Beyond The Candelabra

Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️ On February 3rd, 1979 Liberace hosted his first and only Valentine’s Day special on CBS. Liberace – A Valentine Special aired at 10pm EST and featured guest stars Lola Falana and Sandy Duncan as Liberace’s friends and fellow performers.

A kitschy celebration of all things Valentine’s, the special was particularly notable for its setting aboard the Queen Mary – a now-historic British ocean liner which Liberace loved and had traveled on during his first trip to London in 1956. “Planes weren’t quite as spacious then as they became with the 747s and I had a lot to take over with me,” he explained in his autobiography. “[But] I had a secondary reason for wanting to cross by boat. I felt that because of the rising popularity of trans-oceanic air travel, the great liners, that took so much longer, were on their way to the dry docks or into the cruise trade. I wanted to ride on one while it was still everything it was built to be. And I sure got what I wanted; I had a ball all the way from New York Harbor to Southampton.”

Liberace also appeared to have a ball filming his Valentine’s Day special which was primarily filmed on the Queen Mary’s decks and in its heart-covered showroom. Additional scenes for the special were shot outside at Las Vegas Hilton, the Liberace Museum, and Liberace’s near-by home on Shirley Street. Liberace’s then-partner Scott Thorson would also make three brief appearances in the special: once as the chauffeur who drives Liberace from his hot air balloon to the Hilton, again as the chauffeur who escorts Liberace’s Borzois from his Vegas home to the Queen Mary, and finally as an audience member who’s briefly shown watching Liberace, Lola Falana, and Sandy Duncan perform in the ship’s showroom.

Reviews for A Valentine Special were as mixed as usual with the Washington Star’s Bernie Harrison calling it “funny” and “a good show” and The Guardian’s Nancy Banks-Smith knocking it as “not down to Liberace’s usual standard.” Banks-Smith did, however, pay Liberace one major compliment which he undoubtedly would’ve appreciated if he ever read her review. “Liberace is, according to the record, 58, though I can honestly say he doesn’t look it,” she opined. Liberace was actually 59 and set to turn 60 when he shot his Valentine Special – a significant milestone which he appeared keenly aware of when he joked to an audience member that he was actually: “39 plus tax!”

While none of the performances in this special are career stand-outs for Liberace, his endearing stage presence coupled with the show’s campy set-ups, fabulous costumes, and heart-themed decorations keep it fun and entertaining. Liberace’s entrance in a hot air balloon makes for one particularly great moment made even greater by the fur-trimmed flight goggles and mink jacket he arrives decked out in. “This has been one small step for man, and one giant step for a piano player from Milwaukee!” he declares after planting an American flag in the parking lot.

You can watch Liberace – A Valentine Special for free here! Thanks as always to Liberace Girl for the extensive archive of Liberace videos she’s maintained on Youtube for several years. I know we’d all love to see the Valentine’s special and Leapin’ Lizards fully restored in 4K some day!

Songs featured:

• Chopin medley
• Gershwin medley
• “Lover,” Rodgers and Hart
• “It’s Not Where You Start it’s Where You Finish” (Sandy Duncan)
• “You’re the One That I Want” (Lola Falana)
• “Boogie Woogie”
• “I’ll Be Seeing You”

Major costumes and outfits featured:

CBS TV promo for the special: