberace earned wages playing popular tunes at movie theaters and speakeasies. Despite being proud of his son's accomplishments, Salvatore strictly opposed Liberace's preference for popular music over the classics. Pianist Florence Bettray Kelly took control of Liberace's classical training when he was 14. He debuted as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Frederick Stock. At age 17, Liberace joined the Works Progress Administration Symphony Orchestra. He received a scholarship to attend the Wisconsin College of Music. In 1939, after a classical recital, Liberace's audience requested the popular tune, "Three Little Fishes".

Liberace seized the opportunity and performed the tune with a semi-classical style which the audience loved. Soon, this unique style of playing the piano got Liberace bookings in large nightclubs. By 1940, Liberace was traveling with his custom-made piano, on top of which he would place his candelabrum. He then took Paderewski's advice and dropped Wladziu and Valentino to become simply Liberace. South Sea Sinner (1950), a movie with Shelley Winters , was Liberace's film debut. He played a honky tonk pianist in the movie, which opened in 1950. In 1952, The Liberace Show (1952), a syndicated television program, turned Liberace into a musical symbol. It began as a summertime replacement for The Dinah Shore Show (1951), but after two years, the show was one of the most popular on TV. It was carried by 217 American stations and could be seen in 20 foreign countries. Sold-out live appearances at Madison Square Garden enhanced the pianist's popularity even more.

Soon, Liberace added flamboyant costumes and expensive ornaments to his already unique performances. His second movie, Sincerely Yours (1955), opened in 1955, and Liberace wrote his best-selling autobiography, "Liberace", in 1972. His first book, "Liberace Cooks", went into seven printings. In 1977, Liberace founded the non-profit "Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts". The year 1978 brought the opening of "The Liberace Museum" in Las Vegas, Nevada, which serves as key funding for the Liberace Foundation. The profits from the museum provide scholarship money for financially needy college musicians. He continued performing until the fall of 1986, despite suffering from heart disease and emphysema during most of the 1980s. A closeted homosexual his entire life, Liberace was secretly diagnosed with AIDS sometime in August 1985, which he also kept secret from the public until the day he died. His last concert performance was at Radio City Music Hall on November 2, 1986.

He passed away in his Palm Springs home on February 4, 1987 at age 67. Liberace was bestowed with many awards during his lifetime including: Instrumentalist of the Year, Best Dressed Entertainer, Entertainer of the Year, two Emmy Awards, six gold albums, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In The Guinness Book of World Records, he has been listed as the world's highest paid musician and pianist. Liberace was an extremely talented and versatile man. He not only played the piano, but sang, danced and joked during his performances. In fact, one of Liberace's biggest accomplishments was his ability to turn a recital into a show full of music, glitter and personality. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gilbert Lee Trade Mark (3) Candlelabra that he placed on his piano His Baldwin piano decorated with small mirrors. Trivia (46) His mother, Frances Liberace , played piano as did his sister, Angie Liberace . His older brother, George Liberace played the violin. At age four, Liberace could play almost any tune by ear. Classical debut was at age 14 as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony.

In high school, Liberace had a musical combo called "The Mixers". As a young man, he worked the night club circuit as a pianist under the name: "Walter Busterkeys". In 1969, Liberace was named one of the five highest paid entertainers in show business. In the 1970s, Liberace spent at least $100,000 a year on his sparkling, brocaded, diamond and jeweled costumes. Liberace's favourite song was "The Impossible Dream", because he truly mastered the art of believing. He made a dream come true. During his career, Liberace earned two Emmy Awards and five gold million best-selling albums. Successfully sued the London "Daily Mirror" in 1959 after it published an article by columnist "Cassandra" which said that Liberace was "fruit-flavoured" (gay), which he strongly denied in court and insisted that homosexuality was an "abomination". Was parodied in Al Capp 's comic strip, "L'il Abner", as "Loverboynik".

Many of his pianos, cars, jewelry and costumes are on display in the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip. Funds from the admissions to the non-profit museum go to The Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, which awards music scholarships. Owned pianos previously owned by Frédéric Chopin and George Gershwin , as well as an inlaid and ormolued Louis XV desk that may have been owned by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. His final performance was on November 2, 1986 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Closed his concerts with the song "I'll Be Seeing You". While born "Wladziu Valentino Liberace", he later changed his first name to "Walter", but his friends and relatives knew him as "Lee". At the insistence of Polish piano virtuoso, Ignacy Jan Paderewski , he dropped his first names and performed under his last name, only. As reported in the June 2001 issue "A&E Biography" Magazine, Liberace was so vain about his baldness that he would even go to bed wearing one of his hairpieces, even on hot nights.

