The Daily Herald
Bette Midler: a ferocious little kitten
by Dann Gire
November 2, 1979
The press was growing impatient.
About 12 reporters f rom all over the Midwest had been t r a d i ng dreary shop t a lk, guzzling orange juice and
s t u f f i ng themselves with Danish for half an hour whi le awa i t i ng the a r r ival of a late Bette Midler.
When the 5-foot-1, dyed-blonde bounced into the Drake Hotel meeting room wearing leather pants, embroidered blouse and a big, toothy grin that shrunk her large round eyes into tiny crescents, the press didn’t remember her being tardy at all.
“You can’t all be from Chicago'” Bette gasped in her s c r a t chy, nasal-toned voice. One woman said she was f r om Minnesota.
“Oh. God” Bette screeched as t h o u gh she were d y i ng at embarrassment. “I’ve never been there Oh, I w a nt to
go to Mi lwaukee in the worst way. There are a lot of places in the middle pa rt ol the count ry that I’ve never played that I f e lt l ike a fool for not going to, but logistic a l ly we c o u l d n ‘t get it together.”
THE SELF-PROCLAIMED “last of the t a c ky ladies,” Bette Midler (also k n o wn as “The D i v i ne Miss M” and
t h e ‘ l a dy who teaches her fans, to “sleaze w i th ease”) seemed u n c o m f o r t a b ly reserved when she f i r st
t a lked to t h is conservative-looking group, but it wasn’t long bef o re the stage phenomenon was s l inging her
i n f amo us oil-color quips around the room like deadly Chinese f i g h t i ng sticks.
“ls there anything t h at shocks you or grosses you o u t ‘ ‘” one reporter dared to ask.
Oh, f a r t jokes,” she said b l u n t l y, ” a l though I ‘ve been i d l i ng t h em myself in my old age I don’t know
w h a t ‘s h a p p e n i ng to me.” She l aughed and her small audi ence broke up. possibly more out of shock t h an humor.
The b u b b ly singer cont inued her answer w i t h, “Yes, c e r t a in t h i n gs do gross me out. C e r t a in real personal t h i n g s, you k n ow. Ear wax jokes ma ke me nauseous, you k n o w, things like t h at – ukk!
Bette’s e a r t hy tendencies have been an i n t e g r al p a rt ot her stage career In concerts, the singer has been
described as an explosion of styles r a n g i ng f r om Bea L i l l ie to Mae West to Liza Minelli and ’60s vocal a r t i st
Janis Joplin.
Bette h as t u r n ed o ut f i ve a l b ums, b ut h er f i r s t, f e a t u ring the songs “Am I Blue,'” Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” a nd “Delta D a w n ,’ r e m a i ns t he most popular amo ng h er f a n s, u s u a l ly u r b a ne a nd young.
IT WAS ONLY N A T U R AL t h at she would be considered for the lead in a movie script called “Pearl,” a mu s i c al based on Janis Joplin’s life complete w i th drugs, d r i n k i ng a nd d e g r a d a t i o n.
But Aaron Russo, Bette’s one-time romantic interest and career ma n a g e r, would produce the movie and supply the singer only if the references to Jophn were deleted and the story changed, W h at emerged f rom the a l t e r a t i o ns was “The Rose.” t h e story ot a l a r g e r – t h a n – l i fe rock singer pushed a r o u nd by a c a p i t a l i st
ma n a g er and d r i v en to the b r e a k i ng p o i n t. Now the lead c h a r a c t er is billed as “a composite
ol the rock stars of the ’60s ”
Someone wa n t ed to know if Bette had studied much of Joplin’s s style be fore going before the cameras last ye ar.
“I l i s t ened to e v e r y t h i ng she cut,” Bette responded, “because I wanted to h e ar what the band sounded like
and how her voice f i t t ed in w i th the b a n d. But I d i d n ‘t make any e f f o rt to imi t a te Janis or imi t a te her speech p a t t e rn or her s i n g i ng style W h en the script was first b r o u g ht to my a t t e n t i o n, it had elements of (Joplon). I d i d n ‘t want to do that because it seemed so .well, n e c r o p h i h ac is the right word ”
The f i r st t h i ng the n a t u r a l ly red-haired actress did was bleach her hair to get as far away f rom her own
personality as possible. Af t er the film, she realized she l i k ed being a blonde so much she kept the f r i z zy mop.
