Some shoes are hard to fill…
Jere Ring plays the piano and sings…but in a nutshell, he’s an all-around entertainer, comedian and storyteller whose talent has introduced him to an extraordinary life.
Last season in Palm Springs, I met Ring at the opening of the old-Hollywood-style boutique hotel, The Velvet Rope. The gorgeous oasis pays homage to Palm Springs’ Hollywood roots with 9 rooms decked out to embody the vibe of a bygone era. When movie stars were movie stars and mystery prevailed. One of the rooms was dedicated to talented over-the-top entertainer, Liberace. Sidenote: I took my mom to see Liberace perform in Montreal when none of my other friends even knew who he was. Women loved Liberace. Did they know he loved them too?….but loved men more? Didn’t it seem obvious with all that glitter and bling? Throughout his life, he never made his gayness public knowledge. Must say, he was extremely charming.
Anyway, my friend Candy noticed Jere sitting at an outside table in conversation with some people. She’d seen him at social gatherings before, although she never spoke with him. She said his claim to fame was something to do with Liberace and thought that he might be the person who Matt Damon portrayed (Scott Thornson) in the movie “Behind the Candelabra” to Michael Douglas’s Liberace. She suggested we go meet him. So we did.
Turns out that he is not the no longer living Scott Thorson, Liberace’s complicated out-of-control lover who wrote about the relationship and later ended up in prison.
These pics below I took from a recent visit to Jere + Johnny’s home:
Jere quickly explained to us that his connection with Liberace (or Lee, as Liberace was called to those close to him) was strictly professional, not personal. In other words, they were not lovers and never were. Liberace discovered Ring and turned him into his protégé. Jere is an entertainer who plays piano, tells stories and is naturally charismatic and funny. He became lifelong friends with Liberace, travelling around and accompanying him onstage for many shows over many years. And needless to say, he has countless stories about his experiences with the fabulously famous and infamous people he’s met along the way. He wrote a book that’s become a ‘cult-favorite’ called “IF THE SHOE FITS, BUY TWO.”
To be honest, I had the book for almost a year before actually reading it. But once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The hilarious stories and juicy gossip, vaguely reminiscent of Truman Capote’s scandalous unfinished novel “unfinished prayers.” However, Jere’s is more about his personal life and experiences with high-profile (and some low-profile but colorful) people instead of betrayal by exposing secrets and therefore enduring social exile. Many of the people he writes about are no longer around, but Jere’s still here, and people love him.
We met up with Ring again recently for lunch at his office; namely Spencer’s restaurant – his home away from home.
Those of you familiar with Liberace will know that he always ended his show with his signature sentimental theme song “I’LL BE SEEING YOU“…
Jere’s First Review:
Written by Forrest Duke for the Las Vegas Review Journal:
“Liberace, noted for his many discoveries, including Barbra Streisand (he gave the talented actress/singer a significant career boost by inviting her to perform as part of his act in Las Vegas in 1963) has booked his newest discovery, Jere Ring, for an engagement at Liberace’s Tivoli Gardens restaurant. Jere will open his Las Vegas debut on Sunday, July 17, in the piano lounge. Ray Arnett, who stages Liberace’s spectaculars, heard about Ring, a popular performer, and his accomplishments as a piano singer. Ray passed the word on to Liberace who had Jere jet to Las Vegas for an audition. That did it! A new Las Vegas star was born.”
Then Life with Lee….and so many other fabulous friends. From encounters with Oprah, Jackie Onassis and the Gabor sisters to dinner at Lucille Ball’s home, escorting Ginger Rogers to an opera and entertaining on countless cruise ships…his story telling is never boring! As Liza Minnelli would say (he’s met her twice and has a funny story) – “never hang around dull people.”
As you may have guessed; Jere Ring is anything but dull.
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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