[2] Thorson stated that following his plastic surgery, the surgeon provided for him a cocktail of addictive drugs that included cocaine, Quaalude, amphetamine, and Demerol.
[3] In 2012, while serving a 4 year prison sentence for drug and burglary charges, Thorson gave several interviews about his relationship with Liberace.
Throughout their lawsuit, Thorson stated that Liberace referred to him in the media as a disgruntled employee, a liar, a gold digger, and claimed that there was never a sexual relationship between them.
[2] The case was settled out of court in 1986, with Thorson receiving a $75,000 cash settlement, plus three cars and three pet dogs worth another $20,000 (a total of $264,000 today).
[13] The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, with music by Academy Award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch.
[14] In 1989, Thorson emerged as a pivotal witness in the prosecution of gangster and owner of the West Hollywood nightclub the Starwood, Eddie Nash, in the 1981 quadruple murders of the Wonderland Gang.
[3][16] After his diagnosis, and before his health care became the responsibility of the Nevada Department of Corrections in January 2014, Thorson made public pleas for money to continue his medical treatments.
Thorson (who also used the alias Jess Marlow, which he said he acquired when he entered the protection program in the Nash case) was booked on a variety of charges, including burglary and using a credit card without consent.
[22] As of March 2021[update] he was completing his term in unsupervised custody in residential confinement,[23] with a projected release date of August 30, 2022 unless paroled earlier.
[needs update][25][26] Thorson died from cancer and heart disease at a Los Angeles healthcare facility, on August 16, 2024, at the age of 65.