Editing Liberace (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
[[File:LiberaceChristmasCostume.jpg|thumb|upright|Liberace's early-1980s Christmas costume, worn at the [[Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino|Las Vegas Hilton]] and [[Radio City Music Hall]]: Designed by Michael Travis, with fur design by Anna Nateece, the costume was one of many at the [[Liberace Museum]].]]
A participant in a formal classical music competition in 1937, Liberace was praised for his "flair and showmanship".<ref name=pyron46-54>Pyron, 2000, pp. 46–54.</ref> At the end of a traditional classical concert in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1939, Liberace played his first requested encore, the popular comedy song "[[Three Little Fishies]]". He later stated that he played the popular tune in the styles of several different classical composers.<ref name=pyron66>Pyron, 2000, p. 66.</ref> The 20-year-old played with the [[Chicago Symphony Orchestra]] on January 15, 1940, at the [[Pabst Theater]] in Milwaukee, performing [[Liszt]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Liszt)|Second Piano Concerto]] under the baton of [[Hans Lange (conductor)|Hans Lange]], for which he received strong reviews. He also toured in the Midwest.

From 1942 to 1944, Liberace moved from straight classical performance and reinvented his act to one featuring "pop with a bit of classics" or as he called it "classical music with the boring parts left out". In the early 1940s, he struggled in New York City, but by the mid- and late-1940s, he was performing in night clubs in major cities around the United States and "gained national exposure through his performance contracts with the [[Statler Hotels|Statler]] and [[Radisson]] hotel chains",<ref>James Gilbert Ryan, Leonard C Schlup, ''Historical Dictionary of the 1940s'' (2015), p. 227.</ref> largely abandoning classical music. He changed from a classical pianist to an entertainer and showman, unpredictably and whimsically mixing the serious with light fare, e.g., [[Chopin]] with "[[Home on the Range]]".<ref name=pyron77>Pyron, 2000, p. 77.</ref>

For a while, he played piano along with a [[phonograph]] <!-- record player --> on stage. The gimmick helped gain him attention. He added interaction with the audience—taking requests, talking with the patrons, making jokes, giving lessons to chosen audience members. He began to pay greater attention to such details as staging, lighting and presentation. The transformation to entertainer was driven by Liberace's desire to connect directly with his audiences, and secondarily from the reality of the difficult, top flight competition in the classical piano world.

In 1943, he began to appear in [[Soundies]] (the 1940s precursor to music videos). He recreated two flashy numbers from his nightclub act, the standards "[[Tiger Rag]]" and "[[Twelfth Street Rag]]". In these films, he was billed as Walter Liberace. Both Soundies later were released to the home-movie market by [[Castle Films]]. In 1944, he made his first appearances in Las Vegas, which later became his principal venue.<ref name=pyron90-94/>

He was playing at the best clubs, finally appearing at the [[Plaza Hotel#Persian Room|Persian Room]] in 1945, and ''Variety'' wrote "Liberace looks like a cross between [[Cary Grant]] and [[Robert Alda]]. He has an effective manner, attractive hands which he spotlights properly, and withal, rings the bell in the dramatically lighted, well-presented, showmanly routine. He should snowball into box office." ''The Chicago Times'' was similarly impressed: He "made like Chopin one minute and then turns on a [[Chico Marx]] bit the next."<ref name=pyron90-94>Pyron, 2000, pp. 90–94.</ref>

