# Liberace really was gay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898 "2006-03-25T23:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/21 "2006-03-26T07:04:54Z")
> [@](#): > > He also kept secret from his audience the fact that he was bald (he had MPB and kept his head shaved so that his very expensive toupees would fit well You mean those poor Chordettes aren’t even going to get the wavy hair? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/22 "2006-03-26T07:15:37Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > And he played the piano significantly better than he’s given credit for nowadays. (Lots of bad taste though) I dunno about the bad taste–yes, he was more than capable of playing the classics and playing them well, but he also knew what his audience wanted to hear; and often, classics weren’t necessarily it. But he could sure _play_ the piano. I had heard a few of his records when I was studying piano as a child–wow! And I well remember seeing him on the Johnny Carson show one night when he came out and played a boogie-woogie tune. I was struggling through a similar tune, and was not doing well with it. But I wanted to. Anyway, he played it in eight–fair enough, that’s what those tunes were written in, and he did it smoothly. Then he announced he would next do it in sixteen, and did it just as smoothly. Amazing. (And to a piano student of my humble capabilities, somewhat intimidating.) ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/23 "2006-03-26T13:07:30Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > It was an “open secret” among the entertainment field. I loved watching Liberace when I was a kid! I loved his flamboyance, all the glitter, the candleabra, the way he parodied himself…I can’t cite at the moment, but I recall reading that he had one of the toilets in his Vegas home modeled into a jewel-encrusted throne because he couldn’t stand the way a toilet looks. Gah, I wish I remembered where I read that… But yeah, his homosexuality was a big open secret. I think the more astute among his older female fans recognized this – I know my mom did – but his playing up the “mama’s boy” angle, I think, was his major smokescreen, and most of his fans fell for it. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/24 "2006-03-26T13:55:01Z")
Another old joke: what did Liberace like better that having roses on his keyboard? Tulips on his organ. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/25 "2006-03-26T14:12:10Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > I can’t cite at the moment, but I recall reading that he had one of the toilets in his Vegas home modeled into a jewel-encrusted throne because he couldn’t stand the way a toilet looks. Gah, I wish I remembered where I read that… Perhaps _The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste_ , a fanstastic book by Jan and Michael Stearns (or is it Sterns)? ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/26 "2006-03-26T15:13:34Z")
Wasn’t it Lee who responded, when asked why he never got married, replied that he “Just hadn’t found the right woman, yet”? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/27 "2006-03-26T15:27:15Z")
> [@DrMemory](#): > > Wasn’t it Lee who responded, when asked why he never got married, replied that he “Just hadn’t found the right woman, yet”? :rolleyes: Something like that. I think he said something along the lines of ‘Princess [somebody] isn’t available.’ ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/28 "2006-03-26T15:36:11Z")
Flamboyantly effeminate men who died of aids in the 80s, in hollywood, with rumors of gayness, are usually gay. I remember the intitial cover-up, and a friend and I discussed how ridiculous it was to say that he died from whatever, when obviously it as aids. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/29 "2006-03-26T15:38:48Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > Sheesh, all this time I figured that he was probably very straight-laced in his personal life and that the big flaming side-show aspect was a sort of self-aware mocking of stereotypes. There was no self-aware ironic mocking of stereotypes in his day. What you saw was what you got. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/30 "2006-03-26T15:48:17Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > The odd thing is that I know (and knew) that Liberace is gay. But have no idea who Liberace is. > **[Liberace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace)** > > Władziu Valentino Liberace\[nb 1\] (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements. At the height of his fame from the 1950s to 1970s, he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world with established concert residencies in Las Vegas and an international touring schedule. He emb Wła... ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/31 "2006-03-26T15:50:50Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > Sheesh, all this time I figured that he was probably very straight-laced in his personal life and that the big flaming side-show aspect was a sort of self-aware mocking of stereotypes. I’ve seen pictures of his mansion. The most understated touch was a swimming pool shaped like a piano (with the sharp/flat keys painted on the bottom surface.) This dude was by no means strait-laced. (BTW, it’s “strait-laced,” not “straight-laced.” “Strait” meaning “tight.” As in, the Straits of Magellan, or the Strait and Narrow Path.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/32 "2006-03-26T17:07:14Z")
So now that that’s settled, can we get an official ruling on whether the following people are, in actuality, gay? [ul] [li]Richard Simmons[/li][li]Clay Aiken[/li][li]Siegfried and Roy[/li][li]The Village People[/li][li]Joel Goddard and La Bamba on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”[/li][li]that one purple Teletubby[/li][li]Ace and Gary from “Saturday TV Funhouse”[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/33 "2006-03-26T17:19:08Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Perhaps _The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste_ , a fanstastic book by Jan and Michael Stearns (or is it Sterns)? That’s it! Thanks! I know I’ve got it somewhere around here… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/34 "2006-03-26T17:49:51Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > So now that that’s settled, can we get an official ruling on whether the following people are, in actuality, gay? > [ul] > [li]Richard Simmons[/li][li]Clay Aiken[/li][li]Siegfried and Roy[/li][li]The Village People[/li][li]Joel Goddard and La Bamba on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”[/li][li]that one purple Teletubby[/li][li]Ace and Gary from “Saturday TV Funhouse”[/li][/ul] One of the Village People is gay; I think it’s the cop. Ace and Gary certainly ARE gay. After all, it’s called the “Ambiguously Gay Duo,” not the “Ambiguously Straight Duo.” ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/35 "2006-03-26T18:43:54Z")
