My 5000th Post And Nothing To Say Except “Thank You…And”

This is my 5000th post and instead of trying to write something witty, I thought I’d throw the whole thing back on you. What were your Top 10 favorite Bette moments of the year and/or the decade?

To refresh your memory let’s go back to 2000 when we had the “Bette” series and the “Bette” CD, Prayer for America (2001), and what about the KMB tours, the Showgirl run, the unexpected song choice of “Midnight In Memphis” on Leno before embarking on said KMB tour.

Some of you might remember this as the Smug Mutha decade in which you met Bette, Hulaween, the Spring Picnic, Bette and the Queen!…..in other words, you have a myriad of choices. Put them in order or no special order….it’s all about Bette Midler! There’s no wrong or right answer….all of it will help jostle our memories. Just have fun with it.

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12 thoughts on “My 5000th Post And Nothing To Say Except “Thank You…And”

  1. Hi Mr D:

    What a nice thought after a crappy day at work. Bette 2000-2009.

    1) Kiss My Brass Show 2-2004 in San Jose CA (the audience made Bette cry while we sang The Rose, she loved it!)
    2) The Showgirl Must Go On (my first of four shows during the run)
    3) The Bette Store at Caesar’s Palace
    4) Bette-The CD
    5) WBMW at Prayer for America
    6) Christmas Version From A Distance from Cool Yule
    7) Bette-The Show
    8) In My Life performance for the Queen
    9) I think It’s Going To Rain Today-From The Big Apple To The Big Easy Concert
    10) Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook CD

    Happy Holidays!

    Ron

  2. 1.Seeing TSGMGO twice with second time being a Smug Mutha!Best day of my life!
    2.KMB tour saw it three times, two of the times had front row seats!
    3.Bette t.v series
    4.Release of Bette, Bette sings Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, Cool Yule and Jackpot.
    5.WBMW’s prayer for 9/11
    6. Bette on Kathy Griffin My Life on the D-List
    7.The release of Bette Midler-The Divine Bette Midler A&E biography on dvd.
    8.Bette sings for the Queen
    9.Bette and Barry Manilow singing Slow Boat to China on The Today Show and Bette’s solo songs
    10.Bette on Inside the Actor’s Studio

  3. Ok here goes mine

    1) Shaking hands with Bette at a show on May 29th, all unexpectedly
    2)Meeting her and talking to her
    3)It would probably have to be Cool Yule. I always wanted a Christmas album from Bette
    4)Bette’s appearance on Kathy Griffin’s show
    5)Bette – the album and tv show
    6)Then She Found Me. The first Bette movie i actually got to see at the premiere in the US, AZ more exactly
    7)When a Man Loves a Woman that she sang when she was a guest on Jay Leno’s show
    8) In My Life and WBMW at the Royal Performance
    9)The moment i found out she was going to replace Celine
    10)The moment i saw her coming out from the stage and i got a glimpse of her blond curly hair, before she faced the audience

  4. The post I most appreciate is the one about Bette and the Oprah show. I was lucky enough to be one of the ones that got invited by the Oprah show to come and see the taping. I would have never known about it, if it weren’t for bootlegbetty.com and these wonderful posts. Thanks Don!

  5. Ahh yes, instead of doing my job this a great opportunity to do a piece of constructive work! Here goes!

    No1: Attending Bette Midlers party at Ceasers Palace meeting, chatting and having my pic taking with Ms M

    No2: Traveling from Scotland to Vegas to see Bette with my best friend Darren. Best time ever!

    No3: Realising our press tickets for the show were a few rows from the front…screams could be heard for miles

    No4: The Bette Shop at Ceasers or as i like to call it…Heaven

    No5: Bragging about my Vegas experience…”She found out from you Leona..you were bragging again”

    No6: Bette on ITV’s Day Time show Loose Women….(Speaking about Gwyneth P) “They gave her an Oscar for that..What the fu..” Brilliant!

    No7: Bette on The Royal Variety Performance..”I got one question for her madge…What have you got in that purse!”

    No8:Bette the TV Show…”Connie..who’s Jag?”

    No9:Dolly on the Bette Show…”That aint no lady..thats Dolly Parton”

    10: Bootleg Betty, for keeping me in the loop. Happy New Year Guys x x x

    Geez its cold in here…Sen Up The Heat!!!

  6. So many folks have already stolen my list…BUT I have MY favorite moments because as some of you may know I used to haul my sorry kester down to Culver City to watch the taping of Bette. Schedule looked like this: drop daughter off at high school, haul ass to CC, stand in line doing pee pee dance for hours, go in, watch the show, have people ask me if I was one of those folks who got paid to laugh in the audience (Iguess they liked my laugh said it was contagious— or maybe that was my germs I dunno), get back into car, haul ass back to San Jose, sit down to computer and give a review on line to the Bette Milder Group over at Yahoo.

    I was younger then and could mostly handle it. I miss that show but I think that Bette was suckered into doing a show she really didn’t want to do. She thought that Moonves and the Suits knew how to do comedy—-wrong. ANyway I am glad it is over and all thinga are right with the world

  7. From Kris:

    Mr. D,

    My heart went pitter patter with excitement as you reviewed all of those great Bette Midler moments of the last decade in your 5000th post. You hit on all the ones close to my heart.