According to the same article, he once almost refused to have a facelift when the doctor asked him to take his toupee off. In 1976, during the height of the American Bicentennial, he once performed wearing red, white and blue hot pants. It made headlines around the world. License plate on one of his Rolls-Royces: "88 KEYS" When he opened Las Vegas' Riviera Casino-Hotel in 1954, he was the city's highest paid entertainer. That concert was the first one where he wore extravagant costumes (He wore a gold llame jacket). According to his cook, his last meal was Cream of Wheat hot cereal, made with half and half, and seasoned with brown sugar. The episodes of the television series Batman (1966) on which Liberace guest starred as Chandel/Harry, Batman: The Devil's Fingers (1966) and Batman: The Dead Ringers (1966), were the highest-rated in the series' history. By all accounts, he got along well with the cast and crew and would play impromptu recitals at the end of each day's filming.

Liberace owned a 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V. This car resides in the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, and of only seven built by coachbuilder James Young that year, it is the only one with left-hand drive (the steering wheel on the American side), making it even more rare. The entire car is covered with small mirrored tiles, and with classic horses etched into them along the running boards. When he first got the got, it had a black and gray paint job. He also had a 1950s Rolls-Royce convertible painted with an American flag design. Would often remark that he would like the viewer/audience member to "Meet my brother George". Was parodied in several Bugs Bunny cartoons. The phrase "I cried all the way to the bank!" was said to be first coined by him after he sued and won a $22,000 settlement from the London Daily Mirror in 1959. When filming a television special in England, he made a point of learning the name of all the production crew. Years later when he returned to make another show, he was still able to greet every crew member by name.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 533-535. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. While wildly successful and good natured outwardly, Liberace was a complicated man whose political, social and religious conservatism existed side-by-side with a lifetime of secretive homosexuality. He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6527 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6739 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Mentioned in the song "Mr. Sandman" written by Pat Ballard : "And [give him] lots of wavy hair like Liberace.". In 1982, 24-year-old Scott Thorson , Liberace's former bodyguard, limo driver, and alleged live-in lover of five years, sued the pianist for $110 million in palimony after an acrimonious split-up. Liberace continued to publicly deny that he was homosexual and insisted that Thorson was never his lover.

In 1984, most of Thorson's claim was dismissed, although he received a $95,000 settlement. Shortly after Liberace's death the London Daily Mirror asked for a refund of the $24,000 libel settlement it had paid him in 1959. Liberace Biopic: How HBO Re-created the Pianist's Gaudy Digs | Hollywood Reporter COMMENTS Corbis Liberace appeared in a 1978 TV special about his life, soaking in his $55,000 marble bathtub in Las Vegas. It featured gold-plated faucets, a fountain and his likeness painted above the tub. Setting the scene for "Behind the Candelabra" required a lot gold, sequins, "every naked David statue in Hollywood" and overhauling the already opulent house of Zsa Zsa Gabor. This story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Last year, when the makers of HBO’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra — screening in competition at the Cannes Film Festival — arrived in Las Vegas for filming, they came armed with not one but two 50-foot trucks filled with chandeliers. Production designer Howard Cummings and set decorator Barbara Munch Cameron commandeered “nearly every available crystal light fixture in Hollywood,” says Cameron, for the Steven Soderbergh-helmed telefilm, which airs May 26 and stars Michael Douglas as the flamboyant pianist and Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson, who sued him for palimony in 1982. In the end, 100 large candelabras and chandeliers were required to achieve dazzle befitting the entertainer, who died in 1987 at age 67 of AIDS-related complications. His four-decade show business career was marked by a passion for such indulgences as a mirrored Rolls-Royce and a 16-foot white llama fur coat.

PHOTOS: 'Behind the Candelabra': How HBO Re-created Liberace's Over-Opulent Lairs “We also swooped up every single naked David statue in Hollywood, from mini to giant,” says Cummings, who painstakingly restaged five of Liberace’s over-the-top homes, including his opulent Vegas mansion, his ’80s shiny black Los Angeles penthouse and his Palm Springs house The Cloisters, complete with a Catholic chapel and fleet of classic cars. In the film, the pianist describes his style as “palatial kitsch. I just love it.” Two mirrored Baldwin grand pianos were required for a dueling-pianist scene, and the team was able to track down Liberace’s originals. Candelabra producer Jerry Weintraub, a friend of the late performer, persuaded the Liberace Foundation, custodians of his legacy, to loan one of them. Cameron learned that the other half of the original pair was on display at Gibson Guitar’s headquarters in Beverly Hills and persuaded the company to let her borrow it. Q&A: Jerry Weintraub on Cannes and his Liberace Biopic That piano also was used as a prop inside the L.A.

pied-a-terre, the only one of Liberace’s former houses used as a location. Cummings had to have it hoisted to the penthouse, atop a five-story building at 7461 Beverly Blvd., because “there was no getting it in the elevator, which only fits two people at most,” he says. Now a private events space, the apartment features some of Liberace’s original mirrored walls. “He was a mirror fanatic,” says Cummings. In yet another stroke of luck, the current owner had photographed the entire apartment before Liberace’s furnishings were removed, allowing the production to re-create the black lacquer, animal print and chrome decor to the last detail. The Bel-Air home of Zsa Zsa Gabor and husband Frederic Prinz von Anhalt was transformed into Liberace’s decadent Vegas residence; the couple’s wood floors were covered with baby blue carpet, their living room was decked with gold and silver wallpaper and their swim- ming pool was emptied so piano keys could be painted on the bottom.

