AdamSmith

Liberace's Plastic Surgery Left Him Unable to Close His Eyes — Even While He Was Sleeping The music star also paid the doctor who did his surgery to perform procedures on his live-in lover, Scott Thorson, so Thorson would look more like Liberace! By Kimberly Potts | Yahoo! TV – 11 hours ago CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images - Liberace in the CBS special "Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace!" (1978) One of the more bizarre scenes in HBO's movie, "Behind the Candelabra" — and this is a movie with no lack of surreal moments — is when piano-playing superstar Liberace pulls a painting of himself off his wall, shows it to his plastic surgeon, and asks the doctor to surgically make over Liberace's live-in lover, Scott Thorson, to look just like the performer. The doctor, Jack Startz (as played by a freakishly made-over Rob Lowe), does just that, but only after performing a face lift on Liberace (Michael Douglas) that left his face so tight that he couldn't fully close his eyes, even when he was sleeping (cue another of the movie's more bizarre scenes, as Matt Damon's Thorson tries to awaken a snoring Liberace, whose eyes make him look like he's still awake.) Did we mention the movie is not a work of fiction? It is based on Thorson's newly rereleased 1988 memoir, "Behind the Candelabra" (Tantor Media), which details his drama-filled relationship with the late, bedazzled star. [Video: Teary Michael Douglas Calls Return to Work in Liberace Movie a 'Beautiful Gift' After Cancer Battle] Liberace, who was nearly 40 years older than Thorson when the then-18-year-old moved in with him, began his most elaborate round of cosmetic surgery in 1979, after he saw how he looked during an appearance on "The Tonight Show." He and Thorson, at a happy place in their relationship, had spent a year traveling through Europe and enjoying the local cuisine at every stop. A scene in the movie shows them happily channel surfing and noshing on popcorn — both having put on a few pounds — until Liberace sees himself on TV. "I look like my father in drag!" he tells Thorson. Liberace's hairstylist put him in touch with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Jack Startz, who was known for his work with silicone injections, and whose clientele including many of the city's rich and famous. Startz recommended a face-lift, eye lift, and silicone injections plus a face peel after the surgery. [Related: 'Behind the Candelabra,' the Book: The 12 Best Revelations from Liberace's Former Lover] Then, as depicted in yet another of the movie's most memorable scenes, Liberace fetched a painting of himself and showed it to Startz, asking the doctor to make Thorson look like the painting. Michael Douglas as Liberace in HBO's Liberace decided he should get his face work done first — so that Thorson would be able to take care of him. Thorson, Startz had decided, also needed to lose a few pounds before surgery, which led to the doctor's prescription of the California Diet. It was a plan that amounted to Startz doling out written prescriptions for various drugs — pharmaceutical cocaine and amphetamines among them, Thorson writes in his book. They helped Thorson shed pounds but gain an addiction to the drugs. Helene Ballas, Startz's office manager, recently told Allure.com that Liberace's biggest concern before his procedures was that he was going to have to remove his wig (a concern he addresses in another funny scene in the film), but both he and Thorson were unaware of just how many problems Startz himself was juggling. Financial struggles, growing concerns about the safety and efficacy of his silicone injections, and his own drug issues would eventually lead to the end of Startz's business. In 1985, he committed suicide. [Related: Rob Lowe Suffered Migraines to Transform His Handsome Face for 'Behind the Candelabra'] Years before he had even met with Liberace and Thorson, and dispensed the drugs that Thorson maintains led to his lifelong drug issues, Startz had gone to rehab for his own drug addictions, Ballas told Allure.com. Thorson, meanwhile, told Larry King in a 2002 interview that Startz even drank alcohol during his surgical session with Liberace. As for the results of Startz's work on Thorson and Liberace, a nose job, a chin implant, and cheekbone work did result in the then-20-year-old Thorson resembling his lover, who wanted his "blond Adonis" to look like him because he had considered adopting the younger man. "He wanted me as his son. But at the same time, he wanted me as his lover," Thorson told King. And though Liberace was initially pleased with his surgery results — which Thorson wrote made the performer appear 20 years younger — Liberace's eyes had changed "in appearance and function," Thorson wrote in his book. "He couldn't close his lids completely. They remained slitted open even when he struggled to keep them shut. At night, when he slept, his eyes would open slowly, and that's the way they would stay … it was odd to wake up at night and see him in bed beside me sleeping soundly … odd and a little frightening." [Video: When Liberace Battled Batman and Taught the Hulk How to Tickle the Ivories] Today, Thorson is battling cancer and is currently incarcerated in a Reno, Nevada, jail after being charged with burglary and identity theft in February 2013. He told Larry King he had the chin implant removed more than a decade ago, but with age, he has come to resemble Liberace more than ever. "Behind the Candelabra" premieres May 26 at 9 PM on HBO. http://tv.yahoo.com/news/liberace-s-plastic-surgery-left-him-unable-to-close-his-eyes-%E2%80%94-even-while-he-was-sleeping-000515021.html

One can't help but wonder if he chose to remain sleeping and eating in the guesthouse out among other priests partly for just that reason.

