Liberace

American musician and entertainer known for his music, his trademark candelabra, his flamboyant lifestyle and highly affected mannerisms. Gay and over-the-top, he was well-liked by people who worked with him; they found him considerate and unpretentious. He was an early television performer who was considered TVs first "matinee idol," winning two Emmys, six gold albums, two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds highest paid musician and pianist, once earning more than $2 million for a 26-week season. Liberaces style earned him the title of "Mr. Showmanship." Liberace was born Wladziu (Polish for Walter) Valentino Liberace, one of four children of a family where music was the heart. His Italian father was a classically trained musician and a member of the Milwaukee Philharmonic, playing the French horn: later, he never cared for his sons popular music. His beloved Polish mother (who died in 1980) played the piano and his brothers and sister were also talented. He started playing the piano by ear at the age of four, received lessons at seven. Liberaces talent was evident early on, and when the renowned Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski visited the family, he recommended him to receive a scholarship to the Wisconsin College of Music. Liberace attended West Milwaukee High School where he played with his first band, "The Mixers." He was a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony at age 13, and at age 16 with the Chicago Symphony. He alternated between the classical music he loved with the jazz and popular music that also exerted a pull on him. While playing with symphonies, he was also performing in Milwaukees honky-tonks. He used two names to keep his musical personalities separate: He was Walter Liberace when he played with the Milwaukee Symphony, but Walter Busterkeys when he played in dance bands. He moved to New York in 1940, and began to play in clubs around the city. The night club bookings took him to the Persian Room in the New York Plaza Hotel as an intermission pianist. Seven years later, he returned to the Persian room, this time with an oversized grand piano and the first appearance of his trademark candelabra, inspired by the 1945 movie, "A Song to Remember." He had also followed Paderewskis advice and changed his name to simply "Liberace." In 1948, he was hired to perform at the Last Frontier in Las Vegas, one of two hotels there at the time. In 1950, he made his film debut as a honky-tonk pianist in "South Sea Sinner" with Shelley Winters. Then, while playing at a club in San Diego, a television producer discovered him and a television show was created as a summer replacement for the Dinah Shore show. The 15-minute weekly show appeared in 1952 at NBC and managed to get a large national audience. The next year, he filmed a weekly half-hour show that ran for five years and made his name a household world, earning him two Emmys. He became famous for gaudier and gaudier clothes - some of his performance costumes weighed as much as 300 pounds - and jewels that he made fun of openly. Audiences enjoyed hearing about his five houses, the swimming pool shaped like a piano, ornate automobiles, and exotic dogs and paintings. Liberace played a number of live engagements between 1953 and 1955, and in the latter year opened in Las Vegas as the highest paid entertainer in the citys history. He also made another movie, "Sincerely Yours." In 1960, Liberac Read less