With postproduction finished, the set design team was delighted to hear Prince Frederic would not be requiring them to restore the gold and silver walls to their original state nor remove the freshly painted piano keys from his pool. “He said he loved it all,” says Cameron, “and we loved him for that.” For some, apparently, the unrestrained style of Liberace still has its charms. Liberace-- Bio- History of Gay & Lesbian Life, Milwaukee WI- People- Brief History (condensed from the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts website ): For decades, Liberace was known for his music, candelabra, charisma, diamonds and dazzle. Liberace transported audiences to a dazzling world of color, joyful music, glittering costumes, and humor. Liberace had fun with his costumes, cars and homes. Over the years Liberace acquired an astounding array of prestigious awards, including: Instrumentalist of the Year, Best Dressed Entertainer and Entertainer of the Year. He also earned two Emmy Awards, six gold albums, two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's highest paid musician and pianist.

Best of all, he was known and loved throughout the world as "Mr. Showmanship." In 1940, his night club dates took him to the Persian Room in New York's Plaza Hotel as an intermission pianist. Seven years later, he returned with his own oversized grand piano and his first trademark, a glittering candelabra. Acting on Paderewski's early advice, Liberace dropped his first two names, opting to use "Liberace" exclusively. In 1950, he made his first film debut as honky tonk pianist in the movie "South Sea Sinner," with Shelley Winters. A little later, while playing a club date at the San Diego Coronado Hotel, he was discovered by a television producer. A local Los Angeles television show was created. A national television series debuted in 1952. Liberace turned to daytime television in 1960, with a series on ABC. For three years, 1976 - 1979, Liberace was acclaimed "Pop Keyboard Artist of the Year" by Contemporary Keyboard Magazine.

Liberace returned to television in 1978 with his first American TV special for CBS, followed by a second in February 1979. In 1977 Liberace founded the non-profit Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts. Liberace considered the Foundation, which funds scholarships for schools and colleges across the nation, as one of his greatest achievements. On April 15, 1979, Liberace opened The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Museum serves as the key funding arm for the Foundation. In 1980, Las Vegas named him both Star of the Year and Entertainment Personality of the Year. In 1981, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters presented him with its coveted "Golden Mike" award. In 1982, he was voted to the Keyboard Magazine Hall of Fame by the publications' readers. Also in 1982, Liberace made a special showcase appearance at the Academy Awards, performing all five nominated film themes. In the spring of 1984 Liberace's premier engagement at New York's famed Radio City Music Hall broke all sales and attendance records of the 51-year history of the Art Deco palace.

More than 80,000 people were on hand for what Liberace described as "the fulfillment of a dream and the culmination of my 40 years in show business." Commenting on the engagement, The Wall Street Journal said: "Liberace occupies his own special rhinestone-studded niche in the American dream." Liberace's final performances were at Radio City Music Hall October 16 through November 2, 1986. After his Radio City engagement he went on a four-city-tour to promote his fourth book, "The Wonderful Private World of Liberace." Then he returned to his Palm Springs home where he passed away on February 4, 1987, just a few months before his 68th birthday. Liberace's death was later reported to have been of complications from AIDS. It has been observed that Liberace's life invites comparison with that of Roy Harold Scherer, known as Rock Hudson.

Both were midwestern boys of the same generation (Hudson was born in 1925 in Winnetka, Illinois), hit their heights of stardom in the 1950s, remained highly closeted and closely guarded by a circle of friends, and died of AIDS within 16 months of each other. Liberace Biography (Pianist/Showman) Died: 4 February 1987 (AIDS-related pneumonia) Birthplace: West Allis, Wisconsin Best known as: The glitzy and popular pianist of the 1950s Name at birth: Wladziu Valentino Liberace Liberace was the flamboyant and rhinestone-studded pianist and entertainer whose death in 1987 raised public consciousness of AIDS. A child prodigy, Liberace was only seven when he won a scholarship to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. As a young man he made a living playing movie theaters and burlesque clubs, then moved up to the concert circuit, where he began to mix pop and classical tunes while adding jokes, patter and elaborate showmanship.

It worked: by 1949 he was playing for President Harry Truman at the White House, and in 1951 he began The Liberace Show, his own syndicated TV program. His signatures included a shiny candelabra on his piano, charmingly silly patter, and ever-more-elaborate capes, costumes and jewelry. His audience ate it up. He toured widely, starred in the 1955 movie Sincerely Yours, and eventually landed in Las Vegas, becoming one of the city's biggest draws. Liberace's heyday was the 1950s, but he remained a popular guest star on TV in the 1960s and 1970s, and he opened the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas in 1979, with displays including fur-trimmed robes and his mirror-tiled Rolls Royce (complete with matching mirror-tiled mechanic's toolbox). A former chauffeur, Scott Thorson, sued Liberace in 1982, saying that they had been romantically involved and that Liberace had promised to take care of him.