[[File:Liberace and O'hara - 1957.jpg|thumb|Liberace with actress [[Maureen O'Hara]] during a court hearing in 1957]]
During this time, Liberace worked to refine his act. He added the [[candelabrum]] as his trademark, inspired by a similar prop in the Chopin biopic ''[[A Song to Remember]]'' (1945).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/02/05/liberace-67-pianist-turned-one-man-musical-circus/ | title=Liberace, 67, Pianist Turned One-man Musical Circus' | newspaper=Chicago Tribune | date=February 5, 1987 | access-date=January 7, 2014 | author=Kart, Larry | archive-date=January 7, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107102102/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-02-05/news/8701090850_1_wladziu-valentino-liberace-pianist-circus | url-status=live }}</ref> He adopted Liberace as his stage name, making a point in press releases that it was pronounced "Liber-Ah-chee".<ref name=pyron96>Pyron, 2000, p. 96.</ref> He wore [[white tie and tails]] for better visibility in large halls. Besides clubs and occasional work as an accompanist and rehearsal pianist, Liberace played for private parties, including ones at the [[Park Avenue]] home of millionaire oilman [[J.&nbsp;Paul Getty]]. By 1947, he was billing himself as "Liberace—the most amazing piano virtuoso of the present day."<ref name=pyron79>Pyron, 2000, p. 79.</ref>

In 1953, Liberace signed with Louis Snader, a California theater owner and TV producer whose telescriptions—short film clips used as fillers on local stations across the country. Liberace was replacing [[Korla Pandit]] who parted ways with Snader due to a contract dispute. According to Eric Christiansen, the filmmaker who made Pandit's biopic: "[Liberace] used the same sets and took credit for his staring into the camera and breaking that wall. He felt like Liberace stole his soul."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Bradner |first1=Liesl |title=How a Black Man From Missouri Transformed Himself Into the Indian Liberace |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/122797/how-black-man-missouri-transformed-indian-liberace |magazine=New Republic |access-date=June 28, 2024 |archive-date=October 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021235350/http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122797/how-black-man-missouri-transformed-indian-liberace |url-status=live }}</ref>

Liberace had to have a piano to match his growing presence, so he bought a rare, oversized, gold-leafed [[Blüthner]] Grand, which he hyped up in his press kit as a "priceless piano".<ref name=pyron115>Pyron, 2000, p. 115.</ref> Later, he performed with an array of extravagant, custom-decorated pianos, some encrusted with [[rhinestone]]s and mirrors. He moved to the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood in 1947 and was performing at local clubs, such as [[Ciro's]] and [[Mocambo (nightclub)|The Mocambo]], for stars such as [[Rosalind Russell]], [[Clark Gable]], [[Gloria Swanson]] and [[Shirley Temple]]. He did not always play to packed rooms, and he learned to perform with extra energy to thinner crowds to maintain his enthusiasm.<ref name=pyron139>Pyron, 2000, p. 139.</ref>

Liberace created a publicity machine that helped to make him a star. Despite his success in the supper-club circuit, where he was often an intermission act, his ambition was to reach 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 and making him wealthy.

His New York City performance at [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] in 1954, which earned him a record $138,000 ({{Inflation|US|138000|1954|r=-4|fmt=eq}}) for one performance, was more successful than the great triumph his idol Paderewski had made 20 years earlier.<ref name=pyron161>Pyron, 2000, p. 161.</ref> He was mentioned as a sex symbol in [[The Chordettes]] 1954 No. 1 hit "[[Mr. Sandman]]". By 1955, he was making $50,000 per week ({{Inflation|US|50,000|1955|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) at the [[Riviera Hotel and Casino]] in Las Vegas and had over 200 official fan clubs with 250,000 members.<ref name=pyron162>Pyron, 2000, p. 162.</ref> He was making over $1&nbsp;million per year from public appearances and millions from television.<ref name=pyron161/> Liberace was frequently covered by the major magazines, and he became a pop-culture superstar, but he became the butt of jokes by comedians and the public.
[[File:Elvis and liberace.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Liberace with [[Elvis Presley]] in 1956]]
Liberace appeared on the March 8, 1956, episode of the TV quiz program ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'', hosted by [[Groucho Marx]], where he stated that he was the only person in the US registered to vote using only a single name.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAnrzg2aI3U&index=31&list=PLHaioNpr_GDbvsTj_taM-jO6C1658N1PC| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/DAnrzg2aI3U| archive-date=October 30, 2021|title=You Bet Your Life #55-24 Liberace; Groucho sings "I Love a Piano" (Secret word 'House', Mar 8, 1956)|date=November 6, 2013|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Music critics were generally harsh in their assessment of his piano playing. Critic Lewis Funke wrote after a Carnegie Hall concert, Liberace's music "must be served with all the available tricks, as loud as possible, as soft as possible, and as sentimental as possible. It's almost all showmanship topped by whipped cream and cherries." Even worse, to said critics, was his apparent lack of reverence and fidelity to the great composers. "Liberace recreates—if that is the word—each composition in his own image. When it is too difficult, he simplifies it. When it is too simple, he complicates it." They referred to his "sloppy technique" that included "slackness of rhythms, wrong tempos, distorted [[Phrase (music)|phrasing]], an excess of prettification and sentimentality, a failure to stick to what the composer has written."<ref name=pyron180>Pyron, 2000, p. 180.</ref>

