header-logo header-logo

Behind the Candelabra, in front of the bench

20 June 2013 / James Wilson
Issue: 7565 / Categories: Features
printer mail-detail
rexfeatures_1141772pj

James Wilson revisits Liberace’s libel case

Recently competing for the Palme d’Or in Cannes was the new Stephen Soderbergh film Behind the Candelabra, a biopic of the late pianist and entertainer Wladziu Valentino Liberace. The film charts the relationship Liberace had with the much younger Scott Thorson from the mid-1970s to the former’s death in 1987 from an AIDs-related illness.

In 1982 they separated acrimoniously and Thorson brought a lawsuit known in American parlance as “palimony” (equivalent to a matrimonial claim between unmarried couples), which was eventually settled for a small fraction of what had been claimed (Thorson later disowned the litigation). It was certainly not Liberace’s first experience of the law courts: more than two decades earlier, he had brought a case of his own in England which quickly became a cause célèbre.

At that time his star was ascending; it has been claimed he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world for much of the 1950s-70s. His fame was partly based on his talent

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll