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Director waves bye to Liberace Foundation
Museum attendance way down, chairman says
Thursday, April 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
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Liberace museum
The executive director of the Liberace Foundation left his post this week as the nonprofit group tries to cope with the economy.
Darin Hollingsworth, who went by the title of president, said the departure was a mutual decision with the board, which will take a more active role in fundraising and daily operations.
“The economy has hit every organization in town,” Hollingsworth said. “Things are fine there. In order to keep them fine, the board has had to make some wise decisions.”
The news comes just after the museum at 1775 East Tropicana Ave. wrapped up its 30-year anniversary celebration and as it is planning to tour a portion of the Liberace collection. The foundation has also signed on with CMG Worldwide, a licensing company, to move forward with Liberace theatrical, film and tribute productions.
Efforts to revamp the showman’s image and rebrand him to younger audiences have been under way for the past few years. Liberace died in 1987, and his core fan base is aging and dying off. The tour is scheduled to begin in spring 2010 and is designed as a way to raise awareness of the late showman who has faded from popular culture in recent years.
Board Chairman Jack Rappaport said attendance at the museum has “dropped dramatically,” but couldn’t give exact numbers or a time frame.
The museum has an annual budget of about $1.3 million. Hollingsworth’s departure will give the museum about $120,000 more to work with, Rappaport said.
The board will reorganize long and short-term fundraising plans. Development was part of Hollingsworth’s duties, and he will continue to serve as a consultant.
“We don’t want to go (the) way of Las Vegas Art Museum,” Rappaport said. “We’re all feeling the pinch. We’re trying to keep it business as usual. We have an investment account. We don’t want to deplete it.”
The museum was begun to keep Liberace’s legacy alive. The performer formed the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts to give scholarships to students in the arts, and it has awarded more than $5.5 million since 1976. Even the scholarships are being scaled back — $100,000 will be given out for 2009-10, compared with $200,000 this year.
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The museum is a great idea, it's just marketed like poo.
"Efforts to revamp the showman's image and rebrand him to younger audiences have been under way for the past few years. Liberace died in 1987, and his core fan base is aging and dying off."
Liberace is about as relevant now as Lawrence Welk would be. And I couldn't stand him either. Best to just auction off the collection and get it over with.
Darin Hollingsworth presided over much more than a simple Liberace display room. The Liberace Foundation provides scholarships for students to in the arts as well as support for a number of charitable organizations. Both The Liberace foundation and its President did fabulous work and Darin will certainly be missed.
Actually, Darin Hllingsworth should be run out of town for what he did to the Liberace Museum and the Liberace Foundation. The spin that has been put on this in quite unbelievable as the truth is Mr. Hollingsworth foolishly squandered millions of dollars of the foundations money. He was brought into the Liberace Museum and Foundation by Jeff Cope as "somebody with extensive experience in fundraising and working in the non-profit sector". None of this was true, nor did any of it come to fruition. The economy may play a small role in the Liberace decline, but the majority of responsibility rests on Darin Hollingsworth's shoulders. If you do a little digging, it becomes very apparent. A consultant???? I wouldn't consult him to clean a toilet.
I went to the museum in 2001, and found the place very creepy. Rip Taylor, a sorry comedian, was giving out plastic rings. Nice hairpiece, Rip. Overall it had a bunch of tacky pianos and assorted clothing and such. It's great that the place supported scholarships, however. Time to go.
I have been to museums all over the world and the Liberace Museum represents a slice of Americana at it's best. Liberace represents a rags to riches story, he achieved the American Dream. The flamboyant costuming housed in the Liberace Museum shaped his persona. These were designs that paved the road for the unforgettable costuming of many to come. The Liberace costume collection is without a doubt the finest and most extravagant costume collection in America. It was created by the same artists who created wardrobes for the Queen of Spain, Queen of Greece, Jacquelyn Kennedy Onassis and in more contemporary times Goldie Hawn, Diana Ross and Sharon Stone. These costumes are couture that rival collections throughout the world. While visitors today might not appreciate or know of Liberace, they will appreciate the brilliance of the costumes and cars, the history of the piano collection and the story of the sheer determination that took Wladzui Valentio Liberace to the highest pinnacle that could be achieved in his field.