    I experienced the unbelievable dream-come-true of meeting Bette at Hulaween in 2002. I then became reaquainted with her at the Spring Picnic in 2003. I remember spending several minutes talking with her at that picnic giving her my personal recommendations for what she should sing in the upcoming KMB Tour. She humored me on each suggestion saying “I’ll sing it just for you.” One of my suggestions was “Midnight in Memphis.” (I love Bette singing rock music.) As crazy as it sounds, I always truly felt I influenced her in a small way leading to that memorable and fabulous performance on The Tonight Show during the holiday season of 2003. In any event, after that “Midnight in Memphis” performance I felt a little better for it followed the last Hulaween I was ever really able to afford to attend in 2003 at which time my friends and I had become a little over the top on alcoholic beverages. (Nothing major…just me loudly screaming and shreaking in excitement over Bette’s performace of “Wind Beneath My Wings” and my good friend getting removed by security for trying to offer Donna Summer a toast on stage while she was performing… Ugh!) But I met Mr. D that night and it was another unforgettable experience. At that point I knew my wildest Bette Midler dreams had been fulfilled in every way imaginable and it was time to resume a life of loving Bette from afar…on television, in movies, in concert…and through “Bootleg Betty.”

    This whole surrealistic experience happened after the “Bette” CD in 2000 helped to save me from dying after a horrible car accident I had been in. While I was in my medically induced coma the CD played repeatedly on a small boom box in my hospital room. I still remember hearing that angelic voice telling me “Bless You Child” and igniting in me my will to live.

    Thank you Mr. D for all that you’ve done for all of us Betteheads. Happy New Year!

    Kind regards,
    Kris

  8. Ok, here we go with my memories of Bette on this decade, these are some of my favourite moments/events:

    1.- WBMW’s prayer for 9/11

    2.- Bette and Barry Manilow singing “Slow Boat to China” on The Today Show

    3.- Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook CD

    4.- The release of Bette Midler-The Divine Bette Midler A&E biography on dvd.

    5.- Bette on Inside the Actor’s Studio, when she says that her favourite word is “Tree” and when she cries remenbering a friend of hers.

    6.- Bette singing on Letterman: “In these shoes?”, and with Sophie on Oprah.

    7.- Bette explaining on Letterman why she was fired.

    8.- “When a Man Loves a Woman” that she sang on Jay Leno’s show

    9.- Bette singing live “Is all that there is?” and “In My Life” at the Royal Performance.

    10.- Bootleg Betty and Don, thanks for eveything!!!!!!!!

  9. From Art:

    I have two:

    One was when Bootleg Betty published of photo of me admiring Bette’s star on Hollywood Boulevard.
    The other was touching and special and involved Bette herself. I managed to get tickets to the filming of the final episode of “Bette” the sitcom. Robert Hays played her new husband. The episode would never be shown on TV, but is available in a not-very-good DVD reproduction set recorded from Canadian HDTV. The evening’s filming went well, and quickly, but everyone knew the show was not successful and would not be renewed (the CBS accouncement came a few days later that “Bette” was canceled immediately). So anyway, at the wrap of filming the final show, everybody disappeared. The warm-up guy was gone, the camera operators were cleaning up, and most of the audience was filing out. Bette, alone for a second on the studio floor, turned, looked at the audience, smiled, and marched over. She reached up to shake hands. I was first to reach her. We shook hands warmly. I said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out!” Bette shook my hand and smiled back. “Me too,” she said. “I tried my best.” As others moved in to touch Bette, I backed off.

    But that’s the way it is with Bette, sometimes she tries and is spectacular, other times things don’t work out so well. But she’s never stopped trying her best, and that’s what I look forward to.

    Thanks, Don, for asking. Thanks for keeping up the good work and keeping the “Betteheads” informed. Enjoy seeing her in Vegas. I’m sure it won’t be the last time.

    Your friend in Fresno,
    Art

  10. I was going to post something yesterday, but there are so many great Bette things that happened this decade, I needed a little more time to think. These are in no particular order, by the way.

    1. Bette TV series
    2. Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
    3. Bette and Sophie on Oprah
    4. Ladies Home Journal cover story with the ladies of Stepford Wives
    5. Kiss My Brass and the lovely poster and program that Don so graciously sent to me since I couldn’t attend the shows
    6. Bette and Stevie Nicks attending Ahmet Ertegun’s memorial tribute
    7. every Hulaween
    8. Is That All There Is? music video on the Peggy Lee Songbook DualDisc
    9. Bette’s YouTube video mocking Madonna
    10. Then She Found Me

    And of course Bootleg Betty, without which there would be great difficulty in finding out Bette news! Thanks Don!

  11. This is hard!

    1. Having Bette sign my 1973 Bette Midler vinyl album at the opening of the Wicked/NYRP garden in Harlem
    2. Kiss My Brass!
    3. Attending the Hurricane Katrina benefit concert where Bette performed “I think it’s Going to Rain Today” at MSG
    4. Youtube being invented and having so many Bette clips at the tips of my fingers!
    5. Release of Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee Songbook and Cool Yule.
    6. Bette performing In My Life in front of the queen
    7. Watching Art or Bust in its entirety for the very first time.
    8. Going to the Then She Found Me premiere (standing outside watching all of them go in)
    9. All the TV apperances: Bette on Inside the Actors Studio, her A&E biography, Oprah, etc.
    10… BOOTLEGBETTY!

  12. 1. Divine Miss Millennium Concert (Watching her rise out of that globe singing, “From a Distance.”)
    2. WBMW prayer for 9/11 “Thank you, Thank you, Thank God for you!”
    3. Watching endless clips of her on YouTube. Love the Johnny Carson, “Jimmy Dean” footage.
    4. Seeing “Showgirl” twice!
    5. Seeing “KMB” thrice!
    6. Finding the music to “Martha” and transposing it to my key and changing the name of it to “Gary!”
    7. “They gave me a fucking Chihuahua?”
    8. Receiving a bootleg copy of “Clams on a Half Shelf” for free! True Bette Fans are amazing.
    9. Getting to meet Stasey Tackett and hearing her story about meeting Bette.”
    10. Hearing rumors about Bette moving to Wynn after she closes at Ceasars.

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