Władziu Valentino Liberace (1919-1987) was born in Wisconsin to Polish and Italian parents. He showed a talent for the piano from an early age, and later befriended Polish prime minister and former concert pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski. More than his musicianship, his stage presence and sense of showmanship made him the highest-paid entertainer in the world at one point. Despite his effeminate manner and flamboyant style of dress, he always publicly maintained that he was heterosexual, going so far as to sue media outlets for insinuating that he was gay. He died of AIDS complications and became an icon of closeted homosexuality.