Liberace’s 'liberal' taste in cars

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Las Vegas has seen some unusual acts. But even the glittering stage capital of the world had to look twice when piano player Liberace made his first appearance in the Las Vegas Hilton. He did so in a Rolls-Royce Phantom V with Landaulette body by James Young, painted in gloss black and white. It was driven on the stage by his chauffeur Scott Thorson wearing something that reminded of a classical British chauffeur suit, but now in baby blue with silver accents. Liberace himself was dressed, er, flamboyant too. He wore a white ermine coat trimmed in diamonds over white kid. The scene is recreated for the movie ‘Behind the Candelabra’ (out now) and the original car is used, too, although the black paint was later replaced with hundreds of tiny little mirrors. Oh yes. ‘Lee’, as his friends called him, had an eclectic taste in cars. But in his time he must have been one of the leading car collectors in show business, too, owning some of the world’s wackiest vehicles. There was a George Barris-customized E-type, a Bradley GT in yellow metal flake paint. A blue Excalibur with a matching blue jump suit trimmed in mink and jewels and a scaled-down version of Oldsmobile’s infamous 1903 curved-dash model. His 1954 Cadillac Eldorado was supposedly voted ‘Custom Car of the Year’ by Motor Trend magazine that year. Lee not only had the seats covered in piano keys-trim, but also replaced Cadillac crests with jewel adorned pianos plus a five-inch diamond studded candelabra. Now whoever said taste cannot be bought? (Jeroen Booij)

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