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Put on your rhinestone covered headphones, we’ve got a dazzling show for you today! Is it possible to put a million rhinestones into this podcast?
From Las Vegas, we salute one of the great ones, Liberace- the flamboyant musician who’s showbiz style and ornate sensibilities influence Las Vegas and pop music to this very day.
As a young gay kid I was always fascinated by this extravagant piano player I saw on TV, and even once made rings out of aluminum foil to pretend I was Liberace. My piano teacher Carol Ortiz had dozens of piano shaped knick-knacks in her home, and even a clock on the wall shaped like a piano. My dad even helped me make a grand piano shaped chocolate cake to celebrate graduating book 2 in the Suzuki Method.
Join us as we talk to the President of the Liberace Foundation Darin Hollingsworth from inside the Liberace Museum about the man behind all the glitz and glamor.
What a place! In what can be best described as an ALL-Liberace themed strip mall, just minutes away from the main drive in Las Vegas you can see in person all of Liberace’s over the top costumes, cars and pianos and learn more about this complex man who made such an impact on showbusiness today.
Click here for photos taken from the Liberace Museum.
Liberace earned the nickname “Mr. Showman” in part because of his outrageous, shiny and beautiful costumes. They were a show into themselves. He worked with many fabulous designers and furriers to achieve that over-the-top, rococo gilded lily style. Today the museum lovingly cares for many of these expensive and very heavy costumes which they hope to maintain for future generations to enjoy.
Did you know that Liberace influenced Elvis’ sense of showmanship? Well, you didn’t think Elvis came up with the gold suit and rhinestone studded cape all on his own did you? Liberace showed him how it was done and what it took to dazzle an audience.
Liberace was often the butt of jokes but he really was in on the humor. He use to joke that he “laughed all the way to the bank.” And then well into his career he changed it to “you remember that bank I use to laugh all the way too? Well, I bought it.” The man had some serious coin.
He also had quite a taste for food and was known to put out quite a spread. Food was important for him and he says he kept three different sizes of clothing- thin, fat and impossible. The Liberace Foundation has put a cookbook, Joy of Liberace: Retro Recipes from America’s Kitchiest Kitchen, which contains some of his favorite recipes. It’s worth getting just for the kitsch appeal. Do we see a Liberace themed dinner party in your future?
Liberace never disclosed his sexuality but he lived and died in a different era. Darrin, President of the Liberace Foundation, points out that when he died in 1986 from AIDS, Elton John was married to a woman. How’s that for putting it in perspective?
Through all the sparkles of the rhinestones and the jewels, the legacy of Liberace that shines the brightest is the Liberace Scholarship for the creative and performing arts. Liberace felt he owed his success to the scholarships he received as a youth. To express his appreciation and to further the arts, the foundation has provided over $5 million in scholarship grants to more than 2200 students at 110 colleges and universities.
Remember kids, as Liberace once said- “nobody will believe in you unless you believe in yourself.”
Featured DVD:
The World of Liberace
Directed by Tony Palmer
Get it on: Amazon | Site
Featured Book:
Joy of Liberace: Retro Recipes from America’s Kitchiest Kitchen: Amazon
Featured Music:
Liberace – 16 Biggest Hits: iTunes | Amazon
Liberace – Best of Liberace: iTunes | Amazon
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13 Comments
Comments
I’m definitely checking the museum out next time I’m in Las Vegas. Darin is a hottie.
Weird thing: I just used that exact picture of Liberace as a Majorette in a blogcast last week.
http://www.tvgasm.com/shows/big-brother/the-deal-editio-7632.php
I was looking for a picture that screamed “gay” so I Googled “Gayest picture ever” and that is what came up. Gosh bless ya, Liberace, wherever you are.
I’m also a big fan of Liberace and think he gets overlooked a lot when people examine GLBT people in enterainment. I’m sure he would have come out as gay had his kidneys held out (the cleaning agents of his costumes poisoned him) and of course, HIV.
Look how far Elton John and other once-closeted now happily-gay living legends like him have come in the past decades.
Darin looks a little like a young Victor Garber, who played Liberace in a biopic that was done for TV in the 90s sometime.
I haven’t heard the show yet, but I’ve been eagerly awaiting its arrival! I will listen tonight and give my full report!
Wow, the pics really show what words can not convey. Can’t wait to see the video of this.
Ha ha, I remember Fausto and how obsessed he was with that Liberace documentary. Great show guys!
I really enjoyed this show and all the others about gay history. I would like to add another gay icon from the past – Virgil Fox. He was a very popular organist in NYC and me and my friends loved to attend his organ concerts. He was not as popular as Liberace, but he had and still has a very dedicated fan base. we used to joke and call him Virgil Cocks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Fox
The moment when Fausto goes all giddy upon realizing that he’s actually surrounded by Liberace’s rhinestones and extravagance– absolutely priceless!
It’s like being surrounded by pure joy. I think some people sometimes held Liberace to impossible standards. He LOVED his costumes, and even when it put his own health at risk.
The guy was a character, but I appreciate the over-the-top decadence he created, and how he worked hard to make it accessible to everyone.
I’m wondering how many dazzling treasures of royalty are locked away in some vault or mansion never to be seen by the eyes of the general public.
Glad you guys did this show, the Liberace Museum is one of the best and wackiest places to visit in Las Vegas. It’s also wonderful how Darin is so honest and forthcoming with the controversy of Liberace.
Right on Liberace…another Milwaukee native…..next time your up I will show you his home.
ANOTHER interesting show!
I have not listened to this cast yet but checked out the photos. I was there last summer and you got all the same shots I did. It was a blast.
They did not allow people to use flashes but I sweet talked one of the employees and got all the shots I wanted.
To this day I am using my Liberace matches I purchased at the gift shop to light my tapers and votives.
Here we are in front of that costume- That’s a whole lot of pink turkey feathers!
That’s a great looking photo Marc! Would be fun to see you guys wearing it.
What a delightful show!
Darrin made a comment about people coming into the museum who maybe had a connection to Liberace through their parents or grandparents, and it touched a nerve with me… my Nana was a HUGE Liberace fan. She would fly to Vegas with her friends every so often and see Liberace in concert when I was a kid, and come home with stories and souvenirs from her trips. In fact, the last time she saw him was not too long before he died – I believe it was either 1984 or 1985. She bought his book, “The Wonderful Private World of Liberace” and I remember looking through it in awe at the costumes and the decadence.
So I imagine if I ever do make it out to Las Vegas to see the museum — and I would absolutely make it a stop on my trip — I would have the same reaction as these other people, because Liberace touched my Nana’s life and subsequently mine, I would feel a connection to her by visiting.
See… good things do come from Wisconsin.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
Yeah I think it’s one of the best things to do in Las Vegas. Ironically it’s the most genuine place I saw.
For a city known for it’s disposable nature and attraction to the latest craze, it’s nice to see a solid piece of living history (and a very gay one to boot) still living and breathing on 1775 East Tropicana Avenue.
Fausto, quit saying “sensibilities”!
Perhaps it’s time for a rhinestone-studded FOF T-Shirt…
I haven`t known much about Liberace before this show. It was very interesting to get to know more about him and his career.
I love those costumes!
This was one fantastic show. I’ve driven by the Liberace Museum tons of times but always felt it was too kitschy to actually check out. Now I can’t wait to go! Thank you, boys, for another wonderful episode!
For the first time since I started listening to FOF in April, I was going to skip this episode as I’m not a big fan of Liberace. I’m still not, but I was glad I listened to the show, you guys can make anything sound interesting! It was a very engaging, informative show and your guest was so passionate about his job it was a joy to listen to. Well done guys.