Wladziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 - February 4, 1987), better known by only his last name Liberace was a famous American entertainer and pianist of Polish and Italian descent. During the 1950s - 1970s (when Elvis Presley and The Beatles were at the height of their popularity), he was the highest paid entertainer in the world,

Liberace, known as "Lee" to his friends and "Walter" to family was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, a Milwaukee suburb, to Frances Zuchowska a Pole, and Salvatore Liberace an immigrant from Formia, Italy. He had a twin who died at birth and he was born with a caul, which in his family, as in many societies, was taken as a sign of genius and an exceptional future.

Liberace's father was a musician who played the French horn in bands and movie theaters but sometimes had to work as a factory worker or laborer. While his father encouraged music in the family, his mother was not musical and thought music lessons and a record player to be luxuries they couldn't afford, causing angry family disputes

Liberace began playing the piano at four and while his father took them to concerts to further expose the children to music, he was also a task master demanding high standards from the children in practice and performance. Liberace's prodigious talent was in evidence early. He memorized difficult pieces by age seven. He studied the technique of the famous Polish pianist and later family friend Paderewski and at eight, he met Paderewski backstage at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.

By the mid- and late 1940s, he was performing in night clubs in major cities around the United States. He changed from classical pianist to showman, unpredictably and whimsically mixing serious with light fare, Chopin with "Home on the Range."

During this time, Liberace worked tirelessly to refine his act. He added the candelabrum as a signature prop and adopted "Liberace" as his stage name, making a big point in his press releases that it was pronounced "Liber-Ah-chee". He dressed elegantly in white tie and tails to be better seen in large halls. Liberace created a very successful publicity machine which helped rocket him to stardom. In 1950, he performed for music-loving President Harry S. Truman in the East room of the White House.

Despite his great success in the supper-club circuit, where he was often an intermission act, his huge ambition was to reach even larger audiences as a headliner and a television, movie, and recording star. Liberace began to expand his act and made it more extravagant, with more costumes and a larger supporting cast. His large-scale Las Vegas act became his hallmark, expanding his fan base dramatically, and making him wealthy in short order.

By 1955, he was making $50,000 per week at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

After extensive global touring Liberace returned to Las Vegas, and, upping the glamor and glitz, he took on the sobriquet "Mr. Showmanship". As his act swelled with spectacle, he famously stated, "I'm a one-man Disneyland." The costumes became more exotic (ostrich feathers, mink, capes and huge rings), entrances and exits more elaborate (chauffeured onstage in a Rolls-Royce or dropped in on a wire like Peter Pan), choreography more complex (involving chorus girls, cars, and animals), and the novelty acts more varied (jugglers, magicians, hypnotists and puppeteers).

Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Liberace's live shows were major box office attractions in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace and eventually the Las Vegas Hilton where he would earn $300,000 a week.

If you have any information about the Vegas legend of entertainment please do contact us, we aim to update this section of the site as frequently as possible so that we can ensure as accurate as possible correct historic information.