Bette Midler BOOKS BY MARK BEGO The Captain & Tennille (1977) Barry Manilow (1977) The Doobie Brothers (1980) Michael! [Jackson] (1984) On the Road with Michael! [Jackson] (1984) Rock Hudson: Public & Private (1986) Sade! (1986) Julian Lennon! (1986) The Best of “Modern Screen” (1986) Whitney! [Houston] (1986) The Linda Gray Story (1988) TV Rock (1988) Between the Lines [with Debbie Gibson] (1990) Linda Ronstadt: It’s So Easy (1990) Ice Ice Ice: The Extraordinary Vanilla Ice Story (1991) One Is the Loneliest Number [with Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night] (1991) I’m a Believer: My Life of Music, Monkees and Madness [with Micky Dolenz of the Monkees] (1993) Country Hunks (1994) Country Gals (1994) Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva [with Martha Reeves of Martha & the Vandellas] (1994) I Fall to Pieces: The Music & the Life of Patsy Cline (1995) Rock & Roll Almanac (1996) Alan Jackson: Gone Country (1996) Raised on Rock: The Autobiography of Elvis Presley’s Step Brother [with David Stanley] (1996) George Strait: The Story of Country’s Living Legend (1997) Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero (1998) LeAnn Rimes (1998) Jewel (1998, Music Sales Press) Matt Damon: Chasing a Dream (1998) Will Smith: The Freshest Prince (1998) Vince Gill (2000) Madonna: Blonde Ambition (2000, Cooper Square Press) Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul (2001) The Marx Brothers (2001) Cher: If You Believe (2001) Bette Midler: Still Divine (2002, Cooper Square Press) Bonnie Raitt: Still in the Nick of Time (2003, Cooper Square Press) Tina Turner (2003, Cooper Square Press) Bette Midler STILL DIVINE MARK BEGO INTRODUCTION BY RITA COOLIDGE First Cooper Square Press edition 2002 This Cooper Square Press hardcover edition of Bette Midler: Still Divine is an original publication. A portion (now greatly revised and expanded) of the material contained herein appeared in a work by the author entitled Bette Midler: Outrageously Divine, first published as a mass market original paperback in New York in 1987. Bette Midler: Still Divine is published by arrangement with the author. Copyright © 2002 by Mark Bego Introduction copyright © 2002 by Rita Coolidge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. Published by Cooper Square Press A Member of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group 200 Park Avenue South, Suite 1109 New York, New York 10003-1503 www.coopersquarepress.com Distributed by National Book Network Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bego, Mark. Bette Midler : still divine / Mark Bego ; introduction by Rita Coolidge.—1st Cooper Square Press ed. p. cm. Revised and expanded edition of Bette Midler: outrageously divine, 1987. Includes bibliographical references and index. Discography: p. 327 Filmography: p. 346 ISBN 978-0-8154-1232-8 1. Midler, Bette. 2. Singers—United States—Biography. I. Coolidge, Rita. II. Title. ML420.M43 B4 2002 782.42164′092—dc 212002009347 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992. Manufactured in the United States of America. To Glenn Hughes: Fans around the world will always remember you as the “Leather Man” from the Village People. I will always remember you as a dear and caring friend. You were the original “Knight in Black Leather.” CONTENTS Introduction by Rita Coolidge Prologue 1 Bette Midler: The Ultimate Diva 2 Aloha, Honolulu 3 From Pineapples to the Big Apple 4 Steaming Up the Continental Baths 5 Enter: The Divine Miss M 6 Higher and Higher 7 Instant Stardom / Instant Breakdown 8 Clams on the Half Shell 9 The New Depression 10 The Bumpy Road Back to the Top 11 Everything Comes Up Roses 12 Totally Jinxed 13 Ready to Begin Again 14 Her Outrageous Fortune 15 A Divine New Plateau 16 From a Distance 17 Bette of Roses 18 First Wives Club 19 Isn’t She Great? 20 Bette TV 21 Experience the Divine Sources of Quoted Materials Bibliography Discography Filmography TV Specials and Series Concert Tours Websites Bette Midler Facts Members of the Harlettes Mark Bego’s Idea for a Bette Midler Album Awards and Distinctions Guide to the Episodes of the TV Series Bette, 2000–2001 Index About the Author ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank the following people for their help and encouragement with this book: Joseph Amaral, David Andrew, Bart Andrews, Brooks Arthur, Marilyn Arthur, Ann Bego, Angela Bowie, Peter Brown, Joe Canale, Rita Coolidge, Trippy Cunningham, John Deeg, Hector Dejean, Baby Jane Dexter, Michael Dorr, Howard Einbinder, Luke Falby, Terry Fischer, Dr. Clark Fuller, Sasha Goodman, Gary Herb, Tom Hill, Jan Kalajian, Dr. Kamran Kalpari, John Klinger, Sally Kirkland, Moogy Klingman, Buzzy Linhart, Virginia Lohle, Walter McBride, Michael Messina, Keven Mulroy, Jim Pinkston, Ross Plotkin, Bobby Reed, Debby Regiani, Sherry Robb, Richie Rothenstein, David Salidor, Barbara Shelley, Don Siegel, Andy Skurow, Mark Sokoloff, Dr. Steven Tay, George Vissichelli, Beth Wernick, and Dr. Robert Wolfe.