Scott Thorson, Liberace’s Las Vegas ‘Boy Toy’ and Co-Star, Dies at 65

Posted on: August 27, 2024, 01:14h. 

Last updated on: August 27, 2024, 09:14h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Myths.

Scott Thorson, who played a big part in Liberace’s love life and a little part in his late ’70s Las Vegas stage show, died on August 16. Thorson, who was 65, had been battling cancer and a heart condition at an LA healthcare facility, according to Variety, which broke the news of his death on Monday.

The cover of Scott Thorson’s 1988 tell-all book, “Behind the Candelabra.” (Image: EP Dutton)

Thorson lived in Liberace’s Las Vegas mansion from 1977 — when he was 18 and the flashy pianist was 57 — until 1982. Anyone who saw Liberace perform at the Las Vegas Hilton during those years might remember Thorson as the chauffeur who drove “Mr. Showmanship” to his stage mark in a bejeweled Rolls Royce, then opened its door so Liberace could exit in a fur coat with a 16-foot train.

Their relationship ended due in part to Thorson’s drug habit, which he admitted developing from painkillers prescribed while he recovered from plastic surgery.

Thorson sued Liberace for $113 million the year they broke up. It was the first same-sex palimony suit ever filed in the US. The case was settled out of court in 1986, with Thorson receiving $75K in cash, plus three cars and three pet dogs valued at $20K, and Liberace continuing to publicly deny his homosexuality.

Showmanship Business

From his first performance at the Hotel Last Frontier in 1944 up to his last at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1986, Liberace helped brand the Strip as a hub for entertainment and extravagance. And he was one of the first singers to establish the long-term Las Vegas residency as a thing.

In terms of his sheer cultural impact on Sin City, Liberace (whose full name was W?adziu Valentino Liberace) was third only to the Rat Pack and Elvis Presley. (Sorry, Wayne Newton!)

Liberace died in 1987, of HIV/AIDS-related ailments, at age 67. According to Thorson, they had a deathbed reconciliation.

The next year, Thorson published his explosive tell-all, “Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace.” In the book, he claimed he only got his plastic surgery – several rounds of it, including a nose job and chin implant — at the behest of Liberace, who wanted him to resemble a younger version of the superstar.

In HBO’s Emmy-winning 2013 film adaption of Thorson’s book, directed by Steven Soderbergh, the author was portrayed by Matt Damon playing opposite Michael Douglas’ Liberace.

Thorson’s problems with drugs continued over the years. In 2008, he was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to felony drug and burglary charges. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, including burglary and using a credit card without consent, and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

A year later, his probation was revoked for failing multiple drug tests and he was imprisoned in Nevada until 2022.