You do have to look, you know. Not just sigh.

hito, in seriousness, it need not be a dream at all. Right here in Raleigh you have choices. Here are just two: St. John's Metropolitan Community Church: http://www.stjohnsmcc.org/CityOnaHill/ Pullen Memorial Baptist Church: http://www.pullen.org/ Pullen's LGBT ministry: http://www.pullen.org/page/lesbian-gay-bi-sexual-transgender-fellowship These churches and others here love you and want you, if you are serious about what you said.

Agreeing with 2 out of 3...

Dept. of No-Joke...

Fish are so enjoyable to cook once you get the hang of handling them. Also good for those of us without much patience. An easy and quick way to treat nice cod or haddock fillets for example is to season as you like (maybe a little pepper, salt and an herb like rosemary on top), sprinkle a little oil in a hot skillet, drop in your fish (skin side down if they have skin), saute a couple of minutes, then stick under a hot broiler for another 4-6 minutes. With some fast-cooking couscous and a green salad, dinner fit for company is ready inside 10 minutes. The quicker to get to the post-prandial activities!

Few things would seem simpler than baked salmon, but I've been served the most mangled versions. How people manage to beat up this poor fish by overcooking, drying out, or the cardinal sin of buying old fish or letting it get old in the fridge before cooking. High oil content makes it go off faster than many other fish. Assuming a nice fresh cut, some ways to keep it moist when cooking... (1) Season as you like, wrap loosely in a tightly sealed foil tent and bake. Or (2) bake uncovered 400 deg about 30 min, after coating with this mixture (this is enough for a single-serving 1/4-lb fillet): 1/4 cup bread crumbs (use panko; the regular ones will come out a soggy mess rather than crisp and crusted) 1/4 cut mayo 2 tablespoons parmesan Makes a nice crust that keeps the fish moist while baking. Or (3) poach it. I was intimidated by the word until I did it the first time. Idiotically simple, and scrumptious. Greatly helps that Whole Foods etc. now sell decent-quality fish broth in cartons, in place of the old bottled "clam juice" that used to be the only choice other than making your own. I wonder what was really in that bottled stuff, which made me think of the life-essence fluid in "Re-Animator." ...It occurs that lurker being a professional chef will be stifling his chortles at these amateur cooking posts. But then his shortcuts would be our long-way-arounds. First time I glanced into Escoffier I noticed that what at first looks like a short recipe is liable to take all day, due to his professional compression of an hours-long prep step into a one-word command. Alas my scullery maid ran off with the footman.

"Scared the first time I had sex? Of course I was scared -- I was all alone!" Rodney Dangerfield

My dear, we have just identified two men over whom you and I will never have to fight.

Our vet said a raw egg in our dog's food every few days would be good for his coat and skin, which would get dry and flaky in places during winter. He loved those eggs.

No, I honestly don't remember. And am resisting Googling it at least for a day, to see if I have any memory left at all. ...What did I just say?

No worries. Everything is a metaphor for everything.

Although Google a recent photo. As he ages he is beginning to resemble a bit the love child of Mitt Romney and Franklin Graham.

"He pursued pleasure so avidly as to have the misfortune to catch her." ...who said that? (Besides me. )

Are a shoe fetish and a foot fetish necessarily the same thing? As in: Condoms I use, but what's inside 'em I worship.

Sorry -- how silly of us! Of course this was the real cause... Westboro Baptist Church Member Blames Oklahoma Tornado On Jason Collins' Coming OutPosted: 05/21/2013 11:13 am EDT | Updated: 05/22/2013 5:29 pm EDT A prominent member of the Westboro Baptist Church is drawing a link between the Oklahoma tornado's devastation and a local team's support for openly gay NBA star Jason Collins. Fred Phelps Jr., the son of Westboro Baptist Church minister Fred Phelps, tweeted the following: Fred Phelps, Jr. @WBCFredJr OK Thunder's Durant flips God by praising fag Collins. God smashes OK. You do the math. #GodH8sFags #FagsDoomNations #FearGod #GodH8sU 10:47 PM - 20 May 2013 Later, Phelps added: Fred Phelps, Jr. @WBCFredJr God's wonderful wrath in Oklahoma reminds me: #GodCursesUForFagMarriage #GodIsYourTerrorist #GodWillRepay #GodAvengesHisPeople #GodH8sU 10:49 PM - 20 May 2013 It isn't the first time that an anti-gay pundit has attempted to blame a natural disaster to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In 2012, chaplain John McTernan linked Hurricane Sandy (and a number of other recent weather-related trends and natural disasters) on LGBT people and President Barack Obama's backing of marriage equality. "God is systematically destroying America," McTernan wrote at the time. "Just look at what has happened this year." McTernan similarly linked Hurricane Isaac with the LGBT community, pointing to the fact that the life-threatening storm coincided with Southern Decadence, New Orleans' "Gay Mardi Gras." "New Orleans is still hosting Southern Decadence with open homosexuality manifesting in the streets of the city," he wrote in a blog. "It could be that God is putting an end to this city and its wickedness." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/westboro-oklahoma-tornado-_n_3312712.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

I don't know. The reviews at daddy's seem to show about the same average amount of overnights as I remember over the past decade or so...?

Many steamed veggies take well to a little olive oil, much better for the coronary apparatus than butter and quite tasty.