Liberace's father was a French horn player for the Milwaukee Symphony.
Liberace's favourite song was "The Impossible Dream", because he truly mastered the art of believing. He made a dream come true. During his career, Liberace earned two Emmys and five gold million best seller albums.
License plate on one of his Rolls-Royces: "88 KEYS"
Made his very last public appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show: Episode dated 25 December 1986" (1986) almost 6 weeks before his death.
Many of his pianos, cars, jewelry and costumes are on display in the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip. Funds from the admissions to the non-profit museum go to The Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, which awards music scholarships.
Mentioned in the song "Mr. Sandman" written by [error]: "And [give him] lots of wavy hair like Liberace.".
Owned pianos previously owned by Frederic Chopin and George Gershwin, as well as an inlaid and ormolued Louis XV desk that may have been owned by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
Shortly after Liberace's death the London Daily Mirror asked for a refund of the $24,000 libel settlement it had paid him in 1959.
Successfully sued the London "Daily Mirror" in 1959 after it published an article by columnist "Cassandra" which said that Liberace was "fruit-flavoured" (gay), which he strongly denied in court and insisted that homosexuality was an "abomination".
The British Flag car, the "Shaguar" used in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a take off on Liberace's American Flag car. There is a reference later on in the film to Liberace: "Who'd have thought Liberace was gay?"
The episodes of the TV series "Batman" (1966) on which Liberace guest starred as "Chandel"/"Harry", "Batman: The Devil's Fingers (#2.15)" (1966) and "Batman: The Dead Ringers (#2.16)" (1966), were the highest-rated in the show's history. By all accounts, he got along well with the cast and crew and would play impromptu recitals at the end of each day's filming.
The phrase "I cried all the way to the bank!" was said to be first coined by him after he sued and won a $22,000 settlement from the London Daily Mirror in 1959.
Was parodied in Al Capp's comic strip "L'il Abner" as "Loverboynik".
Was parodied in several Bugs Bunny cartoons.
When filming a TV special in England he made a point of learning the name of all the production crew, years later when he returned to make another show he was still able to greet every crew member by name.
When he opened Las Vegas' Riviera Casino-Hotel in 1954, he was the city's highest paid entertainer. That concert was the first one where he wore extravagant costumes (He wore a gold llame jacket).
While born "Wladziu Valentino Liberace", he later changed his first name to "Walter", but his friends and relatives knew him as "Lee".
While wildly successful and good natured outwardly, Liberace was a complicated man whose political, social and religious conservatism existed side-by-side with a lifetime of secretive homosexuality.
Would often remark that he'd like the viewer/audience member to "Meet my brother George".