Liberace: too much of a good thing is wonderful! BBC

[dldl43b]

A monster pianist, may he rest in peace.

[19GirlBad]

Liberace died of HIV!

[balto4]

Liberace just seemed to be a very sweet man,very kind to everyone. I loved him for that,and that made him attractive to me

[ftjax]

I saw him perform in Las Vegas at Ceasar's in 1971...packed house..he didn't disappoint.....

[phoenixliv]

He was so fabulous, how could he not be gay! He's so funny! Wish I could have seen him in concert!

[GTBurns48215]

In many ways Michael Jackson's life and death mirrored Liberace in many ways.

Secrecy, genius talent, garish costumes, Liberace probably inspired MJ to an extent.

[thompsondean]

does anyone know the name of the backgound music that plays at the 2.31 mark Thanks

[Theghostman248]

aww!! gasp!! liberace is gay!! aah!! no dip assholes & bitches i support the gays 

[michaelcsm]

Liberace gave it all to his audience.. He gave them what they wanted.. He was the person they wanted.. Just leave his private life alone. He paid his dues..

[granskare]

I recall being an usher at the local theatre when he performed...a friend and I even had a foto with him - that was in the early 1960s...that's about I recall.

[drsteverey]

I don't care a darn bit if he was "what ever", I don't even care if he were a goshdarn allien. He was a great musician. No one, absolutely no one even deserves to walk in his shadow. Who cares about who or what he loved. No, really, who cares. RIP.

[PennnSmith]

Liberace is possibly the greatest human being of all. If individuality, courage, talent and laughter counts, he is.

[balto4]

PennSmith: I agree,he was an amazing person,he was a very unique person and that's what made him special. I am younger than most fans(I'm still in my 20's)call me weird but my favourite artists are Liberace and Barbra Streisand

[JubalCalif]

Liberace...idol of millions....well-known American he man....gay? Liberace of the homosexual persuasion? Now that's quite a bizarre charge. The next thing you'll be saying is that Richard Simmons is gay! Oh, the outlandish rumors that one comes across on the internet!

[moogsource]

Anyone got a copy of this programme on dvd that I can buy??

[AshFromCan]

1:10 oh. my. god.

[Dragontattoolord]

Everybody who is famous has immediately enemies and people who are jealous. He was a genious a fantastic pianist and entertainer. Private life should be private. And if he was gay - where is the problem??? I am also gay but I am not a genious, neither famous. So nobody is interested.That´s the point. Everybody wants to find the "scandals" when a person is in the limelight. Especially the press. For me Liberacé is like a father. He had all I will never have. Hope to meet you in haeven once. RIP

[85mariapatricia]

@Dragontattoolord read the book "behind the candelabara" by his lover scott thorson it is amazing

[fellatio24]

He gives me the creeps !

[swingmusic001]

May you continue to live in your well-deserved peace Mr. Showmanship!!!

You spoke to you fans and followers and your legacy lives on!! You came from nothing and became everything!

Ciao my friend!!

[carolbayly]

Scott Thorson is not his real name, but he is a liar, a theif, a jail bird. As a matter of fact, he is still in jail. He took full advantage of this "Gentile" man Liberace.

[jdurr4]

No matter what what things he may  have done to make him seem gay there is still no actual proof! You dont have to be gay to have aids.

I am not denying anything it's just sort of profiling.

[alecsmith]

Being gay isn't a terrible thing, but you have to remember that in the 40s,50s and 60s (possibly the 70s and 80s, depending what side of the Atlantic you were on, it was illegal!)

It's hardly surprising he didn't admit to it, especially as he had such a high profile.

He did have a long term relationship with a man, but took on several lovers and in the end, caught AIDS by having unsafe sex. It's tragic but it happens.

RIP Liberace

[louwil65]

Read a book called: "Behind the Candelabra," by Scott Thorson. It tells all. Too many details in the book to be made up.

[carolbayly]

jdurr4, what happened to all your video. They just disappeared from this list. I am looking for the song that was on the sad interview when Lee died...Never Say Goodbye Say Ciao.