The case was settled out of court, but it caused a scandal and the cat was out of the bag about Liberace's sexuality. He never publicly acknowledged being gay, but died in 1987 from pneumonia brought on by AIDS. Extra credit: His name was pronounced libber-AH-chee… Friends often called him “Lee”… His brother, George Liberace, was a violinist and bandleader. “I wish my brother George was here” became one of Liberace’s signature sayings… During his early years as a performer he sometimes used the name Walter Busterkeys… Scott Thorson wrote the 1998 memoir, Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace. The book was made into a 2013 movie starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Thorson… The Liberace Museum closed in 2010. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. Advertisement Advertisement Liberace - IMDb IMDb Soundtrack | Actor | Music Department Most remembered for his extravagant costumes and trademark candelabra placed on the lids of his flashy pianos, Liberace was loved by his audiences for his music talent and unique showmanship.

He was born as Wladziu Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919, into a musical family, in Wisconsin. His mother, Frances Liberace (née Zuchowski), whose parents ... See full bio » Born: a list of 47 people created 21 Aug 2012 a list of 38 people created 21 Nov 2013 a list of 2346 people created 02 Jan 2016 a list of 23 images created 2 months ago a list of 48 images created 1 week ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How Much Have You Seen? How much of Liberace's work have you seen? User Polls 2 wins & 1 nomination.

See more awards » Known For Another World Himself (1985, 1986) (1999) 2015 Sleeping with Other People (performer: "MOONLIGHT SONATA LIBERACE") 2013 Behind the Candelabra (TV Movie) (performer: "Tico Tico", "Nola", "When Liberace Winks at Me", "Love is Blue", "Kitten on the Keys") / (writer: "The Liberace Boogie", "Sincerely Yours") 2010 On Tour (performer: "Moon River") 2001 Ocean's Eleven (performer: "Misty", "Moon River") 2000 Cecil B. DeMented (performer: "Ciao!") / (writer: "Ciao!") 1998 Celebrity (performer: "Fascination" (1932)) - Beavis and Butt-head Are Dead (1997) ...

(performer: "I'll Be Seeing You") 1994 Bert (TV Series) (1 episode) - Min älskling du är som en tulipan (1994) ... ("TICO TICO") 1990 Alice (performer: "O Tannenbaum", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas") 1990 Misery (arranger: "TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO #1", "MOONLIGHT SONATA") / (performer: "TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO #1", "MOONLIGHT SONATA", "I'LL BE SEEING YOU") 1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors (performer: "I'll Be Seeing You" (1938)) 1978 The Muppet Show (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes) - Liberace (1978) ... (performer: "Chopsticks", "Misty", "Nocturne No.

5 in F-sharp Major") / (performer: "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" - as "Eight Foot Two, Eyes of Blue") 1967 The Danny Kaye Show (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Episode #4.17 (1967) ... (performer: "All the Things You Are") 1966 The Dean Martin Show (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes) - Episode #2.15 (1966) ... (performer: "Forty-Second Street", "You Are My Lucky Star", "Flirtation Waltz", "Lullaby of Broadway", "Empty Saddles" - uncredited) - Episode #2.2 (1966) ... (performer: "Mack the Knife", "It's Better with a Union Man" - uncredited) 1966 Batman (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes) 1959 The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Salute to the U.S. Army (1959) ...

(performer: "Warsaw Concerto", "There'll Be No New Tunes on This Old Piano" - uncredited) 1956 The Jimmy Durante Show (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Episode #2.23 (1956) ... (performer: "The Second Boy From The Right" - uncredited) 1955 Sincerely Yours (music: "Sincerely Yours") / (performer: "El Cumbanchero" (uncredited), "Rhapsody in Blue" (uncredited), "Beer Barrel Polka" (uncredited), "Sincerely Yours", "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie", "Chopsticks") 1954 The Jack Benny Program (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Liberace Show (1954) ... (performer: "September Song", "Piano Concerto No.

1" (excerpt) (uncredited)) The Liberace Show (TV Series) (performer - 6 episodes, 1953 - 1954) (writer - 2 episodes, 1954) - Great Personalities (1954) ... (performer: "Love in Bloom", "Tip-Toe thru' the Tulips with Me", "The Minuet Antique", "St. Louis Blues", "Vesti la giubba" - uncredited) - Great Ladies in Theatre Tribute (1954) ... (performer: "Daisy Bell", "A Bird in a Gilded Cage", "The Band Played On", "He's Funny That Way", "Brazil", "Dedication") - Thanksgiving (1954) ... (performer: "I Don't Care", "Turkey in the Straw", "Shine on Harvest Moon", "Bless This House", "The Maiden's Wish", "Ritual Fire Dance", "Come on-a My House", "I'll Be Seeing You") / (writer: "The Maiden's Wish") - Christmas Show (1953) ...