Liberace once stated "I don't give concerts. I put on a show."<ref name=pyron272>Pyron, 2000, p. 272.</ref> Unlike the concerts of classical pianists that normally ended with applause and a retreat off-stage, Liberace's shows ended with the public invited on-stage to touch his clothes, piano, jewelry and hands. Kisses, handshakes, hugs and caresses usually followed.<ref name=pyron281>Pyron, 2000, p. 281.</ref> A critic summarized his appeal near the end of Liberace's life: "Mr. Showmanship has another more potent, drawing power to his show: the warm and wonderful way he works his audience. Surprisingly enough, behind all the glitz glitter, the corny false modesty, and the shy smile, Liberace exudes a love that is returned to him a thousand-fold."<ref name=pyron292>Pyron, 2000, p. 292.</ref>

==={{anchor|The Liberace Show}}Early television work and ''The Liberace Show''===
[[File:Liberace.jpg|thumb|Liberace performing in 1983]]
Liberace mostly bypassed radio before trying a television career, thinking radio unsuitable given his act's dependence on the visual.<ref name=pyron278>Pyron, 2000, p. 278.</ref> Despite his enthusiasm about the possibilities of television, Liberace was disappointed after his early guest appearances on ''The Kate Smith Show'' and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]'s ''Cavalcade of Stars'', with [[Jackie Gleason]]. Liberace was particularly displeased with the frenetic camera work and his short appearance time. He soon wanted his own show where he could control his presentation as he did with his club shows.<ref name=pyron132>Pyron, 2000, p. 132.</ref>

His first show on local television in Los Angeles was a smash hit, earning the highest ratings of any local show, which he parlayed into a sold-out appearance at the [[Hollywood Bowl]].<ref name=pyron141>Pyron, 2000, p. 141.</ref> It led to a summer replacement program for [[Dinah Shore]].

The 15-minute network television program ''The Liberace Show'' began on July 1, 1952, but did not lead to a regular network series. Instead, producer Duke Goldstone mounted a filmed version of Liberace's local show performed before a live audience for syndication in 1953 and sold it to scores of local stations. The widespread exposure of the syndicated series made the pianist more popular and prosperous than ever. His first two years' earnings from television netted him $7&nbsp;million, and on future reruns, he earned up to 80% of the profits.<ref name=pyron162/>

Liberace learned early to add "[[Schmaltz#Derived meanings|schmaltz]]" to his television show and to cater to the tastes of the mass audience by joking and chatting to the camera as if performing in the viewer's own living room. He used dramatic lighting, split images, costume changes and exaggerated hand movements to create visual interest. His television performances featured enthusiasm and humor.