[porshalenee]

the body was ordered back because someone did all they could to avoid putting his actual cause of death (AIDS) oh his death certificate

[pronkking]

what I have to say is neither here nor there in the big scheme of things but I know this: if there hadn't been a MAN named "Liberace",there would not have been any opulence in Vegas. There is a difference between "flash" and opulence...Liberace was "opulent". And i would venture to say that his being as out as you can be without saying it, opened doors for the Boy Georges, the Sylvesters, the Elton Johns and the Siegfreid & Roys...ALL of them owe him a BIG THANK YOU.God Bless Liberace.

[DamnIHateYTubeTwo]

I wonder how Michael Douglas will play him...

[tnmtemerity]

I wonder why the government ordered the autopsy - just part of the scare of HIV in that decade or what - the documents laying out the reasons why it was necessary would be interesting to see.

[ittsbadabing]

who cares if he was a cat or a dog, he was incredibly, and will live on forever. there r more straight people living with the virus

[louwil65]

Why were so many people concerned with what he did in his PRIVATE bedroom? Do people ask you?

[michaelgadsby]

Well said.

[Dogheadj]

It hasn't destroyed his image with me, as mentioned in the video. I love Liberace; he was a magnificent entertainer. And yes, I'm straight.

[stillgotit01]

(2 of 2)His parents didn't like it but he did it anyway. I don't understand how an autopsy can be forced by the authorities unless Lee's will wasn't written properly. I don't remember hearing that his death involved any violence and as far as I know that's the only way the authorities can force an autopsy. The need for the authorities to know he was gay is just ridiculous.

[stillgotit01]

(1 of 2)I have gay friends who treat me better most "straight" people I know. Gay people are in all walks of life and not predators like most think. They are often very intelligent and talented. I heard Liberace say in an interview that even tho he was trained to play the classics he preferred to entertain the people and wanted to play in a manner that entertained them.

[pianoplayeruk]

There must have been another reason. perhaps they suspected drug abuse. i know it sounds crazy and implausible, but governments have a real knack of doing what they please..

[stillgotit01]

Ray Carillo the coroner of the mortuary in Palm Springs did 8 or 9 press conferences after the autopsy results were known. He said the autopsy made him world famous so it sounds like he did it for the fame. You can find the video if you look in the window at the right titled Liberace: Autopsy Revealing Secrets. I have no respect for coroners and think the media are a bunch of jerks too.

[dufferinmall]

what song is he playing?

[kapteinsolskinn]

A prelude by Rachmaninov. C# minor.

[kinura26]

I forget but it's by Chopin

[pianoplayeruk]

No its not Chopin.

It's the Rachmaninov prelude in C# minor Op.3 No.2.

[burgy76]

It makes me sad that this great entertainer was denied the right to keep his private life private, particularly after his death. May he rest in peace.

[pianoplayeruk]

Hear Hear.

[carlosmmora]

Liberace made choices in his life which he had ever right in the world to do, for it was HIS life. I remember him fondly as a great entertainer and musician. Like everyone, he had his own personal demons to deal with, and I believe he did what he could to deal with his personal prejudices. Let no one take away from him what he did so well-he entertained us all.

[TheGreatRichter]

This was a very moving documentary of one of the most charismatic entertainers of the 20th Century which I remember being broadcast on BBC2.His musical legacy I don't think has being recognised as fully as it should have been.He was an all rounder, not stifled or confined to one style of playing but versatile enough to play all kinds of playing but with a classical undertone to most of his playing which worked really well.

[Obelisk2290]

Liberace gay? Stop the presses. So what? It was his life

[yourugua2008]

That's just what I thought!

[STRAPHMARK]

So what if Liberace didn't want the world to know he was gay that was his choice, and if people judged him on his sexuality and not his talent more fool them!

[toptth]

what's the point of this documentary? does it honour liberace for his influence on modern television? does it pay tribute to his fantastic abilities as a piano player and his unique style? no it doesn't!

So he was gay, and? So he didn't want to run around and tell everyone. So what?

And who the * is Ray Mungo? This documentary and the people who made it make me sick. I wish I could take their coffee away from them in the morning.

[infodisinfo]

I think the point is made in the very first minute of the video, it's an expose Is that hard to figure out? Listen my opinion of Lib is simple, by all accounts he was kind, generouse man and great entertainer. But lets keep it real his influence on modern TV stopped with the death of the glitzy variety show and as for his piano skills he was good but he was not fantastic. People never went to hear him play, or sing they went to be entertained by a great showman not an outstanding musician!

