Michael Douglas: Liberace

Behind the Candelabra

Liberace

[last lines]
Liberace: Why do I love you? I love you not only for what you are, But for what I am when I'm with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, But for what you are making of me. I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool in me, and for accepting the possibilities of the good in me. Why do I love you? I love you for closing your eyes to the discords in me, And for adding to the music in me by worshipful listening. I love you for helping me to construct of my life not a tavern but a temple. I love you because you have done so much to make me happy. You have done it without a word, without a touch, without a sign. You have done it by just being yourself. Perhaps after all, that is what love means. And that is why I love you.

Liberace: All of a sudden we're sounding like a gay Lucy and Ricky. "Oh, Ricky, you wouldn't fuck me up the ass if you loved me!"
Scott Thorson: Why am I the Lucy?
Liberace: Because I'm the bandleader with the nightclub act.

Liberace: [watching himself on TV] Oh my Christ, I look like my father! I look like my father in drag!

Liberace: [after Scott passes out at an adult video store] I'm not ready for apologies, OK?
Scott Thorson: Apology? Fuck you! You are a well known star! Are you out of your mind, going to a place like that? I mean, what if someone would have recognized you? What if they had gone to the press?
Liberace: Back in the late 1950s, when a London paper said I was gay, I took them to court and I won that law suit. They retracted the story and they paid me for it.
Scott Thorson: Only because they didn't have a witness seeing you with a room full of dildos... with your dick hanging out of a glory hole! Are you out of your fucking mind?

Liberace: [to Scott] Please don't be unhappy. I can't stand it when you have a face like that. Especially after the money I paid for it.

Scott Thorson: Being somebody's boyfriend, I didn't picture my life like this. I wanted to be a veterinarian.
Liberace: You want to help animals? Pick up the dog shit.

Liberace: I want to be everything to you, Scott. I want to be your father, brother, lover, best friend.

Liberace: "Gimme, gimme, gimme." No one I can trust, no one I can talk to. I hate my life sometimes. I really do. No matter how many people are around, I'm all by myself. Like, I'm with people... they're not really my family or my friends. You know what that feels like?

Liberace: [to Seymour on the phone] Seymour? I told you not to call this number.
Seymour Heller: [into the phone] Hi, Lee. I'm sorry, I have to talk to you about these dates. We've got six months of bookings.
Liberace: I already told you the dates I would do. I'm not working after Thanksgiving during the holidays.
[quietly to Scott]
Liberace: Especially now.
Seymour Heller: But you can make double on holiday shows. Take a vacation later.
Liberace: Seymour, I do not want to be the richest piano player in the grave. Forget it.
Scott Thorson: No definitely not. You're already working too hard.
Seymour Heller: Lee, give the phone to Scott. I have a question for him.
Scott Thorson: [into the phone] Hey, Seymour.
Seymour Heller: Hey, Scott. Why don't you stay out of my fucking business? Now give me back to Lee!
Liberace: [to Seymour] OK! No, you cannot come for dinner tomorrow night, I'm making pork.
[Scott and Lee snigger]

Liberace: I never know whether people like me for me, or what they can get out of me.

Liberace: It was the only thing my father gave me. He was a French horn player. He left us for an oboist.
Scott Thorson: So that's why you're so musical?
Liberace: No, that man had nothing to do with it. My talent comes from God.

Liberace: [after plastic surgery] Will I be able to close my eyes?
Dr. Jack Startz: Not entirely. But this way, you'll always be able to see people's expressions when they see how fabulous you look.