The Liberace Experience

It was 1970.  I was working as a cocktail waitress in the revolving restaurant at the new Holiday Inn in Springfield, MA.  It wasn’t unusual to see celebrities in the restaurant – particularly in the summer when the Storrowton Music Circus was open and touring shows studded the season.  I was not typically star-struck, but then there was Liberace.  I saw him and his entourage being seated in the dining room and I didn’t skip a beat, went directly to his table.  “Mr. Liberace!  Excuse me, but I have been a fan of yours since I was a little girl.”  He was so gracious, stood up and introduced me to the others at his table, who were equally gracious.

He asked me how I knew his music and I told him how, when I was little, my parents would wake me up at 11:00 on Saturday nights so I could see his TV show.  I supposed a gushed a little.  Ok, a LOT.  How much I loved his signature theme song, “I’ll be seeing you”.  And that I had one of his original LPs (still do).  We talked some more about music and the show in Storrowton, my mother and her piano skills.

He asked me to bring in the LP so he could sign it.  It was a life-changing moment for me.

Normal tadalafil online pharmacy costs for drugs at Canadian pharmacies vary, but for the most part all offer much lower prices than American companies. Taking it without prescription can cause side-effects. click here for more info viagra without prescription They are known to be equally effective as acquisition de viagra each other. This service is prescription viagra prices provided to you 24 hours. Time passed, I moved to NYC from West Springfield, got a job in Manhattan and started living the life I had dreamed of.  One late spring day, I was walking up Madison Avenue on my lunch hour and who did I see hailing a cab – Liberace!  I remember he had on a snappy blue shirt and pants outfit and he looked fine!  I stopped in my tracks for a second and then hurried over to him. “Mr. Liberace! ” He turned to me, and smiled. “Mr. Liberace!  It’s me, Sherry Campbell! You probably don’t remember but I met you in Springfield a few years ago at the Holiday Inn where I worked in the restaurant.” He smiled a bit more, extended his hand and said “Of course I remember you, Sherry  – your parents woke you up to watch my show…and you have that old LP!!!”.  We chatted, I thanked him for saying hello, for remembering.  I released him to his cab hailing and went on my way.  Of course, I never saw him again.

I’ve met quite a few celebrities throughout my life – for various reasons, in various circumstances, but no one was as generous and gracious as Mr. Lee Liberace.  “when the night is new, I’ll be looking at the moon…but I’ll be seeing you.”

One thought on “The Liberace Experience

  1. Robert Lloyd

    Sherry… thanks for your invite to look here at your blog. Now, I probably won’t do one yet, but I really like how this one is set up and of course this article right off the bat. Back in the 1970s I took my grandparents to “Aksarben” performance hall (that is Nebraska spelled backwards) to see Liberace. I was somewhat hesitant because of his ‘baggage’ but my grandparents (who were closer to me than my parents) loved the guy. Even with my guarded and questioning stance, Liberace showed the most loving soul that even I had could thoroughly enjoy. He was totally disarming to the whole crowd of thousands of people. I will always remember that and could see the same thing with what happened to you in your experience. BTW, the Hibiscus Festival (May 1-3) has been cancelled and is disappointing for my band (The Robert Lloyd Ensemble) as we were scheduled to play a 40 minute set on that Saturday afternoon. Oh my… show business.

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