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| - Sunglasses will help deflect the glare emanating from everything in view. At the entrance to this over-the-top exhibit is a giant pink piano, leading to the two buildings it takes to house the showman's collection of memorabilia, with items ranging from the very kitschy to the truly fabulous. About Liberace, it cannot be denied that, beneath the glitz, he was an accomplished pianist; despite his fey demeanor, he inexplicably had women of a certain age swooning at his feet; and his tastes were both extravagant and tacky. Here you'll find eighteen of his thirty-nine pianos (including a rhinestone-covered Baldwin), a Rolls Royce encased in mirror tiles, and a costume gallery featuring his first gold lame jacket, red-white-and-blue hot pants, a pink feathered cape, and a candelabra-shaped ring with platinum candlesticks and diamond flames that puts any contemporay hip hop artist's bling to shame. A Walk of Fame showcases his many awards; a recreation of his Palm Springs bedroom is filled with pieces of rare Moser crystal. There's a cafe serving sandwiches, salads, and specialty coffees, and three days a week the winner of a Liberace sound-alike competition - in piano playing, not vocal inflection - entertains visitors with a musical tribute. Let's face it though . . . nothing will ever beat the one-and-only original.
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