European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Columns Liberace s Appeal was a mystery b Andy Oonk Lily race left me cold. A was always a mystery id me How he maintained his popularity for As Long As he did. He seemed like a one joke performer and forme 31 k ast i he joke was Over and i was tired of him the first Lime 1 saw him. The fact thai he made 5400,000 a week during one period in his life and that he had a bedroom in his Block Long Palace in Las vegas with a reproduction or the Sisline Chapel ceiling did nothing to endear him Tome. You never like to hear of anyone s death but lib Trace s was nothing More than a matter of news inter est. There was no doubt lib crack was an Active Homo sexual. Playing the stereotyped role of the homosexual was part of his act but it never lessened his Appeal to Middle America it was always a mystery to me and the mystery was further complicated by the fact that literacy s great est Appeal was 10 women. Why please in was no Surprise that Liberace attracted crowds inlay vegas where he lived and performed most often. But last year in his return to Lite radio City music Hall in new York appearing before a quintessential Middle american audience he was a smash hit breaking All kinds of Box office records. I remember Reading about it and being puzzled by his ability to attract such crowds. From the things i be read about the Man since his death in seems As though i was typically too Quick in dismissing him. He was undoubtedly a better per former and a better person than i had realized. You can1 always rust what people say on the Occa Sion of someone s death but Liberace must have been in i own strange Way a very decent Roan. He must have been a pretty Good piano player too. Frank Sinatra was quoted As saying me was on of the finest human beings i be Sinatra seemed sincere in his comment even though lie leaves himself open of some bad jokes with it. Danny Thomas said lib crack was a Brilliant pianist a great entertainer a tremendous showman and a Good on the strength of the testimony i m willing to revise my opinion of lib crack. I would t go to the window to watch him or open in to listen if he were playing across the Street but he must have been a More interesting and attractive person than he appeared to me in his $300,000 Blue Fox coat with the16-foot rain. Liberace in t the first entertainer whose la Lent escaped my notice. Elvis Presley seemed personally Dis irk Able and professionally Untal cled. Obviously he had something that attracted millions of fans that did t attract me. I m curious about what in was. And there Are others Elizabeth Taylor never seems very Beautiful to me in the newspaper pictures i Sec of her in which she is described As on television t fail to be stirred by Joan Collins. J Don t find her pretty sexy or attractive in any Way Linda Evans find pretty sexy and attractive m every Way. Madonna does t captivate me As n woman or As a Singer. Phyllis Diller has never made me laugh. Buddy hacked has made me laugh but i Don t enjoy him. I never understood Why people found Martha rave funny and it seems to me she s found her real level on the entertainment scene doing commercials for some kind or glut hat keeps her false Teeth Slack to her Gums. And what Talent is it that Dick Van fallen has that makes him Worth a car company buying his services to sell their product it s Likely i m wrong about some of these people just As i was apparently wrong about the character and la Lent of Liberace. 0 til Tunn Mode semen ads recall boyhood memories Byar Buchwald should condom companies be permitted to beat the drum for their products on National to i say they should. I had a passing acquaintance with condoms Long before they became an advertising Issue. But our generation never called them condoms. They were Tro Jans. Even in those Days Brand name was everything. The firs thing we Learned in the . 35 schoolyard was that trojans came three in a pack and you Betie carry them at All times because you never knew when lightning was going 10 strike. We looked on anyone who carried trojans As our role Model and believed As gospel everything he told us about his sex life. They were lies All lies but they certainly held our attention. The toughest thing about trojans was obtaining them from the drugstore. The attempt to Purchase them has been dramatized in every Book and movie you can think of and none of it is exaggerated. On Jamaica Avenue in went like this i entered the drugstore and went to the soda Fountain for a Choco late egg Cream. Then i cased the store waiting for it to be empty or As near to empty As it could gel i read comic books until Doc Fiedler s counter was Clear. Then i said in a very High screechy voice after buying a Small lube of toothpaste of i forgot. I believe i la have a pack of trojans for my Uncle Doc Fiedler looked at me suspiciously. You sol a Dale tonight with Jean Harlow he . Are these the real ining As i think Back now i m sure Doc had trouble restraining a Grin. He said you can have a Money Back guarantee on All i gave him 50 cents and stuffed the trojans in a Wallul where they remained untouched for 10 years. Then they were discovered by my sister who demanded to know what i was doing with them in my Wallet. I said i bought them for an emergency when i was 12 years old but sadly for everyone i never needed Mas Sisters would do she called me a pig. Even in the forties some people did t appreciate the importance of having Protection at moment s no lice. As far As i can Ell trojans went into a decline after world War ii and Miracle drugs took their place. In fact the lore has it that if it had t been for school kids buying trojans to impress their friends the company might easily have gone under. Now condoms Are Back and they re trying to sell them on National to. I Don t believe Doc Fiedler is Stilt with us but if he is he does t have to worry about pulling trojans under the counter anymore. You can have a Nice big display in your store window and no one could care less. You would think now that trojans Are so popular i d Stock up on them. But that in t the Case. The fun of buying them was sneaking to the Back of the store and making my Purchase before anyone caught me. Besides what s the big Deal of showing off to All my friends when they can see them for themselves next to the pantyhose display by the door i know there Are people who object to the Sale of condoms because they say they Lead to promiscuity. They have nothing to fear. Ninety eight percent of All men who carried them in their wallets for 40 years have never broken the seals. Cd lot Angl a i today s crossword by Eugene Sheffer across 1 frsllvo5 emulate a sculler Saran Sharif Luishi lit love 13 Call Tiluy 14 Bluit tune is succeed 17 slip Finice Stu ecu to Ilkew 19 Swift horses 2 spi24 japanese is Hairdo is Wii org. 56 fran rat verb 57 descried58 kill or up stuff69 judge 8 i Kin Ning 9 renova id surround tied by j i Hall movie 2-2s Hubert Scop Jowie Toet left the by hired thru fat of Rex by and went off with Page 18 the stars and stripes wednesday february 25,1987
