Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace - Softcover

Thorson, Scott; Thorleifson, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988349485 ISBN 13: 9780988349483

Publisher: Tantor Media, Incorporated, 2013

Synopsis

In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about a legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality. Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace's early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia. His successes create a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo-"too much of a good thing is wonderful"-is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of twenty-six house dogs. Behind the Candelabra also reveals the details of the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson-whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image! This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS-and his deathbed reconciliation with Scott.

About this title

Review:

'It wasn't always a film but it was always a drama ... sensational' The Times.

'I haven't been involved in a movie where there's been so much attention beforehand' Michael Douglas.

'A champagne-dunked celebration of the excesses that made the man ... we're going to have a ball with this one' Guardian.

'A fascinating study in one man's ability to create his own rhinestone-studded reality' The Sunday Times.

About the Author:

Scott Thorson became famous for his relationship with and lawsuit against Liberace and his testimony against gangster Eddie Nash. He currently lives in Nevada.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tantor Media, Incorporated
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0988349485
• ISBN 13: 9780988349483
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244