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3 unusual facts about Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace


Behind the Candelabra

Behind the Candelabra is a 2013 American drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh about the last ten years in the life of pianist Liberace and the secret affair he had with the younger Scott Thorson, based on Thorson’s memoir, Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace (1988).

Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace

Scott Thorson recounts his relationship with pianist and musician Liberace.

Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace is a memoir by Scott Thorson and Alex Thorleifson, published in 1988 by Dutton.


Behind the Candelabra

Director Steven Soderbergh first spoke with Michael Douglas about the idea of doing a Liberace film during the production of Traffic (2000), but had trouble figuring out an angle for it that would differentiate it from a traditional biopic.

Not long thereafter (in December 1986), Scott receives a phone call from Liberace telling him that he is very sick with what is later revealed to be AIDS, and would like Scott to visit him again.


see also

Phillip R. Ford

As an actor Ford has appeared in San Francisco in the title role in Behind the Candelabra – My Life with Liberace (2002) a play adapted by Jennifer Blowdryer from the memoir of Liberace chauffeur/paramour Scott Thorsen.