The surgery included a lower face-lift, upper and lower eye-lifts, and a face peel performed by Ballas. The entertainer, who was nearly bald, refused to remove his wig in the operating room, she says.

Behind the Candelabra premieres this weekend on HBO. It is based on the hard to believe but true story of one of the most popular and flamboyant stars of the 1950’s and 60’s, who went by just one name: Liberace.

So can plastic surgery. In 1979, the flamboyant Las Vegas entertainer Liberace hired a Hollywood doctor to perform his-and-his face-lifts for himself and his much younger boyfriend, Scott Thorson. Liberace, then 59, wanted Thorson to look just like himperfection repeated, if you will.

The only thing that Liberace liked was amyl nitrate, and marijuana, and his vodka tonic with a twist of lime.

HIV/AIDS Liberace died of HIV/AIDS-related ailments in February 1987, three weeks after being treated at Eisenhower Medical Center for what his staff called the effects of a watermelon diet. Hundreds of friends and tourists kept vigil outside of his Palm Springs home as rumors of his real illness became rampant.

five-year When Thorson was 18, Liberace hired him to act as his personal friend and companion, a position that allegedly included a five-year romantic relationship with lavish gifts, travel, and Liberace’s promises that he would adopt and care for Thorson.

When Liberace died in 1987, it is reported that he was worth $115million (89million). He bequeathed most of his estate to his scholarship foundation. His Las Vegas mansion was sold to a British businessman and fan in 2013 for $500,000.

Michael Douglas has revealed he didn’t learn how to play the piano for his Liberace role. The Oscar-winning actor, who portrays the outgoing entertainer and musician in Steven Soderbergh’s feature-length biopic Behind The Candelabra, attempted to learn the piano but decided against it.

LAS VEGAS (AP) A 15,000-square-foot Las Vegas mansion once owned by Liberace was sold for $500,000 in cash to a British businessman who said he learned to play the piano after being inspired by the flamboyant performer.

Baldwin pianos Liberace regularly used Baldwin pianos, and one can surmise that Baldwin would have procured this instrument for the artist.

The man heralded here as Mr. Showmanship is gone, claimed Feb. 4, 1987, at age 67 by the complications of AIDS. But his celebrity lingers, along with about $18 million in assets.

When Myers died in 2005, he bequeathed his treasured archive of Liberace mementos to his mother, Helen. … Now a nonagenarian, Mrs. Myers has chosen to consign the unique collection to Mid-Hudson Galleries, who will offer it in a 425-lot auction on Dec.

Wadziu Valentino Liberace Liberace / Full name He became a pianist, vocalist, actor and WWF announcer (more on that later), but Liberace was born Wadziu Valentino Liberace (or just Lee to his friends), which is a slightly more showy name than, say, Reginald Dwight.

From 1967 until his death, George was married to Eudora Albrecht. He lived most of his life in Palm Springs, California, in a house owned by his brother.

What’s certain is that Wadziu Valentino Liberace had the potential to be a great concert pianist. He was described as a prodigy during his teenage years in the suburbs of Milwaukee, often eschewing typical social activities to practice instead. … This is where Liberace and serious concert pianism part ways.

In Las Vegas, Liberace became one of the city’s most popular performers and one of its top-paid stars. He became equally famous for the glitz and glamour of his shows and costumes as he was for his music. In 1956, Liberace was joined on stage by Elvis Presley.

The home is now owned by Garth Gilpin and his wife, Dr.Elizabeth Smalley, who purchased it in 2010 from a woman who acquired it from Liberace. It was one of four homes Liberace owned in Palm Springs.

piano player /lbrti/ /lbrti/ Wladziu Valentino Liberace (1919-87) a US piano player who wore expensive and colourful clothes and performed in a very exaggerated style.

Douglas seemed sincere in his appreciation for the opportunity to play Liberace, whom he described as a big, barrel-chested guy with one thigh the size of my two and who represented the rare chance to lose himself in a vivid historical figure. He was a really nice guy, he said.

I also had a strong memory of Liberace, Douglas said. I met him once with my father in Palm Springs, where they both had homes, but what I mostly remember is Lee’s TV show. Liberace talked directly to the camerahe was the first person to do that.

American Liberace / Nationality Wadziu Valentino Liberace (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.