(performer: "I Don't Care", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Here Comes Santa Claus", "White Christmas", "Adeste Fideles", "Silent Night", "Sleigh Ride", "Christmas Annual", "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "O Holy Night", "Jingle Bells", "I'll Be Seeing You") - Tribute to Hawaii ... (performer: "Aloha Oe", "Lovely Hula Hands", "The Rosary", "The Cockeyed Mayor of the Town of Kaki", "Hawaiian War Chant") 'Behind the Candelabra': Michael Douglas discusses playing the legendary musician - CSMonitor.com 'Behind the Candelabra': Michael Douglas discusses playing the legendary musician Latest News 'Behind the Candelabra' stars Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his companion and romantic interest Scott Thorson. 'Behind the Candelabra' airs on HBO May 26. By Frazier Moore, Associated Press May 25, 2013 'Behind the Candelabra' stars Matt Damon (l.) and Michael Douglas (r.).

Claudette Barius/HBO/AP of The idea of Michael Douglas playing Liberace might seem nearly as outrageous as Liberace himself. Liberace, forever hailed as Mr. Showmanship, was the excess-to-the-max pianist-personality whose onstage and offstage extravagance were legendary and who wowed audiences in Las Vegas and worldwide to become the best-paid entertainer on the planet during his heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s. He was the forerunner of flashy, gender-bender entertainers like Elton John, David Bowie, Madonna and Lady Gaga even as he kept a tight lid on his gay private life, which he feared could have ended his career had it come out. (His fans never seemed to get wise.) Photos of the Day Photos of the day 01/19 But Douglas now dazzles as Liberace in the new HBO film "Behind the Candelabra," including lavish musical numbers in which he tinkles the ivories and flourishes his jewel-and-ermine finery. The film (executive-produced by showbiz veteran Jerry Weintraub, a Liberace friend) premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT.

Douglas' co-star is Matt Damon, who, in a casting choice almost as counterintuitive, plays Scott Thorson, a dreamy, strapping teen who in 1977 met Liberace in his Vegas dressing room and almost instantly became his personal assistant, live-in companion and top-secret lover. "Candelabra" (whose title cites the trademark prop ornamenting Liberace's onstage piano) also features Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula, Paul Reiser, Debbie Reynolds and a hilarious turn by Rob Lowe as Liberace's on-call plastic surgeon. It was the film's director, Steven Soderbergh, who brought together the two lead actors, helped shape their splendid performances and masterminded this portrait of a loving but bizarre and tempestuous affair. This showbiz saga may be over the top, but there's plenty of depth and it dives deep. "We played the script and tried not to wink at the audience," said Douglas. "It's a great love story. I watch it and I forget about Matt and myself.

Then, pretty soon, I practically forget it's two guys: The conversations and arguments sound like any ol' couple." Adds Damon in a separate interview: "The question for us was how do we make this look like a marriage that we recognize. Most of our scenes we could relate to because we're both in long-term marriages. It was a male-female story with two guys." Well, maybe. But that doesn't override the risk factor for Douglas and Damon as they tackled roles dramatically at odds with their images and past work. "I looked at Matt and thought, 'Man, this guy's brave,'" said Douglas. "It's one thing for me at my age to stretch a little bit and try different characters. But 'Bourne'! A man in the prime of his career going this route?! I was in awe of Matt's courage." "He's being nice," said Damon, 42, with a laugh when told what Douglas had said. "He would've done it in a second! He'd never turn down a great role." Why did Damon say yes to man-to-man pillow talk?

"I've never said no to Steven," he replied, noting he had worked with Soderbergh before in "The Informant!" and the "Ocean" trilogy. "It doesn't get any more fun than working with Steven." Douglas, too, had been in Soderbergh films, including the 2000 thriller "Traffic," during whose production the director first proposed Douglas playing Liberace. Why did he agree? "First of all, Lee was a nice guy," Douglas began, using the name Liberace's friends called him. "He was a lovely, lovely guy. I don't play many nice guys." Douglas nails Liberace's velvety, nasal voice and almost-ever-present pearly smile. "One of the things I enjoyed about this part was I got to smile," he said. "I don't smile a lot in my pictures. I'm always so... grim." Still, in "Candelabra," there isn't always lots to smile about. Thorson, a child of foster care, falls sway to Liberace's charm and support, but it comes with a price. He is subjected to plastic surgery to mold him into a young Liberace (one of the remarkable makeup transformations Damon undergoes).

He also becomes hooked on drugs in his mission to stay slim for Liberace, and, after a few years, his addiction and Liberace's philandering bring a cruel end to the relationship, after which Thorson unsuccessfully sues for palimony. Douglas, too, sports a variety of looks. Liberace is seen before and after his own plastic-surgery refresher, and, in a final scene, gravely sick from an AIDS-related illness from which he died in 1987 at age 67. This death scene is particularly haunting for anyone who followed Douglas' recent near-death experience. "Candelabra" is his comeback performance after a brutal six-month regimen of radiation and chemotherapy for stage 4 throat cancer in 2010. When he stepped in front of the cameras after his own brush with mortality, he seems to have embraced Liberace as a positive life force and a fitting way to get back in the game. "Yeah, I did," he said. "I was enraptured by the joy that Lee had. He was a bit of sunshine to me." But Liberace also had a dark side. This, Douglas also captures despite a refusal to acknowledge it. "It sort of happened," he said.

