Liberace

Las Vegas, 1950s-1980s

Born
1919, Wisconsin, as Wladziu Valentino Liberace
Died
February 4, 1987, at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 67
Las Vegas debut
November 1944, at the Hotel Last Frontier
First Las Vegas pay
His $750-a-week contract was torn up and doubled to $1,500 after opening night
Las Vegas Hilton
Opened there in 1972 at a reported $300,000 a week
Final Las Vegas engagement
Two weeks at Caesars Palace in August 1986
Liberace Foundation
Founded by Liberace in 1976 to support young performers and artists
Liberace Museum
Opened in 1979 on East Tropicana Avenue; closed in 2010
Nickname
"Mr. Showmanship"
Where to see his legacy today
Liberace Garage on Dean Martin Drive, open daily

About

Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in November 1944 at the Hotel Last Frontier, handing out flyers on Fremont Street that asked, "Have You Heard Liberace?" According to a Review-Journal profile, he sized up his first audience, swapped classical pieces for boogie-woogie and popular tunes, and was rewarded when entertainment director Maxine Lewis tore up his $750-a-week contract and gave him one for $1,500. He went on to sign a 10-year deal with the hotel.

Las Vegas was where he built the persona that made him famous. The Nevada State Museum notes that he developed his act and the nickname "Mr. Showmanship" here, with elaborate costumes by well-known designers. What began as a white tuxedo and a gold lamé jacket grew into capes, furs, rhinestones, cars driven onstage and dancing waters. He said Nevada was one of the few places with stages that could handle such productions.

In 1972 he opened at the Las Vegas Hilton for a reported $300,000 a week, more than any other Las Vegas headliner, and made Las Vegas his legal residence, playing about 16 weeks a year here. He created his foundation in 1976 and opened the Liberace Museum on East Tropicana Avenue in 1979 to display his costumes, pianos and cars. His final Las Vegas engagement was two weeks at Caesars Palace in August 1986, and he died on February 4, 1987.

The museum closed in 2010 amid what the Review-Journal described as financial ruin, but the Liberace Foundation still owns the collection and his intellectual property. Pieces have since been exhibited in Las Vegas and internationally, and much of the collection is on show again at the Liberace Garage.

What to expect

The Liberace Garage, a 10,000-square-foot space on Dean Martin Drive at the back of the Hollywood Cars Museum, displays his cars, pianos and other belongings. The Liberace Foundation says it is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Highlights reported by the Review-Journal include the 1961 Rolls-Royce he used for his entrance at the Las Vegas Hilton, a convertible covered in 84,000 Austrian crystals, and costumes from the 2013 film "Behind the Candelabra".

More of the collection is stored at Thriller Villa, a former Michael Jackson residence that is not open to the public; the foundation offers tours there by advance arrangement only. The original museum site on Tropicana Avenue is now a strip mall.

More people who shaped Las Vegas

Las Vegas history

Good to know

  • Bugsy Siegel reportedly tried to lure Liberace from the Last Frontier to the Flamingo in 1947 by offering to double his $2,000 weekly salary; Siegel was killed a few months later.
  • His flame costume, built for his 1979 Las Vegas Hilton show, weighs 180 pounds.
  • The Liberace Foundation is run largely by volunteers and depends on donated space and ticket sales, according to its chairman.
  • Liberace's 1950s television program, The Liberace Show, reached more than 30 million viewers, according to the Nevada State Museum.
  • Check the Liberace Foundation's website before visiting; exhibits rotate and some are by guided tour.

Questions about Liberace

When did Liberace first perform in Las Vegas?

Liberace made his Las Vegas debut in November 1944 at the Hotel Last Frontier on what became the Strip. He promoted his own show by handing out flyers on Fremont Street. Opening night went so well that the hotel tore up his $750-a-week contract and paid him $1,500, and he later signed a 10-year contract there.

Is the Liberace Museum still open?

The original Liberace Museum, which opened on East Tropicana Avenue in 1979, closed in 2010. The Liberace Foundation still owns the collection, and much of it is on display at the Liberace Garage on Dean Martin Drive near the Strip, which the foundation says is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More pieces are kept at Thriller Villa, which is not open to the public.

What can you see at the Liberace Garage?

The Liberace Garage shows his cars, pianos, costumes and photographs. The Review-Journal highlighted the 1961 Rolls-Royce he used for his entrance at the Las Vegas Hilton, a convertible covered in 84,000 Austrian crystals, the Royal Blue and Gold Steinway he played at the Hilton and Radio City, and costumes from the HBO film "Behind the Candelabra". It sits behind the Hollywood Cars Museum.

How much was Liberace paid in Las Vegas?

His first Las Vegas contract, at the Last Frontier in 1944, paid $750 a week until the hotel doubled it to $1,500 after opening night. When he opened at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1972 he was reportedly paid $300,000 a week, which the Review-Journal says was more than any other Las Vegas headliner earned at the time.

Did Liberace live in Las Vegas?

Yes. Las Vegas became his legal residence in the 1970s, and he owned several homes here, including two adjoining tract houses he joined into one lavishly decorated mansion. He played Las Vegas about 16 weeks a year at that time. He died at his home in Palm Springs, California, on February 4, 1987.