The Liberace I knew: The secrets beneath the glitter, the sequins and the extravagant lifestyle, by the musician's friend David Wigg



The doors to the fashionable Chelsea restaurant flung open, and the entire place fell into a startled silence – broken only by the sound of my fork dropping to the floor in my surprise.

There stood the most exotic of men, wearing a full-length white fox-fur coat, weighed down with enough bling and sequins to light the room, and his face – wreathed in a wide pearly-white smile – caked in full make-up beneath a pompadoured wig.

Liberace, the world’s most flamboyant piano player, and arguably the richest and most famous, had arrived for dinner. By his side was his partner Scott Thorson, tall and blond in a bejewelled tailored white suit and silver boots, his fingers almost obscured by chunky rings.

Behind the Candelabra (2013), starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, Matt Damon as Scott Thorson and Baby Boy the poodle

But Liberace was one of the world’s biggest stars at the time, so we all jumped to our feet, applauding and cheering. ‘Thank you, thank you’, he murmured, as he and Scott were ushered to their corner table – naturally, the best in the place.

I was reminded of that night – more than 40 years ago - when I watched a preview of Behind The Candelabra at the Cannes Film Festival last month.

It tells the story of Liberace’s colourful life, and his relationship with Scott – and indeed many other handsome young men – and his denial of his homosexuality, which he took to his grave in 1987 after his death from an Aids-related illness.

Michael Douglas portrays Liberace and Scott’s role is taken by Matt Damon. Two uncompromisingly macho men in real life, but archly camp on screen, and uncannily reminiscent of both characters. Even the sugar-coated cynicism is faithfully reproduced, as I recognised.

In his dressing room at the London Palladium one night, I asked Liberace if he was troubled by the increasing innuendos about his personal life – it was at a time before homosexuality was widely accepted, and some aspects of it were still illegal.

His dazzling grin didn’t falter even for a millisecond. ‘Let them say what they like’, he told me. ’Because while they are doing that, I’m laughing all the way to the bank. Anyway, when they stop talking about you, you’re dead’.



Both Douglas and Damon have more than 60 changes of costume throughout the film, each custom-made and based on the original entertainer's elaborate wardrobe

He hadn’t always been so defiant. In 1956 Daily Mirror columnist Cassandra wrote a vitriolic attack on Liberace that he took as an accusation that he was homosexual. He sued for libel, swore under oath in the witness box that he was straight, and won.

His award of £8,000 damages and £14,000 costs equates to £140,000 and £244,000 today.

To the end, Liberace never gave up publicly pretending to be avowedly heterosexual, even inventing romances with various women – in particular claiming his heart had been broken by the Norwegian ice skating star Sonja Henje, seven years his senior.

Another secret Liberace had managed to keep from his fans was that he was almost totally bald and used to wear a toupee, never taking it off even when he went to bed. And he had two face lifts after being shocked how old he thought looked he looked on one of his TV shows.



He even persuaded Scott to have a face lift re-shaping his looks to make him look more like his son, as he wanted to adopt him.

The full truth about his life finally emerged a year after he died, when Scott wrote a searingly frank book about their relationship, and the new film is based on his story.

When I met Douglas and Damon after previewing the movie, I asked them why playing such daring roles and against type appealed to them so much.

‘It was a great love story’, explained Michael. ‘Those guys really fell for each other – and there were a lot of wonderful, funny moments and joyful moments. But it ultimately ended in tragedy when Scott became disillusioned with Liberace’s promiscuity.’

Both Douglas and Damon believe that in these days of lavish - but carefully manipulated - superstardom as practised by people like Madonna and Lady Gaga, nobody comes close to Liberace for over-the-top performing

Douglas was first approached to portray Liberace while he was acting the role of a drug tsar in the award-winning film Traffic (released in 2000) – a part which could not have been more contrasting than this one.

‘The director Steven Soderbergh’s suddenly said to me; “Have you ever thought about playing Liberace?” I thought he was messing with me.’

‘He had me a little paranoid for a moment and we joked about it. Steven remembers that I then tried to take off Liberace, imitating his voice with the way he used to say “Thank you very much”, with a wide smile on his face.’

Then Matt came on board, as Scott, and it looked as if the film would be given the green light, but prudish studio bosses at first rejected it, saying it was ‘just too gay’.

Finally, everyone agreed the time was right, but shooting was further delayed when Michael Douglas, who is married to British actress Catherine Zeta Jones, was diagnosed with cancer of the throat in 2010.

But he remained committed to the production, and was keen to return to it soon after being given the all-clear. Then all the parties agreed to wait one more year, allowing Matt Damon to make the sci-film Elysium.

To the end, Liberace never gave up publicly pretending to be avowedly heterosexual

Says Douglas, ‘I’d been fascinated by Liberace since I was 12 years old. ‘My dad (veteran actor Kirk Douglas) lived in Palm Springs, California and his house was near Liberace’s.

‘We were out in our car one day and pulled up at crossing next to this huge Rolls Royce convertible. Liberace – who everyone called Lee – was driving it, and we all said “Hi”.

‘I noticed that although it was an open-top car, his hair was not moving with the breeze. Later on I realised it was a wig. He was wearing so much gold jewellery, that his face was shimmering with the sun’s reflected light, and he looked spectacular!’

‘Then all those years later, when I knew I would be making this picture, I talked to my father and a lot of other people who knew him and discovered he was an extraordinary man, a generous host, and an amazing phenomenon. He was an even bigger star than Elvis Presley was in Las Vegas at that time.’

Both Douglas and Damon have more than 60 changes of costume throughout the film, each custom-made and based on the original entertainer’s elaborate wardrobe.