"It was there in the story." And while he allowed that "Candelabra" viewers might see Liberace as tormented and self-destructive, among sunnier traits, "I didn't see him that way. I didn't see a dark side to him. "My career has been more in the gray area, if not the dark area," Douglas went on (needing to point no further than rapacious money man Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film "Wall Street," a character for which he won a best-actor Oscar, then revived it in the 2010 sequel, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"). Playing Liberace "was so much fun!" he said. "You put on this mask and it allows you to do anything you want. I don't get to do that very often.

My movies are usually about stripping off the makeup, getting down to the skeleton." In "Candelabra," Douglas certainly got to wear a lot of makeup, and subsequent projects should allow him to embody other colorful characters — such as President Ronald Reagan in the film he was about to start, "Reykjavik." "I've always been somebody who, when I started a picture, never knew what the next picture would be," Douglas said. "But during this two-year-plus hiatus, a bunch of good material came my way." As he spoke, he had already wrapped a comedy called "Last Vegas." Ahead is a Rob Reiner film with Diane Keaton, and a couple after that. "I'm at an age where I can try different things, do much different stuff than I thought I could do," he summed up, looking pleased at a career (and himself) unexpectedly reborn. "I'm starting over. What I went through with Liberace has given me the confidence for this." Next up Get the Monitor stories you care about delivered to your inbox.

Daily Liberace Biography Liberace Biography Find Liberace on Amazon.com Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, May 16, 1919, in West Allis, WI; died of cytomegalovirus pneumonia resulting from AIDS, February 4, 1987, in Palm Springs, CA; son of Salvatore (a musician) and Frances (a grocery store operator and bakery employee) Liberace. Education: Attended Wisconsin College of Music. A flamboyant musical showman, Liberace is remembered for his extravagant costumes and campy stage presence as much as for his talent as a pianist. The country's highest paid piano soloist for nearly 30 years, Liberace combined florid renditions of popular songs with abbreviated versions of the classics in a show that became a Las Vegas mainstay. His decision to reach for every excess and embrace it with just a hint of self-mockery paved the way for such androgynous superstar musicians as Michael Jackson, Boy George, and Elton John.

Newsweek correspondent Bill Barol described a Liberace concert at Radio City Music Hall: "Liberace flew in from the wings suspended on a wire; introduced his valet/chauffeur, put on a purple sequined-and-feathered robe; took it off; played Chopin on a Lucite piano with lacework trim; did a soft shoe; bestowed a selection of gifts on an audience member; shamelessly plugged his new book and Las Vegas restaurant; drove onstage in a red, white and blue Rolls-Royce; peeled away a red, white and blue sequined-and-feathered robe to reveal red, white and blue satin hotpants, and grabbed a red, white and blue sequined baton to lead the Rockettes in 'The Stars and Stripes Forever.' This was all before intermission." Liberace constantly strove to outdo himself, and his audience never grew tired of seeing his extravagant and warmly amusing displays. New Republic correspondent Edward Rothstein wrote that Liberace's was "a material version of dazzling splendor, found in minks and jewels and capes and glitter....

But it is an image of the 'classics' refracted through rhinestones and diamonds--puffs of smoke rising from the floor." Throughout his life, Liberace was coy about his personal relationships. Biographers who sought to discuss his homosexuality were summarily dismissed, and only an official coroner's report revealed that he died of complications of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In a People magazine obituary, Michelle Green noted that at his death "the world lost an exotic original--a sweet-natured self-promoter who, for all of his extrovert showiness onstage, had been something of a lost soul." The reporter continued: "Liberace's was a life of exquisite paradox; for flamboyance and repression, kitsch and concealment." Liberace was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace in 1919 in West Allis, Wisconsin. One of four children, he was the son of a french horn player who eventually earned a spot with the Milwaukee Philharmonic Orchestra. Liberace showed his musical talent early, learning to play the piano by ear when he was only four.

At first his father tried to discourage his interest in piano, but timely praise from Poland's most noted pianist, Ignace Jan Paderewski, made the way clear for a musical career. Tensions remained high in the Liberace household, however. Calling himself Walter Busterkeys, the young pianist made the rounds of speakeasies and movie theaters, earning wages for playing the popular melodies of the time. This infuriated his father, who was devoted to the classics. "Liberace's emotional difficulties surely sprang from his unsatisfactory relationship with his harsh father," wrote Green. "While proud of his son's musical abilities (the boy won a piano scholarship and later played with the Chicago Symphony), Salvatore was bitterly opposed to the popular music that his son loved. But songs like 'Sweet Jennie Lee' were the budding musician's preference, and to help keep the family afloat, young Liberace gladly played piano in silent-movie houses." Relations between father and son were further strained when Liberace discovered that his father had a mistress--his parents eventually divorced. At the age of 17, Liberace was offered a place with the federally funded Works Progress Administration Symphony Orchestra.

