European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday february 6, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 5 pianist liberate King of glitter Dies Palm strings Calif. Lib erace. The unequal cd King of fill her who Dau Letl audiences for four decades with piano flourishes and oui raucous cos Tumes died wednesday. He was 67. The entertainer died at 2 05 p.m., sur rounded by relatives his manager housekeepers and friends said Denise Collier his spokeswoman. Lib crack had been gravely ill for weeks with what aides said was anaemia emphysema and heart disease and he had lapsed Inlo a a tuesday. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to Conge Sivic Hcan failure brought on by subacute  a Gener Al term for a degenerative disease of the brain said or. Ronald Daniels. Liberate was one of the nation s most enduring entertainers. As a boy he played in Speake Asies at 535 a week he later gave command performances be fore Royalty and commanded an income estimated at is million per year the candelabra that adorned his pianos became a trademark his stage savvy earned him the title or  his name on a marquee be it radio City music Hall a sports Arena in Hutchinson. Kan or the entertainment palaces oflhi1 Lai vegas strip meant audiences would buy Oul standing roam to Sec him drive on stage in a mirrored Rolls Royce pop Oul of a giant Pink egg in a Pink feathered cloak or soar across the stage suspended from wires in a swirl of purple feathers. I be never had my popularity Dwin dle away he said in i9bs. There s Al ways been a Markci for my kind of music my kind of  he lived quietly Bui revealed in con sumption. He had 18 pianos painted mirrored and gilded including instruments owned by Chopin and Gershwin dozens of antique cars a desk owned by the last russian Czar a collection of Napoleonic pieces a Rhin Sione filled As the world s largest As big around us a dinner plate and a reproduction of the sistine Chapel ceiling in his bedroom. When not performing he kept Busy with his 21 dogs which he referred to As his children a Las vegas restaurant a shopping Plaza and plans for an expanded museum Park. Decades of performing began to take a loll two years ago and he spent More of his Lime at Homes in Las vegas Palm Springs Hollywood. Malibu new York and Lake Tahoe. Tic Cut his work sched ule from More than 40 weeks a year to 16, and cancelled All performances for 1987 because of fatigue. Rumours of ill health surfaced last fall after a tour fouling the latest of his four books the wonderful private world of  a full color inventory of his possessions sprinkled with favorite Reci Pes and homages to his Mother the guinness Book of world records said Liberace was inc highest paid pianist in a single season earning More than s2 million per 26-w-cck season with a Peak of is 38,000 for n single night s performance at new York s Madison Square Garden in 1954. Liberace spent nearly four years embroiled in a civil suit brought by his for Mer chauffeur Scott Thorson. Thorson 27, originally sought $113 million claiming thai he had lived with Liberace As a full time travel Secretary chauffeur animal Trainer and Lover. The suit was settled Oul of court last year for 595,000. Liberace who maintained Thorson was merely a vengeful former employee said at a 1973 news conference that he believed homosexuality was wrong. No i m not a homosexual. As i told a British court in 1959 when 1 won a 520.000 libel judgment against a London newspaper my sexual feelings Are the same As most people he said. Liberace known to his friends As Lee was born Wladzia Valentino Liberace the third of four children on May 16, 1919, in West . His Mother Frances played the piano. His father Salvalore played he French Horn with the John Phillip Sousa band and eventually won a place in he Mil Waukee philharmonic. Liberace could Nick out entire Melo Dies on the piano by the Lime he was 4 years old and was recommended for a scholarship to the Wisconsin College of music at the age of 7, he was a soloist with the Chicago symphony at 14. As Waller Liberace he played supper clubs and hotels in the 1930s and 1940s, joined by his violin playing brother George who died in 1983. He received his first Las vegas Book ing in 1948 and Bis popularity led to a 15-minute network television summer series in 1952. He had a highly popular syndicated series in 1953-55, a daytime show on Abc in 1958-59 and a summer show in 1969. Gambler settles for $350,000 Atlantic City . A a Man who says false humanitarian fight ing for world peace has Given up his Battle