This guy didn't simply play Liberace, he BECAME Liberace. Truly scary. He certainly deserved an Emmy for this, or some kind of recognition in the form of an award.
I have seen this a number of times and havent in a while and i always enjoy it again. Yes this actor is so very perfect in the role! There will never be another Liberace! Such a great entertainer!
The Parasites that sucked him dry at the end is Horrific. But these types of people are everywhere and possibly in one's own family. Hopefully people learn a lesson from his life.
Thank you Mr. Robinson for that fantastic performance. I must confess that not for one minute did I think I was watching anyone but Liberace. Thank you Mr. Bentley for bringing this film to us. Moreover, and more profound, thank you all who made this film possible. I am humbled and I remain at 80+ years old, Sentebay.
Always a great entertainer. My grandmother really made me aware of this great man, she loved him and his musical talent from when he first became popular
I already said this in another comment, but this is an absolutely scary performance. He's not playing Liberace, he BECAME LIBERACE. As a screenplay, this is inferior to "Behind the Candelabra", but this actor's portrayal of Liberace is far more accurate than Michael Douglas', no disrespect to him of course. I mean, this guy's delivery, tone and inflections are EXACTLY like Liberace's. It's absolutely amazing.
The comments I’m seeing here are, remarkably like the ones seen for Austin Butler in Elvis. Actors totally committed to their work, to the extent of absorbing the characters they portray. What a shame it is when great works of art don’t get the recognition they deserve. There are instances when films do get reborn, I hope people will continue to come and support this work.
Yes, the difference between Douglas and Robinson as Liberace is exactly the same as between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toby Jones playing Truman Capote - I know Hoffman did win an Oscar for his performance but I always liked Toby Jones better, he simply IS Truman Capote while Hoffman just gives a very good interpretation. I think Robinson does not shy from the sexual ambiguity, while Douglas' version is more like a guy with an affected accent. He never gets to make us see his Liberace as a convincing homosexual, while Robinson does.
Andrew Robinson was excellent as Liberace he looks like him sounded exactly like him Andrew very underrated actor last 50 years great character actor Dirty Harry Cobra Mask
I am so glad I found this! Have been looking for this made-for-tv movie about Liberace for a long time. I thought Andrew Robinson did the best portrayal of Liberace I have seen. Detested the movie with Michael Douglas.
God bless his soul.🕊️ I remember him and his last time on Oprah. He, Rock Hudson, and so many Aids took away from us.💔 Taking away some precious people. God bless all their souls and we who are left behind...😓
Always loved Libby! I saw him live at the West Palm Beach auditorium back in the 80's. We were sitting in the front row. When we were leaving I found a sequin on the floor which had popped off his outfit. I saved that tiny sequin for years until it finally disappeared. 😊
My grandmother loved Liberace. She watched him on TV all the time and that made me love him too. He played the piano like nobody else. I don't know if my grandmother thought about whether he was gay or not, I think she just loved to hear him play the piano and sing. He was a good kind man and tried to make people happy. I don't think it's anybody's business but his and God's whether he was gay or not but it would be a shame to let that one thing, cancel everything else out. He has another movie on YT that's worth seeing, "SINCERELY YOURS".
After this tv movie..all I can remember him in was Shoot to Kill with Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger..he had a few minutes..but the terror in his face in that scene truly you can see the liberace in that expression..
Very nice movie. Liberace is missed by many even unto this day. I hope and pray that he has made his peace with the Lord Jesus Christ before he died. RIP Liberace ! You brought happiness to many !
I still don't think my mom thought he was gay.before She passed away. But she chose what she wanted to see. After all, I'm her gay son and she never knew. As far as I know. She probably chose not see it. A mother always knows. She even loved Boy George. Didn't think once he was gay. Just a fabulous dresser and singer. She had to have known. She just had to.
Hey! Glad to see someone put this movie up. I have a recording I’ve been restoring for ages, but your version has a few seconds from the intro I am missing. Do you have a raw file you could upload somewhere? I would really appreciate it. What interests you in this movie by the way? I have a friend who acted in it. Edit: I’d be happy to pay postage both ways just to run this tape on my equipment. I can clean up a lot of the defects.
