MovieChat Forums > Liberace (1988) Discussion > Robinson is simply spectacular

Robinson is simply spectacular


Having remembered him from his old Dirty Harry role, I really had trouble visualizing Andrew Robinson as Liberace ... and as a longtime Liberace fan, from back in my childhood piano lesson days, I expected to really dislike this film.

However, it is a FINE film, probably as close to the truth about his life as we are ever going to get, and Robinson shows that he has serious talent as an actor, and should really work a lot more. I was more than impressed. I was flabbergasted at the quality of the film and the poignant, sensitive portrayal of a talented, troubled man.

While it's probably true that Liberace didn't have quite the skills or discipline to be a truly spectacular concert pianist, he was close enough to it that only a very serious student of the piano could tell the difference.

Liberace's real talent, and his contribution to the world of music, is in the genuine love he had for music, both classical and popular, and his ability to convey that to an audience and make them share that love. When I was a small kid, more or less forced to take piano lessons and practice every day, my mother made me watch Liberace on TV -- never missed a show. At first I resented it, like any normal kid hates to be forced to do anything, but before long I looked forward to it. My mother's constant claim that I "might learn something" was, in fact, quite right, though not in the way she thought. I am not conscious of ever learning any fingering technique or use of pedals, or anything like she thought, but by watching I know that his enthusiasm for the music was truly infectious, and I definitely caught it.

Was I better off having watched Lee Liberace? You bet. I stayed with lessons for twelve years and actually enjoyed it, even the miserable daily practice sessions when I'd rather be out getting in adolescent trouble. And as I got older and local groups like the VFW or Lions Club would ask me to come out and play a few numbers, I found myself throwing in those flashy hand-over-hand riffs, and sticking in the unecessary, but showy, arm and hand flourishes that I learned at the feet of The Master of Showmanship. I think I skipped the big sh**-eating smiles at the audience, for the most part, but Lee Liberace definitely brought out the ham in me, and no doubt a lot of other budding pianists of that era.

If not for him, I probably never would have stuck with the piano, which eventually brought me into the world of rock 'n' roll when I switched from a grand piano to one of the earliest Wurlitzer electric pianos and played in some minor garage bands in the Pacific Northwest in the 60s, when rock was still rock, and not some over-computerized slurry of electronic crud. Anyone who played in bands back then knows exactly what I mean, and wouldn't trade that gutsy period for anything in the world. Like Liberace, we didn't just play music ... we damn sure had a great time while doing it. At least I think so, since my recollections were filtered through a haze of alcohol and ... other stuff.

Wherever you are, Lee -- thanks for everything.

And thanks to Andrew Robinson for giving us the definitive portrayal of Liberace.

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