MikiBoi wrote:Miki, early in her career Bette performed at gay bathhouses (and Barry Manilow was her pianist). Her shows used to be very bawdy (and still may be in her shows now, but less so). Seeing her on Kathy's show this week and comparing her to the gritty and foul mouthed Bette of the 70s and 80s...it wasn't even like the same person at all. Here is a little piece from Wikipedia about her early career:
I never understood her gae icon status as she's kinda average to me.
In the summer of 1970, Midler began singing in 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 1972. It was during her time at the Continental Baths that she built up a core following. Because of Bette's appearances there the baths turned into a major New York City nightclub for both gays and straights in the early seventies."Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [singing at gay bathhouses]. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride″.[8]