This in turn led to a scholarship to the Wisconsin College of Music and to concert appearances in many major cities. He developed his trademark style quite by chance in 1939, when, after a classical recital, his audience requested a rendition of the popular tune "Three Little Fishes." Liberace launched into the number, giving it impromptu, quasi-classical flourishes, and brought the house down. His sudden idea on "how to make piano playing pay" won him bookings at the Persian Room of the Hotel Plaza in New York City and other large nightclubs. By 1947 he was traveling with his own custom-made piano, an oversized Bluthner grand, insured for $150,000. He also decked his instrument with a candelabra, borrowing the idea from a Hollywood motion picture about composer Frederic Chopin. Liberace was the star of the very first syndicated television program, The Liberace Show, filmed in Los Angeles. The show began in 1952 and quickly established Liberace as television's first matinee idol. Within two years it was being carried by more stations than either Dragnet or I Love Lucy.

The performer added to his popularity by making frequent live appearances, in one instance drawing a sellout crowd--13,000 women and 3,000 men--to Madison Square Garden on May 26, 1954. The star suffered a setback in 1956, though, during a tour of England. One of the newspapers there hinted at his homosexuality, prompting a quick lawsuit from the entertainer for defamation of character. Liberace won the case, but his popularity in the United States plummeted. He sought to remedy the matter by appearing in more conservative dress and offering more conservative concerts, but by the early 1960s he realized that he could draw more customers by capitalizing on his kitsch. He amassed a wardrobe worth millions, including lavish fur coats that could weigh as much as 150 pounds, and he joked, sang, and even danced during his concerts. "Critics were--and are--dismissive about ?Liberace's recordings," Green claimed.

"Few dispute the fact that he possessed talent; but the consensus is that it was showmanship, rather than technique, that was his forte." Liberace could play Chopin's famed "Minute Waltz" in 37 seconds and a truncated version of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" in approximately four minutes. His classical repertoire was often performed in abbreviated form because he felt he would lose the audience's attention otherwise. Rothstein called the entertainer a "representative of our time" who was simply "an exaggeration of the character of our musical life, which itself is a distorted, peculiar transformation of nineteenth-century musical culture, thriving on invoked images, ritualistic signs, and commercial energies." Nevertheless, Liberace did indeed exert an influence on modern popular music. As Barol put it, "his apparent homosexuality--not acknowledged but not exactly hidden--must have given hope to millions of closeted gays in ... less open years." Liberace's legacy lives on in the exuberant piano work of Elton John and Billy Joel as well as in the eye-catching costumes of Michael Jackson, Prince, and Little Richard. Afflicted with heart disease and emphysema, Liberace nevertheless performed regularly until the autumn of 1986.

It is estimated that he earned $5 million each year during the 1970s and 1980s. He spent lavishly on himself, his costumes, and his friends. However, he also became a serious patron of the fine arts by creating a Liberace Museum; profits from the museum's admission fees provide college scholarships to needy classical musicians. Early in 1987 Liberace's condition deteriorated, and he died at his home in Palm Springs, California. To the time of his death he denied rumors that he was homosexual--even after a former chauffeur brought a "palimony" suit against him. An official autopsy ruled that the pianist died as a result of AIDS. His many fabulous artifacts, costumes, and furniture were disbursed at a much-publicized auction. Liberace was never considered a serious concert musician. The critical barbs did little to deflate his spirit, though. For years his theme song was "I Don't Care," as he joked about his vast earning power. Behind the surface glitter of Liberace's image lay a solid grounding in classical music and the ability to transmit that music to a public that just wanted to hear popular songs.

As Barol concluded, the ebullient Liberace "never disappointed an audience.... It is a measure of his talent that he made the two biggest celebrity cliches ring quite true: there was no one else like him, and he will never be replaced." by Anne Janette Johnson Liberace's Career Pianist and musical entertainer, 1929-87. As a young teen, played piano in speakeasies and movie theaters; member of Works Progress Administration Symphony Orchestra, c. 1936; professional solo perfomer, 1939-87; recorded with Columbia Records, beginning in the 1950s; appeared on television in The Liberace Show, 1952-56, and as guest on numerous other programs; concert performer in Las Vegas and on national and international tours, 1952-86. Famous Works Thorson, Scott, and Alex Thorleifson, Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace, Dutton, 1988. Periodicals American Weekly, July 18, 1954. Life, December 7, 1953.

New Republic, July 2, 1984. Newsweek, February 22, 1954; May 7, 1984; February 16, 1987. New Yorker, June 5, 1954. People, February 16, 1987; April 25, 1988. Time, February 16, 1987. A Millennial’s Guide to Liberace - The Daily Beast ‘Candelabra’ A Millennial’s Guide to Liberace He’s cool enough to get mentions in two George Clooney flicks—but does that mean that anyone under age 25 actually knows who Liberace is? From his legendary piano playing to his cross-dressing days (although he was a housewife heartthrob), Sean Macaulay on everything you need to know about Mr. Showmanship.

