Bette Midler

Biography

Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 1, 1945, and raised in Aiea, Hawaii, where she attended Radford High School.

After she relocated to New York City to pursue acting on stage, she landed her first professional onstage role in Miss Nefertiti Regrets.

In 1970 Midler began singing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first major album, The Divine Miss M in 1973.

In 1974, she received a Special Tony Award for her contribution to Broadway for her Clams on the Half Shell Revue at the Palace Theater.

Her manager and boyfriend for a significant period was Aaron Russo.

Midler married Martin von Haselberg (Harry Kipper of her opening act the Kipper Kids) on December 16, 1984.

In 1985, she was a performer on USA for Africa's fundraising single We Are the World and participated at the 'Live Aid' event at JFK stadium in Philadelphia.

In 1986, director Paul Mazursky cast her in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, beginning a successful comedic acting career.

She has won four Grammy Awards including the 1973 Best New Artist and the prestigious Record of the Year in 1989 for the # 1 hit "Wind Beneath My Wings", the theme from Beaches.

When The American Film Institute announced "The 100 years of the Greatest Songs" on June 22, 2004, two of her hits were selected by the board: "Wind Beneath My Wings" (#44) and "The Rose" (#83).

Other films include Scenes from a Mall, For the Boys (for which she was again nominated for an Academy Award), Hocus Pocus, The First Wives Club, and The Stepford Wives.

Midler won an Emmy Award in 1992 for her memorable performance on the penultimate episode of The Tonight Show in May of that year, during which she sang an emotion-laden "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" to Johnny Carson.

In 2003-2004 Midler toured her new show Kiss My Brass to sell-out crowds around the United States.

Midler has guest-starred on The Simpsons in the episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled".

In 2006, a new Christmas album "Cool Yule" has been released by Midler featuring the title song (written by Steve Allen) and a duet with Johnny Mathis of Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow. She also begins filming on "Then She Found Me" to be directed by Helen Hunt and starring Hunt, Matthew Broderick and Colin Firth.

Charity work

In 1995, Midler founded the New York Restoration Project, a non-profit organization with the goal of revitalizing neglected neighborhood parks in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of New York City.

In 1999 the city planned to auction 114 community gardens for commercial development. Company (1988) (voice) Beaches (1988) Stella (1990) Earth Day Special (1990) Scenes from a Mall (1991) For the Boys (1991) Hocus Pocus (1993) Gypsy (1993) Get Shorty (1995) (Cameo) The First Wives Club (1996) That Old Feeling (1997) Get Bruce (1999) (herself) Jackie's Back (1999) (herself) Fantasia 2000 (2000) (herself) Drowning Mona (2000) Isn't She Great (2000) What Women Want (2000) The Stepford Wives (2004) Then She Found Me (2007) In the Pink (2007)

Discography

Studio Albums

Soundtrack Albums

Compilations

Charted singles (U.S.)

from The Divine Miss M

from Bette Midler

from Songs for the New Depression

from Live at Last

from Broken Blossom

from Thighs and Whispers

from The Rose soundtrack

from No Frills

from Beaches soundtrack

from For the Boys soundtrack

from Bathhouse Betty