Liberace employed "ritualistic domesticity", used by such early TV greats as [[Jack Benny]] and [[Lucille Ball]].<ref name=pyron145>Pyron, 2000, p. 145.</ref> His brother George often appeared as guest violinist and orchestra director, and his mother was usually in the front row of the audience, with brother Rudy and sister Angelina often mentioned to lend an air of "family". Liberace began each show in the same way, then mixed production numbers with chat, and signed off each broadcast softly singing "[[I'll Be Seeing You (song)|I'll Be Seeing You]]", which he made his theme song. His musical selections were broad, including classics, show tunes, film melodies, Latin rhythms, ethnic songs and [[boogie-woogie]].<ref name=pyron154>Pyron, 2000, p. 154.</ref>

The show was so popular with his mostly female television audience, he drew over 30 million viewers at any one time and received 10,000 fan letters per week.<ref name=pyron156>Pyron, 2000, p. 156.</ref> His show was one of the early ones to be shown on British commercial television in the 1950s, where it was broadcast on Sunday afternoons by [[Lew Grade]]'s [[Associated TeleVision]]. This exposure gave Liberace a dedicated following in the United Kingdom. Gay men found him appealing. Darden Asbury Pyron wrote "Liberace was the first gay person [[Elton John]] had ever seen on television; he became his hero."<ref name=pyron175>Pyron, 2000, [https://archive.org/details/liberaceamerican00pyro/page/175 p. 175.]</ref>

===After ''The Liberace Show''===
[[File:Liberace Museum.JPG|thumb|The Liberace Museum, Las Vegas, 2003]]
In 1956, Liberace had his first international engagement, playing successfully in Havana, Cuba. He followed with a European tour later that year. Always a devout Catholic, Liberace considered his meeting with [[Pope Pius XII]] a highlight of his life.<ref name=pyron-fig25>Pyron, 2000, figure 25</ref> In 1960, Liberace performed at the [[London Palladium]] with [[Nat King Cole]] and [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] (it was the first televised "[[Royal Command Performance|command performance]]", now known as the ''[[Royal Variety Performance]]'', for [[Queen Elizabeth II]]).

On July 19, 1957, hours after Liberace gave a deposition in his $25&nbsp;million libel suit against ''[[Confidential (magazine)|Confidential]]'' magazine, two masked intruders attacked his mother in the garage of Liberace's home in Sherman Oaks, California. She was beaten and kicked, but her heavy corset may have protected her from being badly injured. Liberace was not informed about the assault until he finished his midnight show at the [[Moulin Rouge]] nightclub. Guards were hired to watch over Liberace's house and the houses of his two brothers.

Despite successful European tours, his career had in fact been slumping since 1957, but Liberace re-built it by appealing directly to his fan base. Through live appearances in small-town [[supper club]]s, and with television and promotional appearances, he began to regain popularity. On November 22, 1963, he suffered kidney failure, reportedly from accidentally inhaling excessive amounts of [[dry cleaning]] fumes from his newly cleaned costumes in a dressing room, and he nearly died. He later said that what saved him from more injury was being woken by his entourage to the news that [[John F. Kennedy]] had been [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassinated]]. Told by doctors that his condition was fatal, he began to spend his entire fortune by buying extravagant gifts of furs, jewels, and even a house for friends, but then recovered after a month.<ref name=pyron250>Pyron, 2000, p. 250.</ref>

Re-energized, Liberace returned to Las Vegas, and increasing the glamor and glitz, he took on the [[sobriquet]] Mr. Showmanship.<ref name="LVS 2008-05-15">{{Cite news|url=https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/15/evolution-worlds-entertainment-capital/|title=Showtime: How Sin City evolved into 'The Entertainment Capital of the World'|last1=Koch|first1=Ed|last2=Manning|first2=Mary|date=May 15, 2008|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|access-date=March 3, 2019|last3=Toplikar|first3=Dave|archive-date=March 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043145/https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/15/evolution-worlds-entertainment-capital/|url-status=live}}</ref> As his act swelled with spectacle, he famously stated "I'm a one-man [[Disneyland]]."<ref name=pyron280>Pyron, 2000, p. 280.</ref> 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 especially talented, with juvenile acts including Australian singer [[Jamie Redfern]] and Canadian banjo player [[Scotty Plummer]].<ref name="pyron255,269">Pyron, 2000, pp. 255, 269.</ref> [[Barbra Streisand]] was the most notable new adult act he introduced, appearing with him early in her career.<ref name=pyron270>Pyron, 2000, p. 270.</ref>

Liberace's energy and commercial ambitions took him in many directions. He owned an antiques store in Beverly Hills, California, and a restaurant in Las Vegas for many years. He even published cookbooks; the most famous of which was ''Liberace Cooks'', co-authored by cookbook guru [[Carol Truax]], which included "Liberace Lasagna" and "Liberace Sticky Buns". The book features recipes "from his seven dining rooms" (of his Hollywood home).

