You mean those poor Chordettes aren’t even going to get the wavy hair?
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.)
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.
Another old joke: what did Liberace like better that having roses on his keyboard?
Tulips on his organ.
Perhaps The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste , a fanstastic book by Jan and Michael Stearns (or is it Sterns)?
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.’
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.
There was no self-aware ironic mocking of stereotypes in his day. What you saw was what you got.
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.)
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]
That’s it! Thanks!
I know I’ve got it somewhere around here…
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.”
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.
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.
I stand corrected.
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.
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~
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.”