to claim a is million Casino game prize and settled for $305.000. The Sands hotel & Casino claimed Michael Sherry cheated in its million Dollar Money machine promo Tion in 1982. The Odds against winning were supposed to be 3 million to on but Sherry said he had figured out a Way to win without doing anything illegal. In inc contest inc Sands distributed tickets and set up a giant Slot machine in its lobby. The machine stopped six limes a Day and players had 15 minutes to match their tickets 10 the symbols on the machine. Sherry saved 4.400 discarded tickets and camped put in the Sands lobby for two weeks. The Sands and its underwriter. Lloyds of London sued in Superior court. Sherry. 35. Represented himself in a hearing tuesday before the settlement asking himself questions and referring to himself in the second person. Sherry had already received four $50,000 payments and the Sands and Lloyds agreed to  an additional $105,000 if he would drop his claim to the rest of the prize. Sherry who says he is working for world peace and aids research said he docs not need the extra Money since he s also won 5460,000 in a Blackjack tournament and j150.000 in a mini Baccarat contest Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today feb. 6, 1947 renewing his Appeal for a change in the traditional Tine of succession to inc presidency. President Truman asked Congress for legislation that would place the speaker of the House currently re publican Joe Martin first in line to become president. 30 years ago today. Feb. 6. 1957 the nuclear powered submarine Nautilus scored a Victory Over fiction by speeding Well beyond the 20,000 leagues thai novelist Jules Verne attributed to a mythical undersea vessel 87 years ear Lier 20 years ago today. Feb. 6, 1967 eighty russian refugee women and children escaped from China on a soviet plane after an 11-Hott red guard riot Ai peking Airport Moscow radio said. About 150 other soviets were still trapped in the chinese capital ?0 years ago today ,. Feb. 6, 1977 human error was blamed for the worst elevated train crash in Chicago history. Eleven persons died and 200 were injured when two train cars tumbled onto a downtown Street. Pizza maker and his mime a photo French mime Marcel Marceau rums some pizza dough As Domino s pizza in president Thomas s. Moi us Han gives instructions at company Headquarters in Ann Arbor mich., tuesday Marceau and Montchal unveiled a Model or a new cured Marceau world Center for mime to be constructed on the Sale. 9 indicted on bribery charges for military uniform contracts Philadelphia up a Federal grand jury indicted five corporations and nine people including a Veteran new Jersey legislator for bribery and racketeering connected with contracts for . Military clothing. Three employees of the defense personnel support Center in Philadelphia were charged with accepting nearly $200,000 in bribes for steering defense depart ment contracts to clothing makers in Pennsylvania new Jersey and Alabama. Land owner of a company Hal makes Navy pc Coats. Receiving the majority of the bribes was Frank Coc Cia Deputy director and the highest civilian official in the personnel support Center s clothing and textile division the indicia men said. Coccia. 54, of Mudford . Allegedly received $169,000 in Cash bribes and Money orders from con tractors Between 1982 and 1986. . Attorney Edward Dennis or. Said another major player was Leo lamer 65, a retired defense department employee who served As a middleman a broker a go Between in arranging deals Between con tractors and Coccia companies and officials accused of paying bribes were identified As major coat co., of Bridgeton ., and its presi Dent Chinnici. The indictment charged that Chinici agreed to  Coccia 25 cents for every peacoat he delivered to the Navy. The contract subsequently awarded to the company was Worth s 5.7 million. Selma apparel corp., of Selma Ala. Its affiliated companies Gulf apparel corp. And Dallas uniform corp. Selma president James Utsey and administrative vice president Allen Edwards the indictment alleges thai Utsey and Edwards paid bribes to Coccia and two other personnel support Cen it employees for help in gelling about $200 million Worth of contracts to make Battle fatigues. H. Landau &. Co., of Bala Cynwyd pa., and its president Emmanuel Landau both Are charged with wire fraud in connection with the payment of about s15,000 in bribes to Coccia and lamer. In return for the bribes Coccia was to help Landau obtain contracts to produce s2 billion worm of Mili tary cold weather clothing