Interesting, I never even knew this treatment existed. The impersonation is accurately spot-on and considering the restrictions of this 1988 venue, the whole presentation is not bad at all. It displays what audiences most valued in Liberace's publicly performed persona and particular brand of entertainment. Steven Soderbergh's BEHIND THE CANDLEBRA (2013) for HBO makes a more than worthy comparison of the same story with much dark humor and thematics, self-awareness and depth. Michael Douglas' audacious Liberace in that version may be the best performance of his entire career; it is certainly unsavory and shocking. We may not "like" what we see there, but we are reminded that life in the limelight often attracts/reinforces complexity. Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Scott Bakula and Dan Aykroyd (also in it) similarly take big risks by challenging what we've come to expect from them. I'm glad I got the chance to see this. Both films taken together, construct a more complete portrait than each separately. Thanks for posting this valentine and gem!
@gregoryblaska1586 And during the movie you never think, "what good acting," because like you say it was totally incognito. All you think is, ah, there's Lee's mom. Now that's truly great.
This is an awful quality upload, but that aside, Andy Robinson was extraordinary playing Liberace's life and the totally believable psychotic in dirty Harry. Extraordinary!!
I liked Andy as Monty in cobra . His glare at Marion every time they crossed paths. The fact Reni Santoni was in that as another cop duo. Personally it fits in the Dirty Harry world . In America ...
Is this the same actor who guest starred in Designing Women [ the third season - 1988-1989 ] as a male Lady June Belle? I remember his character's name was Rodger and he tried to pick up Suzanne, so he could have sex with her in one of the hotel rooms. The episode was about Charlene needing some extra money to pay off some Christmas bills, so she joins a perky cult, selling bathroom cleaning products called Lady June and the sales people were called Lady June Belles. By the way I do enjoy the movie. Thank You and God Bless - Jason.
I will never understand homosexuality. Is it nature or is it nurture; can we ever really know? I used to detest these people thinking they were harming society, and its moral values. I have come a long way since then and have come to the realisation, that God loves all his children, even when we displease him, and we all have displeased him in one way or another. I am ashamed of the judgement I executed upon the gay community. I began reading books on famous people I admired, writers, musicians, poets only to also find out many of them were homosexual. I was stunned. It was then i realised I had no right to condemn them. Did I love their talents any less, the minds any less. Had my admiration of them diminished in any way. Was I fascinated by them any less. ???? The answer was NO. My heart was touched by their life stories and the struggles many of them had too. It was a valuable lesson for me, and I thank God for it. Liberace was a wonderful human being, kind, generous and really very humble at heart. He loved his mother and family, and he was of course an absolute super talent. Freddy Mercury was the same. May they rest in peace. Thank you so much for this film.
Hahaha this actor portraying Lee sounds just like him... I’m laughing because you can definitely tell he is faking it as he tries to look as if he can play the piano..
As a huge Star Trek fan, and also a Liberace fan to a degree, i can't believe i never put it together that Garrick should have played Liberace. Turned out, he did, and i didn't even know it. I wonder if a better version of this film is out there...
Song in this movie "the man that got away"...Judy Garland did this song better than absolutely anyone ever. No one can compare to her with the exception of Barbara Streisand.
Ever since I saw Andrew Robinson in Hellraiser, my thought was "wow, he looks a lot like Liberace!" Imagine my delight when I found out he played him in a biopic!
He was engaged to a gal and her father WOULDN'T let her. It married him in a heart beat. Gay and all..prefer straight tho....but....he was such a lovely and kind man.
No offense but because being gay is so trendy now why is this so hard to find? Been looking for this for AGES. I was but a wee lass when it aired, and it was heavily promoted back in the day. This isn’t ANYWHERE? Criterion Collection, save us!
I still think Michael Douglas did better. One of my fav movies. I have never seen this and am watching now, didn’t realize this actor was the Scorpio killer on Dirty Harry .
I think he was a homosexual, I thought such a concept only appeared after 2012, if my maths are correct then this homosexual mindset was around 24 years before 2012 or this movie is fiction? Did Jhon landis direct this video?
