BetteBack: Gypsy Treated Like Feature Film

Brassy Bette Midler bowls over TV columnists here when she shows up to plug CBS‘ adaptation of “Gypsy,” set for a December holiday airing.

“This was treated like a feature film,” says the Divine Miss M. “Nothing was skimped on, except my salary.”

Having tackled the bravura role of domineering Mama Rose, Midler remains smitten with the irresistible charm of musicals. She now wants to do “Mame” and “Annie Get Your Gun.” Or, as she puts it: “All those broad parts.”

Reminded of her beautifully sentimental duet with Johnny Carson on “Here’s That Rainy Day” on Carson’s next-to-last show, Midler says she’s never seen the tape of it.

“I just want to remember it the way I remember it,” says Midler, who calls that moment “one of the happiest nights of my life.”

She even included it on one of her albums because “to me, it was one of my greatest hits.”