[gwolfff]

This is humor.

[PhilipLWilcher]

In the early nineties I had the great honour of staying in Mr. Liberace's Palm Spring home.

I'm a composer. If you google my name - Phillip Wilcher - and access my website, amongst the Tribute Pages of my website is a memoir titled "A Sequin of Events" - I hope you enjoy reading it. Blessings everyone!

[SomemillinWISC]

A 1963 Hearse for their shitty reinactment?

Who the F%#* is the BBC to judge any entertainer?

"For One Great Talent there is a Thousand Untalented

Critcs!".

[toptth]

not even now can they give him the respect he deserves and let him rest in peace.

[MightySaturn5]

...it was one of those obvious things-he was gay however no one really seemed to care. I think he was accepted as he was long before it was ok to come out because he was such a decent human being

[IRONCLICK]

and I heard you're living without one.

[marysdri]

Who cares if Liberace was gay? His audience certainly didn't -- as long as no one mentioned it. If he had been straight, he wouldn't have had a multi-million-dollar career, built up from equal parts of imagination, fabulous keyboard chops and willingness to make a fool of himself.

[nolo1973]

Imagine how much more a person can contribute to society if he was accepted in it and not spending his energies hiding it or shoring up his self esteem from having people tearing it down. It doesn't only hurt the gay or lesbian person but it hurts everyone. One less song to put memories to or one less invention or one less cure. Just because it make you feel uncomfortable? Those are the consequences. Then I hear people wondering why the world is so messed up.

[plinkertoys]

That's my four favorite words.....and goos ones to live by. :)

[webjewels]

When you dress prettier than 90% of the women in the audience, there's a good chance you are gay. He was a great showman and entertainer.

[LIBqueen]

"too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL!" DUHHH of course he's gay!

[whitola]

Nice compassionate review. It shows your intelligence.

Well written.

[NotATube]

walterfive; that as may be, it wasn't something that most people thought or implied.

[riclat]

Liberae was gay....i cant beleve it. no way you must be wrong (lol)

[plinkertoys]

Then again.... who did you vote for....LOL!! And who is the lover?? Big deal if he was gay.... Lincoln had slaves. The first President did tell lies, and the saga continues...

But does anyone know who was Liberaces lover?

Yuh, Sulu looked gay to me.

But Clay??

Oh, and let's not talk about Rock Hudson...

Who, was another ladies man.

I can see why Liberace wanted to die with his secret.

That does not make him < than.

[NotATube]

Yeah that's funny, except that no-one considered "that guy from Wham" (I assume you mean George Michael, not Andrew Ridgely) to be gay before that incident made his sexuality public knowledge. Different times? Well, it only happened in the late 1990s, by which time homosexuality was already far more accepted and mainstream. You'd expect people even then to have known if it was that obvious.

[ChampUSC]

Clay Aiken is another suspect.

[sprintbass]

i feel like his main crop of fans were older people...its a generation thing..a bunch of old ladies knew nothing about homosexuality...but i do remember liberance and rock hudson dying when i was a teenager and that blew the aids thing open a bit too...its sad 20 years later

[bostonconvic]

liberace is the gay of gays. He is what made gay!

[goodchessactor]

I liked Liberace and his music but it took me about 5 seconds to discover he was gay. Why the surprise?

[alethio2k]

What song is that?

[ChocolateExplosion]

people who'd seen him - didn't think he was gay !!!

what???

dressed in a fur coat, quoting mae west???

right

[homousios]

Is that him playing Rachmaninoff? Excerllent!

[sneakyman149]

he had his assistant(who was also his lover and chauffer, and housekeeper, sliced and diced plastik surgery style untill he looked like a young liberace., now that is NARCCISTIC rage at its best!

[tarazod]

The Red Fairy says she thinks Liberace was the perfect man.

[OnABeach]

pretty good

[Pablo668]

Liberace was a mans man. Man distilled. A bit like Freddie Mercury or Elton John or even George Takei. Total manliness...like that movie Spartacus.

[BaronVerulam1618]

Mr Sulu was gay?

[Pablo668]

That Sir is a slanderous lie!

[NotATube]

BaronVerulam1618; no, he said that George Takei was gay (which is true; the guy came out a couple of years back, and it had apparently been an open secret for a long time).

