Liberace’s Longtime Partner Has Died: ‘Behind the Candelabra’ Author Scott Thorson Was 65

Entertainer Scott Thorson, best known for his relationship with Liberace, passed away on Friday, Aug. 16 at the age of 65. Thorson had been battling cancer since 2012, along with other health conditions all complicated by his stints in prison. According to a report by Variety, he died at a healthcare facility in Los Angeles, California.

Thorson – who legally changed his name to Jess Marlow late in life – lived through multiple experiences that most people would consider the most dramatic times of their lives. He became a household name in 1982 when he filed the first-ever same-sex palimony lawsuit in U.S. history. Thorson claimed that he had met Liberace in 1976 through mutual friends, and had been living with him ever since. Thorson performed as a dancer in Liberace’s Las Vegas residency, and was hired as his “personal friend and companion.” At the time, Thorson was 18 years old, while Liberace was 58.

Thorson contended in court that Liberace had influenced him to develop a drug addiction, and had then abandoned him when that addiction became too much to handle. He also claimed that he got plastic surgery to make himself look more like his lover, at Liberace’s suggestion. Liberace not only denied these allegations but continued to deny that they had a personal relationship and that he was homosexual throughout the case. In the end, they settled out of court, and they reconciled shortly before Liberace’s death in 1987.

Thorson wrote a book about his experiences titled Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, which was later adapted into a 2013 movie starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Thorson. Thorson continued to speak out about his experiences in interviews over the years, revealing in 2002 that his plastic surgery had been reversed.

The news cycle wasn’t finished with Thorson, however. In 1989, Thorson was called as a key witness against Hollywood gang leader Eddie Nash, as Thorson had reportedly witnessed a quadruple murder in 1981. Afterward, Thorson was placed in the federal witness protection program where he was given the name Jess Marlow. Thorson was shot by burglars who broke into his home in 1991, but it was not clear if they knew his true identity.

Thorson himself went on trial in 2008, when he pleaded guilty to felony drug and burglary charges. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to a variety of charges related to the use of a stolen credit card. He was originally sentenced to probation, but after several failed drug tests his sentence was escalated to prison. He served some time behind bars and some time in residential confinement over the last few years. His death was attributed to a combination of cancer and heart disease.

Thorson’s book is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats. Behind the Candelabra is streaming now on Max. Social media is slowly filling with tributes to Thorson and ruminations on his life and his works.