From Child Prodigy To "Mr. Showmanship"

Władziu Valentino Liberace was born on May 16, 1919 in West Allis, Wisconsin.and he passed away on February 4, 1987. He was also known, though, as just Liberace. He was an American pianist, a singer, and an actor. Liberace's parents were working-class immigrants hailing from Formia, Italy. His father had high standards, encouraging his son to play piano from a very young age turned the kid into a child prodigy. He has a four decade legacy career legacy of concert tours, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements. At the peak of his fame, between the 1950s and the 1970s, Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world, with multiple homes in Las Vegas and a tour schedule that allowed him to travel the world. Liberace shone with his eccentric lifestyle of flamboyant exuberance both on stage and in real life, earning himself the popular alias, "Mr. Showmanship". https://youtu.be/q9nO9Ro_kd4 Click "Next" To Continue Reading Liberace had a speech impediment, and as a teen he was bullied for it. The neighborhood kids would mock him for his effeminate personality and for his avoidance of sports and his fondness for cooking and playing piano. You can hear the lisp in the beginning of this video! Click "Next" to find out how much this entertainer spent on his outfits per year! In the 1970s, Liberace spent somewhere around $100,000 a year on his shining, highly decorated, diamond and jeweled costumes Liberace was so embarrassed about his baldness that he would go to bed wearing a toupee, even on summer nights. He once almost refused a facelift after the doctor asked him to take his toupee off! Which famous television show made a satire of Liberace? Click "Next" to find out! There is a parodied character of him that appears several times in The Looney Tunes. Watch the famous "I wish my brother George was here" sequence below! Speaking of brothers named George Liberace, Liberace actually did have an older brother named George, who played violin. Watch this video of the two playing a rather elegant duet! What other names did Liberace go by? Click "Next" to find out! Liberace While eventually changed his first name to "Walter", which all of his close relatives knew him by, but his friends knew him as "Lee". He is one of Elton John's biggest influences. Watch this video of Elton John playing "Home Again' as a tribute to his hero, Liberace. Click "Next" To Read More... While he was wildly successful and good natured to his audience, Liberace was a complicated man whose political, social and religious conservatism existed alongside his secret homosexuality. Liberace showing his inner side (Wikipedia.org) What famous actors have played Liberace in films? Click "Next" to find out. HBO released a TV film about the famous pianist in 2013. It is called Behind the Candelabra. Michael Douglas played Liberace. There were also two biopics made about the star in the 1980's: Victor Garber in Liberace: Behind the Music (1988) and Andrew Robinson in Liberace (1988). Do you know any more fun facts about Liberace? Tell us in the comments section below. Related: The Temptations: "My Girl" Bobby Darin: "Splish Splash" King of Cool Dean Martin Declares “Everybody Loves Somebody”

From Child Prodigy To “Mr. Showmanship”

By Brad Rosenberg
9 years ago

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