As for the character of Sulu being gay, who knows? Was there any implication either way?- I can't remember, but I do know that there's nothing stopping a gay actor from playing a straight character. Or did you have trouble believing in Hannibal Lecter because Anthony Hopkins isn't a serial killer in real life? ;-)

[BaronVerulam1618]

WHAT? You'll be telling me them lesbians in the secret section of my dvd collection aren't gay next.

[frostlinesouth]

I remember Him He was a great showman very good. I always hear he was a kind man. Gay or not who cares? if a person is good that is all that matters!

[cdrad51]

Yeah, or Elton John!

[suckadick69]

LIBERACE WAS GAY???? HOLY SHIT! next they'll try and tell me freddy mercury was too...

[Zebonka]

Don't be absurd!

[Nickbezonders]

The road to Palm Springs is paved and six-times larger than anything you'd find in the UK or Europe. So why are they driving that old hearse on those dirt roads.

[Coconutpro]

You gotta catch "Vampire - Out of the Coffin"

[chabenn01]

jajaj con solo miralo se notaba que era homosexual.

[simplyphenomenal]

Liberace was gay!? No way! lol

[MYSTICDI]

wow, so sad. live and let live.

[ancestralyuba]

I remember Liberace very well. Yes, he was "fruity as a nutcake."

I watched his television show and his talk show appearances for years, and he was always very gracious and never spoke an unkind word about anyone.

[RadioFreeSpike]

Ancestralyuba, I remember a Liberace appearance on "The David Letterman Show" here in the States. Letterman was kind of poking fun at him, but he didn't take the bait, but kept his cool and kept on talking about cooking. To him, maybe it was all part of the game of keeping in the public spotlight.

[ancestralyuba]

He won a libel suit in London when a reporter used the quote I made above: "fruity as a nutcake."

That was back in the days when homosexual activity was just...unthinkable to most people.

I guess he had his torments. But they were never displayed in public. He was a great musician and an excellent showman.

[spidermanpower]

I LLOVE U

[Zurath]

Who cares what Liberace did in his private life? And just who didn't know he was gay? I knew when I was a kid. He was a musical genius, that is all that matters. I miss hearing him play even to this day. NO ONE has come even close to being able to play like he did. Give it up, move on, let him rest in peace. No one gives a crap what his sexual preference was, it was his music that mattered. The world lost a great deal the day Liberace died.

[Coconutpro]

You gotta catch "Vampire - Out of the Coffin."

[gnamp]

I wonder how exactly he went about trying to hide his homosexuality...

[NotATube]

He actually sued (and won against) one newspaper columnist who had heavily implied that he was gay.

[gnamp]

The point I was making is he didn't 'appear' to be making much of an effort to hide the fact. I know when his piano was sold, it made millions at auction (but I heard they could give the stool away....)

[meganjerai]

Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and the 3 Blind Mice could see that HE was gay. I was expecting some other secret...lol

[Eazy2C]

lmao! I agree, even Beethoven said "Damn that guy is gayer than gay!"

[Angiedodd333]

Megan, you are too funny!!! I,too, was expecting a major "secret"! Helen Keller could not have been fooled by this guy!

[meganjerai]

Haha...her too

[41vidbarber]

41vidbarber

He was a musical genius - whatever else he was is of no importance. I play his music often.

[freetoliv]

Best to view him in his hotpants outfit,on stage,then question if he gave a second thought to what any other person thought,especially come pay day. He in short was what all americans view as s freak show it always is , check out cable tv and natch you tube. Its what we love not his person.

[reichmarshall]

I still find it hysterical that people look at his stage show and think, "Really? He was gay?"

[STRAPHMARK]

The man was a musical genius,what he did in his private life was his business nobody else's

[sandwich81]

That fur coat of his is out of control.

[g0fvt]

Sadly UK television is a bit obsessed by maligning the dead, they have a tendency not to sue! Amongst the crooks, wife-beaters and outright criminals it seems they have obsessed over a private section of someones life. I don't think the documentary said anything that people had not guessed anyway..

[nashartboy]

A bit disrespectful towards a man who worked very hard to make a lot of people happy.

[dingorex]

Destroy his image? Everyone suspected his predilections. BBC worldwide is like something I ate and dropped. Do a scandal piece mocking Monty Python's Graham Chapman you steaming nits. Bugger off.