Bette Midler is the original triple threat because not only can she sing and act, but perhaps even more importantly, she looks fantastic in a witch’s outfit.
With her continuous charitable activities and upcoming initiatives, this Broadway newcomer has been making history for three-quarters of a century and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Here are some details about the legendary Bette Midler that you may not be aware of.
10. She and Her Sisters All Have Celebrity Names.
The reason why Bette Midler’s first name is pronounced with only one syllable is straightforward: Midler’s mother thought Bette Davis also said her name in this way.
In order to position Midler for success throughout her life, she was given the name Bette, after the famous old Hollywood starlet. Midler’s sisters were given the names Judy and Susan in honor of Susan Hayward and Judy Garland, respectively.
9. She and Mick Jagger Once Worked Together on A Rolling Stones Cover.
Bette Midler has performed several song covers during her career. She even put out an entire album of tributes to girl groups. Beasts of Burden by The Rolling Stones, however, is one of her older tunes.
The song, which was covered by Midler and reached its highest position of 71 on the Billboard Hot 100, also featured Mick Jagger as a co-star in the music video. In the footage, the two are shown performing on stage while receiving pies hurled at them by the crowd, which Jagger reportedly enjoyed.
8. She Was the Featured Performer at New York’s Stonewall Pride Festival’s 50th Anniversary.
As a longstanding supporter of the LGBT+ community, Midler has even been honored by AIDS Project Los Angeles with the Lifetime Commitment Award for her tireless fundraising and advocacy work in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
She was chosen to be the event’s headlining act for New York’s Pride celebration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Although there were many other performers on the bill, including Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler was the one to cap off the historic performance.
7. While Performing In, She Fell from A Moving Platform. Good Day, Dolly!
Even though Bette Midler received a special Tony Award in 1974 for “adding shine to the Broadway season,” she didn’t actually receive a Tony Award for performing until 2017, when she was recognized for her work in Hello, Dolly as Best Actress in a Musical.
When Midler, 71, took the lead in the resurrection of the legendary show, the rest of the performance reportedly ran late because of extended acclaim on her first night.
Midler, unfortunately, fell from a considerable height at the end of act one due to two set pieces colliding later in the performance, but at the beginning of act two, she was back up and performing!
6. She Received an Academy Award Nomination for Her Very First Film Appearance.
Bette Midler made her acting debut in the 1979 film The Rose as a bad-girl rock star modeled after Janis Joplin.
Midler received a Golden Globe for her portrayal of an out-of-control singer who drinks, swears, sings, and eventually passes away, and she was nominated for an Academy Award as well. Not bad for her first significant film part.
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5. All of her grandparents immigrated to Israel as Jews.
Despite the fact that both of her parents spent most of their lives in New Jersey, Bette Midler spent a large portion of her youth in Hawaii.
Her maternal grandparents, on the other hand, were Jewish immigrants from Austria and Poland, while Midler’s paternal grandparents were both Jewish immigrants from Russia and Lithuania.
4. in New York City, She Has Planted More than A Million Trees.
Bette Midler has dedicated her time to beautifying New York, the city she has spent a lot of time performing in, in addition to her charitable work for LGBT+ issues.
In 1995, Midler founded the New York Restoration Project, which has now planted more than a million trees in the region. In addition to hosting numerous charity events and selling special goodies with a Hocus Pocus theme around Halloween, Midler has raised money for the cause.
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3. She Performed with Barry Manilow During One of Her Very First Performances.
Even though Bette Midler’s name is now recognizable, back at the beginning of her career, she was just known as The Divine Miss M. When Midler was performing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York, the moniker came to be.
Barry Manilow, at the time an obscure session musician, played the piano for Midler’s monthly cabaret, which she held at the bathhouse.
2. Her First Position Was in A Hawaiian Pineapple Processing Business.
Bette Midler accepted an opportunity to work as an extra on some Hawaiian movies early in her career without hesitation. She received no credit for the task, but it enabled her to travel to New York and start her quest for fame right away.
Midler processed Dole pineapples at a processing facility on the island prior to those opportunities, though. Although she hasn’t talked much about the job in interviews, we may presume that it’s not as absurd as it may seem.
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1. She Has Appeared in Some of The Most Well-Known Musical Theatre Productions Ever.
Bette Midler Has Played Some of The Most Difficult Roles in Theatre, Both on Stage and In Films. Midler Has Established Herself as A Legendary Actress Thanks to Her Roles as The Title Character in Hello, Dolly! and Mama Rose in Gypsy.