Long before it was fashionable to come out of the closest, generations of gay actors and entertainers not only had to cover up their sexual preferences but also had to go beyond the pale to establish they were as straight-as-an-arrow. This tended to work with major stars such as Montgomery Clift and Rock Hudson, even though the studios often had their most popular gay stars go through the ritual of "dating" starlets and in the case of Hudson, even entering a sham marriage with a pre-determined divorce date. However, attempts to make Liberace into a female heart throb defied even the power of the studio moguls. In the 1955 film Sincerely Yours, ol' Lib was cast as a world famous pianist (we always knew he loved pianists!) who must not only cope with going deaf but also losing his dream girl. If you find that a bit too much to believe, so did audiences. Beyond Liberace's core group of blue-haired old ladies, the public at large found the scenario hilarious. However, when a British film critic suggested Liberace was gay, the world's ultimate pianist sprang up successfully and sued the writer for libel. The indignity of having to hand over thousands of dollars to Liberace for suggesting he was gay was like apologizing for saying Jackie Gleason was fat. Yet, this was the state of denial the film industry was in at the time. He continued to maintain this charade even on his death bed, years after he could have used his popularity to help the cause of gay entertainers by coming out of the closet.
The finding of the London court in Liberace's favor for some reason did not turn him into a matinee idol. He only made two other films - including playing himself in a musical cameo in MGM's 1965 teen extravaganza When the Boys Meet the Girls. The following year he received positive reviews for his self-mocking performance in The Loved One, the infamous send-up of Hollywood hypocrisy.
Happily, it's a different world today - at least to some degree. Gay actors can indeed come out of the closest and find themselves the toast of the town on the party circuit but the hypocrisy is still there: unless they want to continuously be cast as flamboyant gay characters, studios rarely entrust them with leading roles.
Sadly, neither of Liberace's masterpieces Sincerely Yours or When the Boys Meet the Girls have made it on to DVD yet. However, you can get the terrific DVD of The Loved One discounted from Amazon by clicking here