Liberace's live shows during the 1970s and 1980s remained major box-office attractions at the [[Las Vegas Hilton]] and Lake Tahoe, where he earned $300,000 per week.

===Later television work===
Liberace made significant appearances on other shows such as ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', ''[[The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford]]'', [[Edward R. Murrow]]'s ''[[Person to Person]]'' as well as on the shows of Jack Benny and [[Red Skelton]], on which he often parodied his own persona. A new ''Liberace Show'' premiered on ABC's daytime schedule in 1958, featuring a less flamboyant, less glamorous persona, but it failed in six months as his popularity began slumping.<ref name=pyron202>Pyron, 2000, p. 202.</ref>

Liberace received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960 for his contributions to the television industry. He continued to appear on television as a frequent and welcomed guest on ''The Tonight Show'' with [[Jack Paar]] in the 1960s, with memorable exchanges with [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]] and [[Muhammad Ali]], and later with Johnny Carson.

He was [[Red Skelton]]'s 1969 CBS summer replacement with his own variety hour, taped in London. Skelton and Lew Grade's production companies co-produced this program. In a cameo on ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', he appeared at an [[avant-garde]] art gallery as himself, gleefully smashing a grand piano with a sledgehammer as [[Mike Nesmith]] looked on and cringed in mock agony.

In the ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' television series in 1966 with [[Adam West]] and [[Burt Ward]], Liberace played a dual role as concert pianist Chandell and his gangster-like twin Harry, who was extorting Chandell into a life of crime as Fingers, in the episodes "The Devil's Fingers" and "The Dead Ringers". The episodes of this two-part story were the highest-rated of all the show's episodes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eisner |first=Joel |date=1987 |title=The Official Batman Batbook |location=London |publisher=Titan Books |pages=78–79 |isbn=0-907610-97-8}}</ref>

His subsequent television appearances included episodes of ''[[Here's Lucy]]'' (1970), ''[[Kojak]]'' and ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' (both 1978), all as himself. His performances in the last of these included a "Concerto for the Birds", "Misty", "Five Foot Two" and a rendition of "[[Chopsticks (music)|Chopsticks]]". Television specials were made from Liberace's show at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1978-1979 which were broadcast on CBS.

In the 1980s, he guest-starred on television shows such as ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' (on a [[Saturday Night Live season 10|tenth-season]] episode hosted by [[Hulk Hogan]] and [[Mr. T]]) as well as the 1984 film ''Special People''. In 1985, he appeared at the first ''[[WrestleMania I|WrestleMania]]'' as the guest timekeeper for the main event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/1/celebrities |title=WrestleMania I: Celebrities |publisher=wwe.com |date=March 31, 1985 |access-date=April 9, 2013 |archive-date=August 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817101823/http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/1/celebrities |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Films===
{{more citations needed|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Liberace Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|Liberace in 1968]]
Before his arrival in Hollywood in 1947, Liberace wanted to add acting to his list of accomplishments. His exposure to the Hollywood crowd through his club performances led to his first movie appearance in Universal's ''[[South Sea Sinner]]'' (1950), a tropical island drama starring [[MacDonald Carey]] and [[Shelley Winters]], in which he was billed as "a [[Hoagy Carmichael]] sort of character with long hair".<ref name=pyron124>Pyron, 2000, p. 124.</ref> Liberace appeared as a guest star in two compilation features for [[RKO Radio Pictures]]. ''[[Footlight Varieties]]'' (1951) is an imitation-vaudeville hour and the little-known sequel ''Merry Mirthquakes'' (1953) featured Liberace as master of ceremonies.

In 1955, Liberace was at the height of his career when tapped by Warner Bros. for his first starring movie ''[[Sincerely Yours (film)|Sincerely Yours]]'' (1955), a remake of ''[[The Man Who Played God (1932 film)|The Man Who Played God]]'' (1932), as a concert pianist who turns his efforts toward helping others when his career is cut short by deafness. In April 1955, ''[[Modern Screen]]'' magazine claimed [[Doris Day]] had been most often mentioned as Liberace's leading lady, "but it is doubtful that Doris will play the role. Liberace's name alone will pack theatres and generous Liberace would like to give a newcomer a break." ([[Joanne Dru]], an established movie actress, was the leading lady.) When ''Sincerely Yours'' was released in November, the studio mounted an ad and poster campaign with Liberace's name in huge, eccentric, building-block letters above and much larger than the title. "Fabulously yours in his first starring motion picture!" was a tag line. The other players and staff were smallish at the bottom. The film was a critical and commercial failure because Liberace proved unable to translate his eccentric on-stage persona to that of a movie leading man. Warner quickly issued a [[pressbook]] ad supplement with new "Starring" billing below the title, in equal plain letters: "Liberace, Joanne Dru, [[Dorothy Malone]]". TCM's [[Robert Osborne]] recalls a dramatic demotion: When ''Sincerely Yours'' played first run at the Orpheum in Seattle, the billing was altered even more: Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, and [[Alex Nicol]] above the title (with big head shots of all three) and below the title in much smaller letters: "with Liberace at the piano". Originally, ''Sincerely Yours'' was meant to be the first of a two-picture movie contract, but it proved a massive box-office flop. The studio then bought back the contract, effectively paying Liberace not to make a second movie.

The experience left Liberace so shaken that he largely abandoned his movie aspirations. He made two more big-screen appearances, but only in cameo roles. These were ''[[When the Boys Meet the Girls (film)|When the Boys Meet the Girls]]'' (1965), starring [[Connie Francis]], where Liberace essentially played himself. He received kudos for his brief appearance as a casket salesman in ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' (1965), based on [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s satire of the funeral business and movie industry in Southern California.

===Recordings===
The massive success of Liberace's syndicated television show was the main impetus behind his record sales. From 1947 to 1951, he recorded 10 discs. By 1954, it jumped to nearly 70.<ref name=pyron157>Pyron, 2000, p. 157.</ref> He released several recordings through [[Columbia Records]], including ''Liberace by Candlelight'' (later on Dot and through direct television advertising) and sold over 400,000 albums by 1954. His most popular single was "Ave Maria", selling over 300,000 copies.<ref name=pyron153>Pyron, 2000, p. 153.</ref> His theme song was "[[I'll Be Seeing You (song)|I'll Be Seeing You]]", which he would customarily sing rather than play on any of his various pianos.

His albums included pop standards of the time, such as "[[Hello, Dolly! (song)|Hello, Dolly!]]" and included his interpretations of the classical piano repertoire such as Chopin and Liszt, but many fans of classical music widely criticized them (as well as Liberace's skills as a pianist in general) for being "pure fluff with minimal musicianship". In his life, he received six gold records.

===Final appearances===
[[File:Liberace grave.JPG|thumb|right|Liberace's tomb at Forest Lawn]]
Liberace's final stage performance was at New York's [[Radio City Music Hall]] on November 2, 1986;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberace.org/Live-Appearances.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914130633/http://www.liberace.org/Live-Appearances.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 14, 2010|title=Live Appearances|year=2009|publisher=Liberace Foundation and Museum|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> it was his 18th show over a tour of 21 days (from October 16), and the concert series grossed just over $2.5&nbsp;million at the theater box office.<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/05/obituaries/liberace-flamboyant-pianist-is-dead.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Liberace, Flamboyant Pianist, Is Dead |work=The New York Times |date=February 5, 1987 |last=Barron |first=James}}</ref> His final television appearance was on Christmas Day that same year on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', which had actually been videotaped in Chicago over one month earlier.<ref>Pyron, 2000, p. 401.</ref>