BetteBack: IS BETTE MIDLER DISNEY’S NEW SNOW WHITE? ASKS CELEBRITY FOCUS

Is Bette Midler Disney‘s new Snow White? asks Celebrity Focus; Divine Miss M puts Walt’s legacy in box office black – $200 million and counting.
Article from:PR Newswire Article date:June 8, 1987

IS BETTE MIDLER DISNEY’S NEW SNOW WHITE? ASKS CELEBRITY FOCUS

DIVINE MISS M. PUTS WALT’S LEGACY IN BOX OFFICE BLACK —

$200 MILLION & COUNTING

NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ — What does sexy strumpet Bette Midler have in common with “the fairest of them all” Snow White? “A more mismatched pair could scarcely be conceived, even in Hollywood,” says Senior Editor Robert Carrington Wilson in July Celebrity Focus Magazine, “but these two women from opposite sides of Tinseltown’s tracks have so much in common that they may seem virtually indistinguishable.” Both Snow and Bette are Disney’s heroines of the hour — each, 50 years apart, has been the key figure in the fate of the studio.

In 1937, what was dubbed “Disney’s Folly,” a $1.5 million color animiation feature — destined for failure — opened to smash reviews and sell-out crowds — raking in a record $8.5 million the first year. This $330-million (to date) box office beauty was “Snow Wwite and the Seven Dwarfs.” This demure Disney Miss saved Walt’s studio empire — something even Mickey Mouse couldn’t accomplish during the depression years, notes Bob Wilson.

In 1984, the studio that Disney built was again in dire straits — family entertainment had been replaced in the nation’s favor with racier flicks. Divine Miss M. to the rescue/Exclama/ The strange alliance between squeaky-clean Disney and brassy Midler, of the tarnished image and box office poison, combined to create three of the biggest movie hits — “Down & Out in Beverly Hills,” “Ruthless People” and outrageously successful “Outrageous Fortune” (grossed in $1-million a day in its first month).

“The bawdy queen of cut-up has left a huge trail of green leading from box offices across the land straight to the Disney coffers,” says Celebrity Focus’ Bob Wilson. “Midler’s total (and still growing): nearly $200-million to date.” In 50 years and seven releases and rereleases of “Snow,” Disney has realized $330 million — and the animated feature is due for rerelease this summer.

But the question is, is Bette Midler Disney’s Snow White of the eighties? The answer is emphatically, no, she’s much, much more. “Poor Snow was a one-note gal compared to this wunderkind,” says Wilson. Bette Midler can hit the highs and get laughs. Snow White may be considered the fairest of them all, but Midler will remain Disney’s sexy standard bearer well into the next decade, says Celebrith Focus.