We have long admired the Great M, especially after watching her perform onstage sometime ago.
Witty, daring, sharp, entertaining ”“ she was everything we wanted from a performer and more. We met Bette for the first time to interview her for being the voice of Kitty Galore in the family-comedy movie, “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.” She was chirpy, friendly and candid.
From our talk, we could tell that she enjoyed performing more than acting. “I’ve always felt that because I can generate my own work and because I am a performer who likes to work live and actually has a fan base that wants to see me live, I should always take advantage of that,” she said.
“That’s my home base. That’s where I live and I do feel that way. I do feel that a lot of my life and the joy in my life come from standing in front of an audience and getting their feedback. I’m lucky in that because that’s a great joy and many people who work in films don’t get that joy.
“Now, many people are going from television and movies to the stage because they want that kick. You see a lot of people going to Broadway and taking on characters like those in ”˜The Streetcar Named Desire’ or doing ”˜How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ because they want to know what that feels like and they want that range.”
“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” directed by Brad Peyton, is about how a crazed feline, Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for cat spy organization MEOWS, has gone rogue and hatched a diabolical plan to not only bring her canine enemies to heel, but take down her former kitty comrades and make the world her scratching post.
Turning 65 come Dec. 1, the Divine M is looking great. We asked her how she manages to remain this incredible hyper ball of energy.
“I did two years of Las Vegas and it was really hard work and intense,” she disclosed. “I think you really have to be interested in what you do.”
Just like Kitty Galore, her character, Bette admitted, “I am really grim. My challenge is to be upbeat. My challenge is not to just sink under the negativity that is all around. If you’re a sensitive person, if you’re an artist, everything that you see and you feel, you take personally. You wait for inspiration to strike. You cannot force inspiration.”
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2 thoughts on ““I am really grim. My challenge is to be upbeat…””
We have a “symbiotic relationship” with the Divine Miss M. – as part of her fan base and of her live audience, we give her joy by appreciating and supporting her body of work, her performance; in return she gives us back immeasurable joy and happiness. (I’m not sure if she is even aware of the kind of positive effect she has on us:0)) I wish I could tell her that:) but I am just as happy sharing it here:) Thanks, Mr. D:)
I think she knows that and that is one reason why she likes live performing so well….she gets that instant gratification from us from each performance. You don’t necessarily get that from the other genres of show biz….
We have a “symbiotic relationship” with the Divine Miss M. – as part of her fan base and of her live audience, we give her joy by appreciating and supporting her body of work, her performance; in return she gives us back immeasurable joy and happiness. (I’m not sure if she is even aware of the kind of positive effect she has on us:0)) I wish I could tell her that:) but I am just as happy sharing it here:) Thanks, Mr. D:)
I think she knows that and that is one reason why she likes live performing so well….she gets that instant gratification from us from each performance. You don’t necessarily get that from the other genres of show biz….