The late Wladziu Liberace made a fortune as an entertainer. His antics and weird clothing made him extremely popular, both in Las vegas and on the road. But was he really a great pianist? I understand that he was a child prodigy…but had he chosen to, could he have been a concert pianist of the quality of, say, Van Cliburn?
Just wondering…I just happened to see some old videos of Liberace-he seemed to me, to bequite talented.
If one debuts with the Chicago Symphony as a piano soloist, then I’d say, yes, he could have been a world class classical pianist.
But,three little fishes forever changed the direction of his performing career.
Peace.
I wish my brother, George, was queer.
If you’re really interested, this is a really interesting biography and analysis.
His talent was praised by no less than Leopold Stokowski and Ignace Paderewski, though “serious” critics dismissed him because of the glitz and plebeian appeal. Having heard several of his less “frivolous” pieces (The Rosary, for example, which he played during his audience with Pius XII, is very non Liberace- Liberace) he certainly compares equally if not favorably to other concert pianists I’ve heard perform the work (including Van Cliburn).
His brother George was a concert quality violinist (probably moreso than Liberace was a concert caliber pianist) and nobody could care less about paying to see him perform; Liberace knew that sequins and gaudy excess would make people say “Van Cli-who?” and he was right. I’m sure that had Elvis (who first started wearing gold lamè jackets and jewelry after a meeting with Liberace) or Sinatra (who in spite of their differences in lifestyle was a pretty close Vegas buddy of Liberaces, as was strangely enough Andy Griffith) could have sung opera had they had the training and the inclination but they would have been two among a legion of talents instead of icons. There’s no real shortage of talented pianists (Sean Hayes, Condoleeza Rice, and David Hyde Pierce are all concert caliber pianists, for example), but self promotion and pizazz on the Liberace level actually took as much talent and determination as becoming an ivories master. (I certainly wouldn’t have thought of flying over my audience in a chinchilla cape wearing diamond buttons, though Condoleeza might be able to pull it off.)
Two great Liberace stories; one I can vouch for, the other probably apochryphal.
First, he appeared some years ago as a guest on the Muppet Show. As you would expect, they had a lot of fun with him. But the scene i’ll never forget came when he asked the camera to pull in close and extended his hands so the audience could see his huge, gaudy and very expensive rings. His line was something to the effect of “Go ahead and get a good look at them — after all, you paid for 'em.” Loved that.
Second, the story goes that one day he was summoned to the IRS office and the agent wanted to disallow a deduction for his flamboyant, expensive costumes as a business expense. Liberace argued they were an integral part of his celebrityhood, but the agent wouldn’t budge. So Liberace asked if he could come back the following day to continue the discussion. This time, he came dressed in one of the disputed costumes and got out of his car a number of blocks away from the IRS office to walk the rest of the way on foot. By the time he reached the IRS office, he had drawn a huge crowd, and the agent had to admit that the costumes were essential to his act.
Not sure of the truth, but it makes a great story.
Two great Liberace stories; one I can vouch for, the other probably apochryphal.
First, he appeared some years ago as a guest on the Muppet Show. As you would expect, they had a lot of fun with him. But the scene i’ll never forget came when he asked the camera to pull in close and extended his hands so the audience could see his huge, gaudy and very expensive rings. His line was something to the effect of “Go ahead and get a good look at them — after all, you paid for 'em.” Loved that.
Second, the story goes that one day he was summoned to the IRS office and the agent wanted to disallow a deduction for his flamboyant, expensive costumes as a business expense. Liberace argued they were an integral part of his celebrityhood, but the agent wouldn’t budge. So Liberace asked if he could come back the following day to continue the discussion. This time, he came dressed in one of the disputed costumes and got out of his car a number of blocks away from the IRS office to walk the rest of the way on foot. By the time he reached the IRS office, he had drawn a huge crowd, and the agent had to admit that the costumes were essential to his act.
Not sure of the truth, but it makes a great story.
Two great Liberace stories; one I can vouch for, the other probably apochryphal.
First, he appeared some years ago as a guest on the Muppet Show. As you would expect, they had a lot of fun with him. But the scene i’ll never forget came when he asked the camera to pull in close and extended his hands so the audience could see his huge, gaudy and very expensive rings. His line was something to the effect of “Go ahead and get a good look at them — after all, you paid for 'em.” Loved that.
Second, the story goes that one day he was summoned to the IRS office and the agent wanted to disallow a deduction for his flamboyant, expensive costumes as a business expense. Liberace argued they were an integral part of his celebrityhood, but the agent wouldn’t budge. So Liberace asked if he could come back the following day to continue the discussion. This time, he came dressed in one of the disputed costumes and got out of his car a number of blocks away from the IRS office to walk the rest of the way on foot. By the time he reached the IRS office, he had drawn a huge crowd, and the agent had to admit that the costumes were essential to his act.
Not sure of the truth, but it makes a great story.
ç
Since tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day, I say, let the gerbils walk the plank. My post was swallowed. It went something like this:
Two Liberace stories. First, I saw him on the Muppet Show many years ago. At one point he asked the camera to come in close to see his huge gaudy diamond-encrusted rings. He said, “I wanted you to get a good look at them. After all, you paid for them.” Loved it - a magic moment.
Second, the story goes that one year he was called into the IRS offices and the agent wanted to deny him a deduction for his flamboyant costumes as a business expense. L. argued that they were a necessary part of his act, but the agent wouldn’t budge. L. made arrangemnts to return the next day, but this time he wore one of the costumes and got out of the car blocks away, and walked to the appointment. By the time he arrived, he had drawn a large crowd, and the agent conceded the costumes should be deductible.
I worked with Lee in the 70’s, in a studio in Hollywood. I was even hired to ghost-write some arrangements in the “Liberace Style.” But when I first heard him play in that environment, close up, I was apalled at his stumbling finger work. Maybe he was just having a bad decade, but I wasn’t impressed.
Perhaps the candelabra and sequins distracted the audience. But in the studio, he didn’t use any props.
Hey, Hometownboy, back off on that posting trigger finger; the submit function works better than you thought. It’s just a little slow. Submit once and it always gets thru.
And they’re hamsters, not gerbils. 
I watched Liberace regularly on television in the 1950’s before his days of glitz. He was still all show. He was better than your average pianist but that is a far cry from being of concert calibur.
And even the average concert pianist of the 1970’s was miles from being a Rubenstein or a Horowitz. (Cliburn was a cut above most, but I’ve heard better.)
I’ve been away from that scene for a long time but I have heard that some of the younger crowd are phenomenal.
Hometownboy
“Trust the CGI.” — Gaudere
“CGI” ?
Common Gateway Interface. Basically, the instructions that tell the hamsters when to run, and how fast.
Even more basically, hit submit once.
Ah. Thanks.
Telemark - “hit submit once” is good advice. However, when you get the busy/unavailable error page, there’s reason to think that the submit is gonna go.
As slow and creaky as these boards are, I forgive all double posts.
I believe he used that line in all his shows.