Streisand / LIVE 

Long before Liberace died of complications of AIDS in 1987, his flamboyant costumes and stage appearances (including a candelabra atop his piano) earned him the nickname “Mr. Showmanship.”  Liberace was a flashy pianist who once said he performed “classical music with all the boring parts left out.”

Liberace was one of the performers (Sinatra was another) whose level of talent and memorable shows contributed to the allure of Las Vegas.  Liberace had many fans, mostly from his television show in the 1950s, as well as his guest appearances on countless others.  Before Elton John and Lady Gaga, Liberace was known for his sequined, over-the-top concert costumes including mink coats, opulent rings, and “The Flame” – a cape of small mirrors, wired with flashing lights.

When Liberace signed with the Riviera for $50,000 a week, it went without saying that his contract stipulated he must wear amazing clothes on stage.  He also wanted a specific girl singer for his opening act.

“The first time I heard her she was singing in a little spot called Bon Soir in Greenwich Village in New York City,” Liberace wrote in his memoir. “I was very excited by her individual artistry and style, as well as the quality of her voice and a special something of her own that she seemed to add to everything she sang.”

A little later, Liberace and Streisand were both guests on the same episode of The Ed Sullivan Show and he admired her again.

“The next time I heard her was at Basin Street East … I took my manager, Seymour Heller, to hear her and after the show he said, ‘Well, she sings all right. But do you really think she’s that good?’ I said, ‘She’s fabulous.’”

The Riviera offered Streisand $7,500 a week and it was an offer she couldn’t turn down.

“Kooky clothing was sort of an obsession [with her],” Liberace stated years later. He thought that what Barbra “hadn't discovered about show business was the value of glamour ... this, too, got through to her.”

Indeed, despite her growing fame and higher salary, Barbra’s first shows with Liberace at the Riviera confused some audience members and reviewers. The Hollywood Reporter, for instance, wrote: “Singer Barbra Streisand was a sharp contrast to [Liberace]. Her make-up made her look like something that just climbed off a broom, but when she sang, it was like the wailing of a banshee bouncing up and down on marionette strings. It isn't until she does three or four songs that her voice is even noticed as being very pleasant. Her outrageous grooming almost nullifies her talent.”

David Farmer didn’t know what to make of her when he filed a story about Streisand for the Associate Press.  “She comes onstage with her brown hair falling straight down. She wears a low-cut, ankle-length Mother Hubbard dress of gingham, with filmy sleeves … The star-hardened Las Vegas audience applauds loudly and keeps its respect while the girl starts to clown. She turns her back to the audience and chats with her pianist … She sits down on a stool and clutches the microphone stand between her knees. She smooths the checkered dress. ‘I don't want to wrinkle my tablecloth.’”

Even bitchy fashion critic, Mr. Blackwell, who published a yearly “best dressed” list (then trashed the celebrities he disapproved of) picked on Streisand. He felt she “should stop wearing tablecloths for dresses.”

Streisand was defiant, though. Regarding her “Mother Hubbard” red gingham dress, she stated, “I designed that dress. To me, the epitome of elegance is to wear a long gown, but have it made of kitchen curtain material. I'd call it casual elegance. I would never spend $1,000 on a beaded gown. I'd wear cotton and spend the money on furniture.”

Singer Marni Nixon, a friend of Liberace, recalled in her autobiography that Streisand was not a hit with Liberace's audiences at first. “Those blue-haired ladies who worshiped Liberace were having none of the eccentric Miss Streisand, and the management of the room told Lee in no uncertain terms to get rid of her.”

Barbra’s musical director and accompanist, Peter Daniels, explained the situation succinctly. “We went out and did twenty-five minutes. No response. It was very upsetting,” he said. “The second show, the same thing, and the same thing the next night. So on the fourth day, Liberace called a meeting and said, ‘I think maybe she’s too much for my audience at this particular point. Here’s what we’re gonna do: I’ll go out and open the show, do about ten or fifteen minutes, and then I’ll introduce Barbra as my discovery. Give it the old schmaltz.’” 

The gambit worked, according to Daniels. “That fourth night, after he gave her that stamp of approval, she came out and did the same exact show she’d done before and got a standing ovation.”

Streisand’s reviews reflected the change. Variety wrote: “Barbra Streisand, in her debut here, is a most pleasant nitery surprise. She has an interesting look and an interesting sound, which of course is necessary to set her apart from other canaries.”

Playing for Liberace and Streisand at the Riviera was the Jack Cathcart Orchestra, with 22 musicians, including six violins.  Dick Humphreys and the Riviera dancers appeared on stage in an elaborate production number, too.

During her stay at the Riviera, Streisand made show business headlines when it was announced she would star in the new Ray Stark-produced musical based on singer Fanny Brice. When she wasn’t studying Italian, Streisand received visitors in Las Vegas, like the musical’s composer Jule Styne. “Barbra's all about the work,” Styne said. “After we cast her, I even flew to Las Vegas, where she had already been booked as the opening act for Liberace and taught her the score between shows—that is, when I could drag her away from the gambling tables.”

Streisand was also elevated to headliner status for one night at the Riviera when it was announced that Liberace had a television commitment and would leave the show August 3rd.  So for the last show on August 4th, Streisand was the star, with comedians Rowan and Martin filling the second spot.

Liberace enjoyed working with Barbra Streisand so much that he asked her to share the bill again one month later at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe. Several years later he confided a funny memory of Barbra to columnist Earl Wilson. “Once she gave me a party and made everybody a birthday cake. ‘How's the cake?’ she asked. Elliott Gould said, ‘The cake is wonderful, but the frosting is so chewy.’ She said, ‘I ran out of confectioner's sugar and I used flour.’”

Liberace summed up his admiration for Barbra Streisand when he told the press, “She will be one of the great entertainers of all time, a girl who's a combination of Fanny Brice, Carol Burnett, and Judy Garland.”