On stage, for one of his entrances, Liberace wore a £200,000 real fur coat, lined with £70,000 worth of sequins and Austrian crystals, with a l6 foot train. It weighed 100lbs and was driven off stage in a miniature version of his Rolls Royce. The coat Michael Douglas wears in the film to replicate that scene is made of fake fur, and weighs considerably less.

Another secret Liberace had managed to keep from his fans was that he was almost totally bald and used to wear a toupee

Says Douglas, ‘Everyone in the world knew Liberace , and this is the first time I’ve played a character that people had actually had heard of.

‘So I had a lot of trepidation, particularly because Lee was, big and broad-chested, and one of his thighs was the size of two of mine. So I was a little put off in terms of the physicality aspect of it.’

Liberace could play anything from the classics to pop and jazz, but Douglas is not a pianist. ‘Steven, the director, and I originally talked about the boogie woogie number which is important in the film, and Steven felt, “Look , if we can nail that, then we don’t have to keep going back to a lot of musical stuff”.

‘So I asked him to please find a number where there was a film of Liberace playing it so I could watch and replicate the hand movements. Because I can’t really play and I’m not going to learn.’

‘We’d started off with a piano teacher. I knew it wouldn’t work. So by having it on the screen, I could watch it and I could practice, and I could get my hands and little finger movements in the right places. Only an expert would have known I was faking it.’

And what was it like for Matt, being kissed by Michael Douglas, an actor who has made love to so many gorgeous women on screen?

Matt immediately burst out laughing at the recollection. ‘It was really wonderful, ‘ he says. ‘And in terms of being in bed with Michael Douglas, I now have things in common with Sharon Stone and Glenn Close! We can all trade stories!’

Damon explained that through prosthetics his looks were changed for the face lift sequence

Matt was only 17 when Liberace died, but remembers seeing him on TV. ‘I didn’t quite know what to make of him. He was in lots of programmes and you could see him everywhere, but he was much more of a presence in my mother’s life.

‘She told me that they would drop everything to watch him each time he was on TV. My grandmother was an excellent piano player and she loved watching him too.

‘He always seemed very enthusiastic and obviously a very arresting person to watch, because of the outfits. I just remember how fascinated my parents were watching him’.

He found the story of Scott’s relationship with Liberace compelling.

Scott , a simple 18-year-old country boy who enjoyed looking after and training dogs, first met Liberace when a friend introduced him to the entertainer in his dressing room, after watching his show at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Liberace invited him home to help treat his poodle who was unwell. Scott moved in, and lived with him as his lover for five years, all the time Liberace introducing him as his chauffeur. Scott was mesmerised by his new lifestyle of riches beyond his dreams, but finally for him, it was all going to turn devastatingly sour.

Matt was only 17 when Liberace died, but he remembers seeing him on TV

Says Matt, ‘I think Scott’s love for Liberace was genuine, but I think it was complicated. He was a vulnerable foster kid and was looking for a family – and Lee gave that to him. I think they had a profound love for each other.

‘It ended badly, but there were a lot of wonderful moments, a lot of ups and downs and a lot of things that everybody goes through in long-term relationships. I don’t think Scott had an angle. I think he genuinely fell for him, which is why he was hurt, ultimately.’

The love that they had for each other turned to violent arguing. Thorson was upset by Liberace’s promiscuity, his visits to gay bars for sex, and his obsession with pornography. Having come from a broken home, his insecurity took over as he was scared he was going to be replaced.

Worse still, he had developed an addiction to cocaine, kept a gun hidden, and would at times go on a rampage in the house. The final blow came in April l982, when Liberace brought an 18-year-old boy dancer home.

A jealous Thorson turned violent, locking himself away in one of the rooms, and smashing everything in view. Liberace had him forcibly evicted from his home and Thorson began a palimony suit against him for £250 million.

In December l986, Thorson unhappily settled for a payment of £50,000, two dogs, and two cars – one of them a gold Rolls-Royce.

By now, Liberace had become unwell and had just two months to live. He made his final stage appearance at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on November 2, l986, and his last TV appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Christmas Day, l986.

He then retreated to his home in Palm Springs and – in a forgiving mood - asked Scott to visit him Scott agreed to do so and was shocked to see how ill he had become. A few weeks later, Liberace died at the age of 67.

Scott couldn’t be in Cannes for the film’s premiere because at the time he was in prison in Nevada for credit card theft. He had been struggling for years with financial problems and a drug addiction brought on by something called the Hollywood Diet of cocaine, amphetamines and Quaaludes, prescribed to him by a surgeon when Liberace complained Scott was putting on weight after the young man’s face lift.

On stage, for one of his entrances, Liberace wore a £200,000 real fur coat, lined with £70,000 worth of sequins and Austrian crystals, with a 16 foot train

Damon explained that through prosthetics his looks were changed for the face lift sequence, where he had to have high cheek bones and a different shaped nose and a cleft in his chin. For his earlier scenes, he had to have a younger look and for that he had dental clampers in his mouth, to make his cheeks look more round.

For some scenes he had to strip off, but he says this didn’t bother him. ‘My bottom is very large in the frame, but it’s out of focus. I did warn every guy in the studio crew. I said, “listen, this is not something you can see and then forget. You are all welcome to look but I have to warn you, it will be seared in your memory!”’

Both Douglas and Damon believe that in these days of lavish – but carefully manipulated – superstardom as practised by people like Madonna and Lady Gaga, nobody comes close to Liberace for over-the-top performing.

‘Younger audiences might think Liberace is a figment of someone’s over-active imagination’, says Douglas. ‘But he was a real one-off. We’ll never see anyone like him again’.