Sean Macaulay 05.21.13 8:45 AM ET Ahead of Steven Soderbergh’s film Behind the Candelabra, which debuts on HBO next week and tells the love story of Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his boy-toy lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), a primer on the great entertainer. Who was he again? He was only the world’s most famous piano player. Liberace, a.k.a. Mr. Showmanship, grew up in Milwaukee and started playing classical piano at age 4. At 20 he switched to a more glitzy approach after wowing an audience with a playful rendition of “Three Little Fishes.” Where’d the trademark candelabra come from? He got the idea to use a candelabra after seeing one used in A Song to Remember, the 1945 biopic about his idol Frédéric Chopin, starring Cornel Wilde. Was he really a housewife heartthrob? Oh, yes. His half-hour TV show The Liberace Show ran from 1953 to ’56 and was more popular than I Love Lucy.

Comedians like Bob Hope made jokes about his fey manner (“He’s the only fellow I know who leaves a chartreuse ring around his tub”), but his wavy hair and habit of winking into the camera made him a sex symbol to housewives and teenage girls alike. Writer Michael Thompson called the phenomenon “a conspiracy of blindness." He loved to dress up. For his school’s annual Character Day, he dressed up as Yankee Doodle Dandy and Greta Garbo, complete with blonde wig and makeup. Liberace grew up wearing his older brother’s hand-me-downs, so he found great comfort in sartorial fantasy. “As he grew more artificial, he grew more genuine,” said Quentin Crisp. His stage costumes were insane. There was no such thing as too much or too camp for Liberace. His most expensive item was a $750,000 black diamond mink cape lined with 100,000 Austrian rhinestones. His campiest outfit was a red, white, and blue drum major's uniform with knee-length diamond-patterned socks, sequined tassels, and hotpants. He was super-rich.

He earned $5 million a year, and his net worth was estimated at $115 million. He owned 39 pianos; numerous Rolls-Royces, including a mirrored edition; and homes in Malibu, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, and Hollywood. His house in Las Vegas consisted of three suburban bungalows knocked into one. It had 20 bedrooms and a Hall of Eternal Mirrors. He was gay, but only in private. Liberace sued the Daily Mirror newspaper in England in 1959 for a venomous article that called him a "giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love.” Liberace perjured himself in court by stating he was not homosexual and won the case. Strangely, he persisted in publicly denouncing homosexuality, even as public attitudes relaxed. At a 1973 press conference, he stated that he was ''against the practice of homosexuality because it offends convention and society.'' Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).

By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason He loved sex. Liberace had an affair with Rock Hudson in the ’50s and was rampantly promiscuous in his later years thanks to a silicone penis implant and vials of amyl nitrate. He loved teenage boys and rough trade and fell in love easily and often. In his 2000 biography, Liberace: An American Boy, Darden Asbury Pyron explained Liberace’s sexual preferences: “His sissy persona notwithstanding, he was the pursuer, the hunter, the initiator.” In other words, he was an inversion of the gay maxim “Butch on the streets, queen in the sheets,” a.k.a. “a top.” He didn’t have children, he had dogs. He loved his pets to distraction, owning 27 dogs at the time of his death. He called them his family and would coo at them down the phone. “I won’t say I spoil them,” he said. “It’s more the other way around.

They spoil me with endless loyalty, love, and fascination.” Who was Scott Thorson? He was Liberace’s lover for six years and wrote the book Behind the Candelabra, about their relationship. Scott was a 16-year-old foster-home runaway whom Liberace took under his wing. Thorson said it was “like a father-son relationship ... but we had sex.” Liberace paid for plastic surgery for Thorson to look like Liberace when he was younger. “I would do anything to please him,” said Thorson. The couple broke up over Liberace’s chronic infidelity and Thorson’s spiraling drug habit. The pair reconnected just before Liberace’s death, although Thorson has struggled to find peace since. He is currently in jail in Reno, Nevada, facing burglary charges. Even his death was an event. Liberace died in Palm Springs, California, on February 7, 1987. He was 67 and weighed just 80 pounds. “I don’t want to be remembered as an old queen who died of AIDS,” he told Thorson on his deathbed.

Liberace’s doctors dutifully announced that the cause of death was heart failure, only for the Palm Springs coroner to intercept the hearse en route to the cemetery. A week later, it was announced that Liberace had died of pneumonia brought on by AIDS. He was buried in a wig. Liberace was laid to rest next to his mother and brother in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. He wore a wig and makeup and was buried with a photo of his favorite dog and a photo of his last boyfriend. What about his legacy? It’s still evolving. The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas closed in 2010, but there is a Liberace Foundation that awards scholarships to musicians. Liberace’s reputation as a musical artist has always been overshadowed by his materialism and gimmicks. As writer Mike Walsh put it, “Liberace elevated style over substance until there was no substance left at all.” But he did have a genius for connecting with audiences: “I enjoy it so much, I just want to share it.” READ THIS LIST

Question: Which musician, who died in 1987, famously had a candelabra on his piano?
Answer: Liberace