Michael Jackson and Liberace
The crossing paths of the King of Pop and Mr. Showmanship
Long before he was known as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson performed with the Jackson 5, in London. It was the 1972 Royal Variety Performance, and the Jacksons, featuring 14-year old Michael Jackson, were hot.
Of the many stars the young scion met at those rehearsals, one would have his portrait in steel affixed permanently to the exterior wall of the London Palladium on the theater's Wall of Fame, forty-six years later. He would prove to be a tremendous influence on Jackson, in particular in stagecraft, costuming, and publicity. A generation older, he was the first pop star to make it big on television, the original Mr. Showmanship, Liberace.
"The glittering star Liberace was certainly the sartorial highlight of the evening. Always out to excel in the costume stakes, for this evening's entertainment Liberace wore and electrically illuminated suit, costing £5,000."
- The Royal Variety Charity, 1972
By 1981 Michael was a solo recording artist, about to produce the biggest selling album of all time, when he met up with Liberace again in England. This time they were touring Beaulieu, the castle of Lord Montagu, on the south coast of England. The press was turning out in droves, and Liberace was accompanied by Scott Thorsen.
Liberace and Michael Jackson hosted by Lord Montagu at Beaulieu, 1981
In 1983 Liberace and Michael Jackson crossed paths again at the opening of Dream Girls in Hollywood. By then the Michael Jackson of the Thriller era looked the iconic part.
Perhaps oddest of all known encounters of Liberace and Michael Jackson was the one that took place two years later. In 1985, Liberace was playing Radio City Music Hall, in New York, on a residency of several weeks. Donald Trump had provided him with the use of a model two-bedroom condo suite, high in Trump Tower, a few blocks from the venue.
During his stay at Trump Tower, Liberace heard from Michael Jackson, who happened to be recording in New York at that time. On Liberace's invitation, Michael took the second bedroom in Liberace's suite for a few weeks. Liberace said Michael was all work, and he hardly saw him at all during that stay. It was the last time the two would see each other, but certainly not the last time their names would cross paths.
Michael Jackson was not only a recording artist, he was quite the graphic artist. Particularly in wax pencil, he was a prolific producer of works beginning in his childhood, and continuing throughout his life. Some time in the late 1980's or 1990's, he produced this drawing of Liberace.
Speculation about this piece abounds. Some say Michael Jackson was putting his own eyes on Liberace. But the most agreed observation is that he seems to have drawn Liberace to resemble Caesar Romero - the Joker, on the Batman TV series of the 1960's. This may have been an intentional commentary by Michael, who knew that Liberace was a guest star on Batman in 1966. Michael's artistic ability was no joke, and it is very likely that any similarity was intentional.
Michael's art would not be the last time we heard his name in connection with Liberace. In 2006 Michael was looking to move to Las Vegas to establish a residency performance venue. He sought to lease a home large enough to gather his personal assets, after giving up Neverland Ranch, and having just returned from two years abroad.
The account of Jackson's 2006 return to the US and to Las Vegas is chronicled in the book Remember The Time, by his two bodyguards.
Hacienda Palomino is a massive home in Las Vegas, built by an eccentric theater developer in the early 1990's. It had been designed to house that owner's tremendous art collection, until his death in 2000. In 2003 the property had been purchased by a member of the Consular Corps, Consul A.J. Iglesias, a business man with extensive property holdings. He leased the residence to Michael Jackson in 2006. Jackson lived there with his kids until his death in 2009 in Los Angeles, during tour rehearsals. After his passing, it would be months before his estate extricated his belongings from the Las Vegas home. The owner then renovated the property, and donated much of its use to the Liberace Foundation, so that it could store the Liberace Museum Collection, in particular in the home's vaulted art storage facility. That's how Michael Jackson and Liberace came to be connected to the same residence.
Despite being extremely limited in the number of guests allowed, tours of the Liberace Museum Collection at Thriller Villa became the number one rated tour and museum experience, on TripAdvisor. When Covid 19 struck, the tours were discontinued until further notice, and now remain by invitation only. Meanwhile, the Liberace Foundation has dramatically improved the Liberace Museum Collection exhibits at Liberace Garage.
The owner of Thriller Villa remains the same person who leased it to Michael Jackson. He is the largest single largest benefactor of the Liberace Foundation in a decade.
More on the Liberace Foundation
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About the Creator
Jonathan Warren
Honorary Consul of Monaco, Chairman of the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, 50 years in Vegas, Citizen of the world.
www.jonathanwarren.me
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