Bette Midler: Still Divine

433 Pages·2002·4.13 MB·English

by  Mark Bego

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.