As a dedicated former employee of the Liberace Museum for over six years, who had the distinction of being fired by Mr. Hollingsworth I say "what goes around comes around." Never knowing much about Liberace until I started working at the Museum, I realized what an incredible kind gentleman he was and this instituion and his memory should never go away. Mr. Hollingsworth however should have been gone two years ago.
Darin Hollingsworth was a drop of poison. He was rabidly afraid of talented people- he was the kind of manager who only kept less capable people around him, for fear he would be found out as the totally incompetent person he is. The people left at the attraction are only those that cannot find work elsewhere- so they tolerated his micro-managing and outrageous behavior. The board really dropped the ball on this- the place was run into the ground by this guy, who one hopes will never have a position of management again in his life.
The reputation of the Liberace Museum has been tainted with the decision to sell off one of the most valuable artifacts from the collection to a private party ( Liberace's prized Louis XV desk).
There is an understood promise between a museum and its public against the sale of collection objects for general operating expenses. This promise exists across generations in order to prevent the financial challenges of a given time from depriving future generations of the benefits of a museum's holdings.
If a museum is unable to properly care for an artifact, the artifact should be transferred to another institution with the expertise to properly care for it so that the object remains in the public trust.
Standard museum best practices will allow for the sale of an artifact from the collection if that sale advances the value of a museum's permanent collection and when proceeds from the artifact sale are used only for acquisition or for direct care of collections. In this case, the desk's sale greatly diminished the value of the Liberace Museum's collection and use of proceeds remains highly uncertain.
What will the Liberace Museum be selling off next? Is anyone interested in buying a one-of-kind full-length pink feathered cape?
If the foundation was set up as a trust, with Mr. H. as its trustee, the beneficiaries should be able to hold him accountable for its downturn. If he was any kind of fiduciary that would still be a smart thing to do.
cfurrdesign -- Get a grip on reality! Despite Mr. Liberace's talents he was a drop in the ocean of his generation's rags to riches stories. Other than being an inspiration to Reginald Dwight (aka Elton John), what attraction or even relevance does he have to those who would patronize the museum today?
Like I said above, all things Liberace are about as attractive as anything Lawrence Welk-ish.
To the person who commented on selling that desk, it's a worthless antique that was (fortunately for the museum) sold for way more than it's worth. Honestly. That thing does not appear in any pictures of ANY of Czar Nicholas' homes (remember" he and his family photographed EVERYTHING). And Cloidon always worked better in terra cotta. Obviously, every other part of that statement is true, based on national and international museum standards, but in this case, GOOD RIDDANCE. At least the tour guides don't have to lie now.
As for Hollingsworth's contributions, his main downfall was his desire to replace one small population, over 65, with another equally small population, homosexuals. The museum's true future is as a pop culture repository. Not a bastion of kitsch culture aimed towards Liberace own unspoken sexuality. Show the people the reason why Liberace is important: Elvis, Elton John, Cher, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Britney Spears. Costumes. Reinventing oneself. The aspects of pop culture that did not even EXIST prior to ol' Lee. If you even get a FRACTION of costumed entertainers on board, you've got a go. Just think, what are Monticello and Montpelier working on highlighting? Technological and agricultural advances respectively. ADVANCES. Liberace's got a ton of them, so why not actually show it. If even Jefferson and Madison need to do it, that tells you something. Make it a viable museum while maintaining it's pop culture ATTRACTION feel.
KillerB, Liberace is most certainly relevent, for those specific reasons, unlike Lawrence Welk who effected NOTHING. Unfortunately, in a city where we praise Wayne Newton, people are too blind to see it.
And the museum is nothing like it was in 2001. No good museum is.
Darin Hollingsworth is among the most kind-hearted, generous, and sweet-spirited people I have ever met. He has lived and breathed Liberace since joining the museum's staff and deserves much more credit than he's given in these sad comments.
What I read here are the voices of a lot of bitter people who's time would be much better spent making themselves happy rather than spewing venom at the expense of another person's reputation. Such a shame.