1970s
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Liberace, Hugh Borde, and The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band
Happy Black History Month! 🧑🏾🎓🇹🇹🛢️ Throughout his career, Liberace was privileged to know and work with some of entertainment’s most iconic black performers including Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Nina Simone, Lola Falana, and Shirley Bassey. Lesser known, but no less significant, was Liberace’s friendship with Hugh Borde – an Afro-Caribbean musician and band… Continue reading
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Finocchio’s and the “Liberace Effect”
Happy Pride Month everyone! 🌈✨ This week, I thought I’d kick things off by sharing a piece from my collection which has a special place in both gay and Liberace history: a Liberace-autographed menu from the “fabulous” legendary drag club Finocchio’s! Originally opened as a speakeasy back in 1920s San Francisco, Finocchio’s would undergo its… Continue reading
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Liberace: Punk Rocker?
Happy 2025 everybody! Recently, I came across this funny (and perhaps apocryphal) newspaper article from the Staffordshire Evening Sentinel which details Liberace’s visit to a punk clothing shop in London on May 21st, 1983. While the article doesn’t specify which punk clothing shop Liberace may have visited, my friend and punk history blogger The Hotter… Continue reading
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Liberace’s Iconic Hot Pants
Happy 4th of July to one of Liberace’s most iconic and well-known costumes – his bedazzled red, white, and blue hot pants! First purchased as a gag in the early 1970s, Liberace’s hot pants were originally intended as a “satirical” response to emerging trends in clothing and fashion that he believed were beginning to encroach… Continue reading
Beyond The Candelabra 