Liberace - Liberace Now!
LIBERACE - MR. SHOWMANSHIP
His real name was Wladziu Valentino Liberace. Later, when he took the stage, he was known as simply Liberace, while close friends knew him as “Lee.”
Liberace
Born in West Allis, Wisconsin surrounded by a translucent sheath, aka en caul, aka “under the veil,” considered by superstitious individuals to presage good luck, Liberace was lucky from the get-go, as his twin was born dead.
Growing up in Milwaukee, it soon became apparent to Liberace’s father that his son was a musical prodigy. Salvatore, the boy’s father, played the French horn, but was mediocre at best. Salvatore signed the boy up for piano lessons at the age of four. Three years later, Liberace surpassed his instructor in skill, interpretation, and technique. He also had a photographic memory, able to memorize complete compositions note for note.
There was never any question as to his homosexuality, which was obvious to anyone who knew him. Popular in school because of his eccentric charisma, his classmates quickly accepted him on equal terms because of his hypercivilized manners, quixotic attitude, and awe-inspiring talent on the piano. There were a few, of course, who ridiculed him for being effeminate, but there are always are.
Groomed to be a concert pianist, for some reason Liberace fell under the influence of pop music, although he was exceedingly fond of Romantic composers, such as Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin. Yet because of his inherent flair, when Liberace played their music, he infused his interpretations with decreases in speed, increases in speed, ascending and descending pitch scales, and embellished notes. This artistic panache caused consternation among music critics.
Most people nowadays don’t understand how popular Liberace was. His television show exceeded the viewership of both I Love Lucy and Dragnet, attracting over 30 million viewers, predominantly female, to whom he was a bona fide “dreamboat,” what with his fetching hair and sly winks. Each show, replete with vast doses of sugary goo, followed the same blueprint: musical numbers accompanied by conversation, a plethora of costume changes, spectacular lighting, and jokes. He always closed the show with “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
Most people nowadays don’t understand how popular Liberace was. His television show exceeded the viewership of both I Love Lucy and Dragnet, attracting over 30 million viewers.
His costumes were extravagance personified, glitzy, glossy, kitschy statements of blinding flashiness and razzle dazzle. The black diamond mink (yes, real mink) cape he frequently wore was worth $750,000 and decked out with 100,000 rhinestones.
In 1957, Liberace’s career sagged. Yet ever the optimist and showman, he regained his popularity by performing at supper clubs, with frequent appearances on television. Kidney failure almost killed him in 1963, supposedly the result of inhaling dry cleaning fumes from his costumes. Informed by doctors that his days were numbered, he went slightly crazy, giving extravagantly expensive gifts to friends and family. When he didn’t die, he took off for Las Vegas, where he performed sold out shows, earning $300,000 per week.
He sued the Daily Mirror for libel. A columnist, called Cassandra, implied Liberace was a homosexual. In court, Liberace testified that he was not and had never been a homosexual. In the end, he won the lawsuit, and was awarded approximately $20,000 in damages, a considerable sum in the 1950s.
Back in the U.S., Liberace sued a gossip rag called Confidential for implying he was a lifelong homosexual. Confidential settled the case, and Liberace went on denying he was a homosexual. Remember, it was the 1950s and homosexuality was anathema. So it’s unsurprising that Liberace never admitted to his sexual proclivity. In fact, he went out of his way to present himself as straight, utilizing beards, female companions, to secure his public persona. A few of his beards included Betty White, Christine Jorgensen (the famous transsexual), and Olympic figure skater Sonja Henie.
In 1953, he even got engaged to JoAnn Del Rio, a Las Vegas showgirl. Courting her with perfume and giant bouquets of flowers, the couple even set a wedding date. Obviously, the marriage never took place.
Diagnosed HIV positive in 1985, Liberace never revealed the diagnosis. He died in 1987 at Palm Springs county hospital. The medical doctors asserted he died of heart failure. A week after his death, the news broke that Liberace had died of pneumonia aggravated by AIDS.
