Bette Midler (33 page)

Baby Divine! Bette Midler as a baby in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was named after actress Bette Davis.
(Courtesy of Photofest)

Adrienne Barbeau, Bette Midler, and Tanya Everett in the Broadway cast of
Fiddler on Roof in
the 1960s.
(Courtesy of Photofest)

With her clunky 1940s-styled platform shoes and her retro repertoire of songs—like The Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”—Midler had the ability to make everything old seem suddenly new again.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Records / MJB Photo Archives)

Bette Midler trucked her way across America in the early 1970s, and became known as one of the hardest-working live performers in the pop and rock music realm. Here, the diva is seen clowning around outside the Atlanta Civic Center.
(Courtesy of Tom Hill)

Midler carved out a unique niche for herself in the music world in the 1970s. She was part chanteuse, part comedienne.
(Courtesy of
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle /
MJB Photo Archives)

Bette’s signature song, “Friends,” was one which she began singing very early in her career at the Continental Baths.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Records / MJB Photo Archives)

Melissa Manchester was the first member of Bette’s background trio, the Harlettes. Manchester, too, became a successful solo singing star.
(Courtesy of Arista Records / MJB Photo Archives)

Barry Manilow was Midler’s first musical director. He was able to use his experiences with Bette as a springboard to launch his own singing career.
(Courtesy of Arista Records / MJB Photo Archives)

“Make me a legend!” was what Bette Midler told her first manager, Aaron Russo. He made several shrewd career moves possible for her, yet it was clear from the start that her own drive and talent were even more important to her achieving star status.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Records / MJB Photo Archives)

Bette’s 1975 stage show,
Clams on the Half-Shell Revue
, was a roaring hit on Broadway and on tour. In the act she awoke in King Kong’s hand and sang the 1930s hit song “Lullaby of Broadway.”
(Courtesy of Atlantic Records / MJB Photo Archives)

In her
Clams on the Half-Shell Revue
, Midler’s repertoire covered a wide array of music, from David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” to her own classics like “Hello in There” and “Chapel of Love.”
(Courtesy of Playbill / MJB Photo Archives)

In addition to her retro 1940s fashions, Bette in the 1970s also had a flair for off-the-wall funkier clothes like this eclectic rock & roll creation.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Records / MJB Photo Archives)