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Liberace: The True Story
A profile of the performer's public persona, and career accompanies a look at Liberace's private personality--a hopelessly romantic homosexual secretly seeking pleasure at the risk of ruining his career
- GenresBiography
284 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
28 people want to read
About the author
Bob Thomas
131 books33 followersRobert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.
Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.
During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.
Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.
During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 23, 2019
This is the book version of one of those obscure documentaries you run across while flipping channels late at night. Interesting to learn about the guy. Mediocre writing.
Mostly, I like the hear how kind and truly talented Liberace was, and his quest to make people happy was nice.
Mostly, I like the hear how kind and truly talented Liberace was, and his quest to make people happy was nice.
August 24, 2019
Wonderful impartial story.
June 20, 2021
Another Kathleen Madigan Storybook title. I would give Kathleen a 4 for her comments during her narration, but the book itself gets a three.
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June 22, 2021It was quite amusing listening to Kathleen Madigan reading this book on YouTube. The comments and the detours were great fun.
Night-night, termites :)
Night-night, termites :)
May 31, 2023
A great detailed book on the life & career of Liberace. Very informative & interesting.
July 16, 2021
It's a little dated by 2021, but if you like sarcasm, I suggest listening to Kathleen Madigan read it over the course of 27 episodes on YouTube. Kathleen gets a 4. The book itself is a 3.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews