Very Sissy Men: Very Sissy Man: Liberace

Who are these Very Sissy Men?

Throughout the history of motion pictures and television, and continuing to this day, there is a certain type of man who is neither the strong man nor the everyman, but the type of man for whom the sight of a pretty woman brings to mind the thought; “Where’d she get those shoes?” This man is the Sissy Man. No more is he assigned to the land of supporting players as the best friend or unctuous authority figure, in this blog, he is put up front and center where he belongs. You will see a number at the bottom of every Very Sissy Man. This is our very own “Sissy scale.” We rate the selected “Sissies,” from zero to ten. (Zero being John Wayne, a Sissy Man only because he walked sprightly in his spurs; and ten being a man who undoubtedly continues to live the life of a sissy long after the camera has stopped rolling-- think Liberace.) In addition to the Sissy rating, each entry contains a brief, humorous biography, along with a picture that conveys the very essence of the actor’s sissiness. Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Sir Evelyn De La Fontaine, Esq.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Very Sissy Man: Liberace

Liberace

born Wladziu (Walter) Valentino Liberace

May 16, 1919 - Feb. 4, 1987

If Sissy Men had a queen, it would be Liberace, and not only because he d be the only one with a tiara at the ready. Playing piano at age 4, by his teens he was using the name “Walter Busterkeys” and earning a living by tickling the ivories in clubs, theaters, on the radio, and at weddings. “Flamboyant” should have been his middle name. By adulthood there was a candelabrum on his piano and, with a fashion sense which can only be described as delirious, a continually increasing profusion of sequins and mirrors everywhere. “Too much of a good thing--is wonderful!”

Long a fixture in Las Vegas, Liberace’s show included an (appropriately) Peter Pan-like flight over the stage on wires, with his giddy cry of “Eat your heart out, Mary Poppins!”

“Mr. Showmanship”, as he later styled himself, never married because he was “waiting for the right woman to come along.”

SISSY METER: 10