I think the more important question is why should we care? Unless someone makes it part of their act/persona I don’t think it is relevant who or what they do. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/36 "2006-03-26T19:48:38Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > So now that that’s settled, can we get an official ruling on whether the following people are, in actuality, gay? > [ul] > [li]Richard Simmons[/li][li]Clay Aiken[/li][li]Siegfried and Roy[/li][li]The Village People[/li][li]Joel Goddard and La Bamba on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”[/li][li]that one purple Teletubby[/li][li]Ace and Gary from “Saturday TV Funhouse”[/li][/ul] Siegfried and Roy were once a couple as well as showbiz partners. IIRC, they split up in 1997 as a couple but remain close friends (soul mates if ever there were ones) and, I assume if Roy heals sufficiently, will continue to be show partners. Randy Jones, the original cowboy, is gay. Felipe Rose, the Indian, was the only OUT member of the original group. Jones has since come out of the closet. I don’t think the others were. Glenn Hughes, the leatherman, was straight for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/37 "2006-03-26T19:51:10Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Randy Jones, the original cowboy, is gay. Felipe Rose, the Indian, was the only OUT member of the original group. Jones has since come out of the closet. I don’t think the others were. Glenn Hughes, the leatherman, was straight for sure. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/38 "2006-03-26T20:23:40Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > So now that that’s settled, can we get an official ruling on whether the following people are, in actuality, gay? > [ul] > [li]Richard Simmons[/li][li]Clay Aiken[/li][li]Siegfried and Roy[/li][li]The Village People[/li][li]Joel Goddard and La Bamba on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”[/li][li]that one purple Teletubby[/li][li]Ace and Gary from “Saturday TV Funhouse”[/li][/ul] I don’t know about the others, but Siegfried and Roy are indeed gay. I THINK they were lovers, or else they still are. But they’re definitely gay. It always amuses me how the little old blue-hairs were the ones throwing their granny panties at the stage. I mean c’mon, the man was just gayer than a Maypole dance in spring time. Just LOOK at him! He made Elton John look understated and subtle. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/39 "2006-03-26T20:36:03Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I saw a T-shirt of Liberace the other day with the slogan “The King of Bling Bling”. I thought it was fitting. > > My mother still will not accept he was gay. He was just “a fussy old bachelor who loved his mama… what’s wrong with that?” > > According to one biography I read, until middle age he was probably either a virgin or had sexual encounters (and very few of them) with women only _until_. He began making up for lost time when his mother (who lived with him) became senile and infirm and he spent more time on the road after reinventing himself (the bling bling was a fairly late development- he was a lot more subtley flamboyant for the first half of his career, the chinchilla capes and diamond buttons not coming until middle age [an anachronism that bothered me in _A Prayer for Owen Meany_, but I digress]). By his fifties he was something of a horndog surrounded by rentboys and was unfaithful to Scott Thorson and his other houseboys. Unfortunately his great sexual awakening coincided nicely with the advent of AIDS. > > According to the same source and to Thorson (warning: following is more information than anybody possibly needs on the intimate Liberace), he was primarily if not exclusively a top. He also kept secret from his audience the fact that he was bald (he had MPB and kept his head shaved so that his very expensive toupees would fit well, and then he wore hairpieces on top of the toupee so that he looked like a guy with hair who wore hairpieces) or that he was a smoker (diamond studded case, of course) or that he occasionally snorted coke. > > By all accounts he was an incredibly nice and generous person. It’s amazing that his museum remains, almost 20 years after his death, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Nevada (and the proceeds still fund scholarships). > > One of the more bizarre moments of his dying was Pat Boone’s wife’s arrest for trying to scale his fence to pray by his bedside (under the Sistine Chapel ceiling). RE: “fussy old bachelor who loved his mama” - is it just me, or if you remove the Scott Thorson/bling references, you’ve described Van Cliburn, too? VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898/40 "2006-03-26T20:46:26Z")
Interestingly, Liberace influenced people you would never associate with him. **Evel Knieval** said Liberace was the entertainer that impressed him the most and this led to Evel’s rather overstated image. I believe **Elvis Presley** went to Las Vegas early in his career and he bombed. He just did his usual stage act. It was Liberace who told him (directly or indirectly) that in Las Vegas you’ve got to go for the overstated, overhyped, glitzy presentation. (Think of Elvis in his later career with that glitzy outfit). An appropriate quote would be from Albert Brooks in “Lost In America”. Julie Haggerty and Albert Brooks are staying in a Las Vegas hotel suite that is unbelievably garish. Albert Brooks says “if Liberace had children, this would be their room.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberace-really-was-gay/349898.md?page=3)