Scott's World -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Genuine flamboyance is lacking in Tinseltown as never before.

Not since the heyday of Liberace has Hollywood produced a crazy as celebrated as the bejeweled, fur-coated dimpled pianist.

Except for nutty basketballer Dennis Rodman, who donned a wedding gown to marry, the land of the nut and fruit has been relatively sane.

In a community notorious for eccentric celebrities from John Barrymore to Elvis Presley, Liberace took the cake. The rotund entertainer loved himself as few men ever have. He was a superb ham who created a mama's boy of epic dimensions.

Americans can see "Legendary Liberace" March 2, a 75-minute KOCE special featuring numerous performance clips from his '50s TV series. It was taped at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas.

Appropriately, Jo Ann Castle of the Lawrence Welk Show will host the special. Appropriate because Welk and Liberace were kings of corn, appealing to middle America's middle-aged and seniors.

Welk was a North Dakota-born son of German immigrants with a Teutonic accent that made the kraut vaudeville team of Weber and Fields sound like Etonian dons.

Bandleader Welk, who played the accordion, and pianist Wladziu Valentino Liberace, of Polish derivation, were contemporaries but had little in common except an ability to pluck American heartstrings. Welk was simply eccentric while Liberace was a true loony when performing.

Both were masters of their musical instruments but viewers were fascinated by their individual idiosyncratic personalities.

Sophisticates were bewildered by their success but they had only to look at their fans to comprehend the fact that millions of Americans preferred simple (minded) entertainment over what passed for slick New York-Hollywood sophistication.

Liberace was the darling of blue-haired matrons, a surrogate son with faultless manners who spoke tenderly of his own mother.

To elderly male viewers, often forced to sit still for the show by their wives, he was funny and off-center.

Jim Scalem, co-producer with JoAnn Young of KOCE's Liberace show, said, "We came to appreciate Liberace's ability as a musician and his fantastic abilities as a showman.

"The basis of the show is the early '50s black-and-white TV series, which was syndicated. We include a lot of performance excerpts.

"In those days his basic apparel was a tuxedo with occasional forays into costumes. He'd play Beethoven's Minuet with couples in costume of the era dancing while Liberace is dressed as it was guessed Beethoven did.

"As time went by Liberace became far more flamboyant."

Nowhere in the show, however, is any reference made to the fact that Liberace was gay, although he won a multi-thousand dollar judgment from a London newspaper for printing the fact.

His homosexuality came to light only after his death when his one-time chauffeur alleged he and the pianist had been lovers.

Liberace lived on the edge. His outrageous costumes and feminine moues, gestures and body language all suggested he was not, in fact, a robust, macho guy.

"His mom was a very important component in what the public knew about Liberace," Scalem said. "Frances Liberace was very proud of her son. He was a 10 year-old piano prodigy who played for Paderewski, a family friend.

"Paderewski's manager suggested Liberace be known only by his last name to attract attention.

"His calling cards spelled his single name phonetically as did rented billboards wherever he was appearing.

"Our show is a celebration of Liberace as a performer. Near the end of the show we say he died in 1987 from complications due to the AIDs virus.

"Our clips of the color shows he did in the '70s and '80s clearly establish the phenomenal contact he made with his audiences.

"Appearing on the show is Pauline La Chance of Long Island, who was president of the Liberace international fan club. She and her husband moved to Las Vegas where Liberace's Museum is located.

"On display are his collections of his pianos, candelabra, hundreds of miniatures and 12 Rolls Royce automobiles he drove on stage and the highway.

"One of his pianos is studded with rhinestones.

"We have footage of Liberace playing 'The Twelfth Street Rag' in an outrageous costume.

"We talked to many people who worked with him. They were devoted to Liberace; people like his costume designer and others who championed him in Las Vegas at the Hilton and Caesar's Palace."

Liberace played Vegas from 1944 to 1986. He was a superstar during his years at the famed Las Vegas Strip gambling casinos.

Liberace set a record for entertainers' salaries when he signed for $55,000 a week at the Riviera Hotel in 1955. For a period of 42 years he played to full houses in the desert spa.

Today his museum, newly renovated and expanded, attracts 10,000 visitors a month, third largest Vegas attraction after the Hoover Dam and the casinos.