Wladziu Valentino Liberace (1919-1987), known to the world as Liberace, was an American pianist, singer and actor. Liberace enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements. At the height of his fame, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, he embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off stage, acquiring the nickname "Mr. Showmanship".

Liberace was secretly diagnosed HIV positive in August 1985 by his private physician in Las Vegas, 18 months before his death. He died of pneumonia as a result of AIDS on the morning of 4 February 1987, at his retreat home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 67.

His death was initially attributed to anemia, emphysema, and heart disease, the last of which was attested to by his personal physician. However, the Riverside County coroner - against the advice of the personal physician - performed an autopsy and later stated that "a deliberate attempt" had been made to hide the actual cause of Liberace's death. The post mortem discovered that Liberace had emphysema and heart disease from years of chain smoking, but the real cause was pneumonia due to complications from AIDS.

Liberace's body is buried inside an ornate tomb with those of his mother and brother, at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. His epitaph there reads "Sheltered Love".

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