Liebhaber von liberace biography

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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. 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.

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. 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....

An official autopsy ruled that the pianist died as a result of AIDS. His nightclub popularity led to him filming several "soundies," an early precursor to music videos, and he continued to refine his act, tirelessly polishing his performance and upping the "wow" factor with clever gimmicks and banter. 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 TV series "The Liberace Show" (syndicated, 1953-54) cemented his massive popularity with women, who responded to his gentle nature and rhinestone-soaked fabulousness.

While he never ignited as a film draw despite his star turn in "Sincerely Yours" (1955), Liberace remained an incredibly popular television figure. Liberace's deathremainscontroversial due to the fact that there had been rumoursprior to his passing that he had contracted the AIDSviruswhich his management, publicist, friends, and even Liberacehimself had vehemently denied.

Classically trained and rising through the supper club circuit, Liberace became a top draw in the 1950s, notching $50,000 a week for his Vegas shows. 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.

Although he never publicly admitted he was ill, Liberace died at the age of 67 on Feb. 4, 1987 at his home in Palm Springs due to AIDS-related complications.

In 1987, Thorson published a tell-all book, Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, that alleged that the entertainer had lived a promiscuous lifestyle of drug use and orgies, from which he had contracted HIV, as well as pressuring Thorson to have plastic surgery to look more like him.

Another key to his rise was his skillful self-promotion and ability to sell a glamorized version of himself, including publicity stunts such as purchasing "priceless," ornately designed pianos and appearing in extravagant costumes.

He quickly conquered his corner of the musical world, earning a record $138,000 for his 1954 performance at Madison Square Garden, and by the following year, he was earning $50,000 a week for his Vegas shows.

It is estimated that he earned $5 million each year during the 1970s and 1980s. The show began in 1952 and quickly established Liberace as television's first matinee idol.