Back when jazz musicians had to wear suits on stage to be taken serious, Liberace went in the opposite direction. He abandoned his classical performance routines and embraced showmanship, playing classical music “with the boring parts left out,” mixing them with folk songs, breaking down the fourth wall with the audience by bringing them on stage, and generally focusing less on the material and more on the presentation. The acts were something never before witnessed, winning Liberace enduring fame, which he parlayed into as many media appearances in as many formats as could take him.

On this day, April 23, in 1985, Liberace appeared on his first soap opera Another World. Notably, he did not play another character. The flamboyance of Liberace was color enough, as he played a fan the romance novelists Patricia Gallant (played by Linda Dano).

Liberace was an outspoken fan of Another World, reportedly saying he scheduled his performances around the show, and a fan of Ms. Dano as well, whom he called “The Joan Collins of daytime television.” After his first cameo, he came back the following month to begin a two-week stint as a show regular. Still playing himself, and still vying with Patricia Gallant for the title of the show’s flashiest character.