Photo: April Maskiewicz
Bold, brassy Bette
01/30/04
ED CONDRAN
Bette Midler certainly isn’t mellowing with age. The Divine Miss M is still bawdy, provocative and humorous. No wonder the moniker of her tour, which stops Wednesday at the Rose Garden arena, is Kiss My Brass. The singer-actress’s latest album, “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook,” was released in September. However, the jaunt is much more than a showcase for the disc. Midler, 58, is part of a big show, which features an elaborate production, the Staggering Harlettes backup singers, and plenty of old-fashioned entertainment.
You’re such a throwback.
Are you saying I’m old?
No. You look great for someone who is going to turn 60 next year.
No, I’m not going to turn 60 next year. I’m 58 and I’ll be 59 next year.
In 2005 you’ll turn 60.
You’re right. I can’t count. Oh my God, I’m going to be 60 next year. I’m stunned.
How do you plan to celebrate your last big birthday before getting your AARP subscription?
I don’t know. I started thinking about it a couple of weeks ago. I had a huge party here in New York when I turned 50. It was a huge success. I don’t know what I’m going to do this time. What do you think I should do?
How about starting work on a new sitcom?
Please (laughs). Spare me. Anything but that. That (her short-lived sitcom “Bette,” which premiered in 2000) was not fun. I gave up 18 weeks of my life — 18 of my best weeks for that show. When they fired me it was the end of something that was so heinous.
A number of your peers are working in sitcoms; Robert Klein has a new show, which will air on CBS in March. Then there is Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” . . .
My daughter loves that show. Isn’t it great?
It beats reality TV. Everyone does guest shots on “Curb.” Why not celebrate your 60th birthday while improv-ing with Larry David?
He hasn’t invited me. You know who I adore is Garry Shandling. I was so upset when that show (“The Larry Sanders Show”) went off the air. I loved Rip Torn (who portrayed Artie, the stalwart producer). The character he played was so brazen and hilarious. That show was great.
You could relate to it. It was a hilarious take on talk shows. You’ve spent your share of time on chat shows and in the greenroom. How can you top your appearance on Johnny Carson’s final “Tonight Show”?
Or when I was on Roseanne’s horrible talk show.
What happened on Roseanne’s show?
I told her that I wanted to do a simple straightforward show. I told her I wanted it to be simple. I wasn’t supposed to sing and she said fine. What does she do? She makes me get up and sing. But that’s not all. She brings all of these people onstage who I hadn’t seen in years. I was having some problems at the time. I was on the road. I was exhausted. I was upset. One of the people who was on was Barry (Manilow), who was upset with me for being upset. He said, “You didn’t have to behave the way you did. You could have been welcoming. You could have chosen to be thrilled, but you didn’t.” I told him, “You’re right,” but I wasn’t gracious enough for Barry’s taste, and he was so angry with me that we didn’t speak for three years. I wasn’t very Zen. I was overstressed and overwhelmed and I was angry.
But Manilow inspired you to make your latest album.
Yes. I was so surprised to hear from him. It was so great to work in the studio again with Barry. He’s such a great producer. We had a lot of fun.
You and he are such throwbacks.
Oh, back to calling me a throwback. Well, the show is as well. It’s built on a Coney Island motif. This show is a dream realized.
Part of what makes your show work is the banter. Your comments are topical and even provincial. Performers, who are considerably younger than you, don’t say a great deal onstage these days.
Overall it’s true that recording artists, especially the young ones, don’t say much at all. Maybe the audience doesn’t expect much now. Maybe performers don’t want to bother these days. I’ll tell you that my audiences are very happy with my shows. I still put on a show and I have a lot of fun doing it.
