The Region : Liberace Near Death, Publicist Reports

Liberace, the flamboyant showman who parlayed a white piano and candelabra into a show business legend, was near death as family and friends gathered at his Palm Springs home, his publicist said. “It looks like death is imminent,” said Denise Collier, press agent for the 67-year-old entertainer. “It’s going to be within the next 24 to 48 hours.” Collier described Liberace as being in a semi-conscious state suffering from pernicious anemia, complicated by advanced emphysema and heart disease. The Las Vegas Sun, in a copyright Jan. 24 story that quoted informed sources, said Liberace was terminally ill with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and had less than a year to live. Seymour Heller, Liberace’s personal manager for 36 years, denied that report and demanded a retraction. Heller said Liberace is suffering from anemia resulting from two months on a weight-loss watermelon diet.