Before there was Elton John, there was Liberace. An incredible showman and crowd pleaser, Liberace was famed for his outrageous costumes and over-the-top on-stage personality. I never saw him live, but I used to watch his black and white television show. He always had a candelabra on the piano, and his brother George on the violin.
When Liberace was dying, he didn't want anyone to know his death was because of AIDS. Sadly, as soon as he died, the reason was made public. It is rumored that when Rock Hudson died, Liberace rolled over hin his grave. Who was there to document that event?
Liberace's home was in Palm Springs, not far from the condo on Alejo Rd that my mom rented for the winter. I remember driving by Liberace's home and thinking, "hmmmmm....i thought it would be much more fancy-shmancy." Maybe it was on the inside.
Bob Hope also had a home in the Palm Springs area. It was enormous -- I think about 8,000 sq. ft. The last year of Hope's life -- they kept him on life support until he turned 100 -- a constant flow of clever quips, supposedly uttered by the aged comic, made the news. In truth, Hope didn't say anything, let alone make jokes during his final months. He was long gone, but his comedy writers still functioned. In show biz, there is always an effort to prolong a career. I actually own a Bob Hope hand puppet. It is in storage somewhere ...well, it is in Mukilteo, but It must be in a box underneath everything else.
I do NOT own a Bob Hope comic book. 
His name was Chandell? Not very vicious sounding.
Posted by: Mike Barer | June 03, 2006 at 10:39 AM
Liberace was in two episodes:
http://www.bobsliberace.com/decades/1960s/1960s.6.html
Posted by: Jeff Reynolds | May 29, 2006 at 10:57 AM
He may have requested to have support system turned off after his 100th birthday for all we know. Liberace played a villain on Batman, I forget which one.
Posted by: Mike Barer | May 22, 2006 at 06:04 PM