“THE ROSE,” opening in Chicago Nov. 9, also stars A l an Bates as Bette’s manager and Frederick Forrest as her l e ading man Al t h o u gh this is a f i r st ma jor f i lm role for Bette. it isn’t her f i r st time be fore the camera. She appeared as a missionary’s wife in “Hawaii” and an extra in “Goodbye, Columbus.”
However, the movie is the f i r st time the 34-year-old singer has tackled h a rd rock’n’roll for an extended time.
“The music was really tough,” she admitted. “I never had to sing t h at ha rd that long. It really h u rt me phsyic a l lv I was u n p r e p a r ed for how ha rd it was “I s i ng a l i t t le bit of i t, one or two songs, but not the e n t i re show,” Bette said. “I’ve always loved that kind of music, but I worried that people wouldn’t believe me, t h at I w o u l d n ‘t have any credibility because I come from H o n o l u lu and the wrong side of the tracks.”
She l a u g h e d, “I’m a lways t r y i ng to be superior to my roots not d r ag myself back to my roots ” Be t te has an e a sy-going ma n n er and a certain vulnerable q u a l i ty about her makes for instant rapport wi th people. It’s this
c omb i n a t i on of innocence and vulnerab i l i ty wi th her t o u g h – t a l k i ng exterior t h at sets her apa rt from other perlormers.
BETTE WAS BORN in Hawa i i, the daught er of a New Jersey house p a i n t er who had moved to the island in s e a r ch of his own pe r sonal paradise. She was named a f t e r Bette Davis, a l t h o u gh the singer’s name is pron o u n c ed
l ike a r a c e t r a ck “bet ”
In the e a r ly days of her career, the l a te ’60s, Bette w o u l d stand on a stage w i th her ba ck-up trio, the Harlettes. and do her t h i ng at the C o n t i n e n t al Baths, the d e f u n ct gay h a n g o ut on Ma n h a t t a n ‘s West Side. Ten ye a rs l a t er she was still d o i ng her thing, but now for audi enc es in the penthouse of the New York Hilton.
Bette has also caused problems for television censors w i th a n e two rk b r o a d c a st and appeared in a hit cable
t e l e v i s i on broadca st Clams on the Half Shell Revue ”
The man in Bette’s l i fe now is a y o u ng actor named Peter Ri ege r t. c u r r e n t ly s t a r r i ng m Joan Mi c k l in Silv e r ‘s “Head Over Heels ”
“Isn’t he a doll”
‘ ‘ B e t te cooed to the room f u ll of reporters. “Isn’t he handsome” He’s a w o n d e r f u l, w o n d e rf u l a c tor He’s helped me a lot on this f i lm.”
The two p e r f o r m e rs r a r e ly get an o p p o r t u n i ty to see e a ch o t h e r, she s a id but w h en t h ey do they treat e a ch o t h er “very n i c e ly ”
“I d o n ‘t t h i nk we 11 e v er work t o g e t h e r ,’ she s a id. “I d o n ‘t t h i nk he w o u ld w a nt to work wi th me. I can be pretty a w f u l .’ She paused.
“WELL, WE MIGHT (work together) but it m i g ht cause us to br e ak u p ,’ she said “I was a w f ul good on t h i s film. I ma de an e f f o r t to be real good. But p u t t i ng t o g e t h er shows can be a ve ry t r y i ng experience ..
t h i n gs can get h a i ry ‘
Bette is one star who admi ts she is her own worst c r i t i c. “I d o n ‘t g i ve mvs e lf a b r e a k ,’ she s a i d – ” I ‘m very h a rd on my s e l f. N o t h i ng a b o ut me impresses me I used to be even worse. I was f i l l ed wi th t h is
t h i n g .. I don’t w a nt to say s e l f – l o a t h i n g, but that’s wh at it boils down to a l w a ys s t r i v i n g, never being s a t i s f i ed wi th w h at you ..do ‘
When I talk to other (performers), they tell me they fe el the same way So I don t f l a g e l l a te myself the way I
used to ”
In a d d i t i on to cons ide r ing a n o t h er mo v ie role ( “I t h i nk I would like to a comedy whe re I can wear
br ight blonde h a i r and we ar very l i t t le c l o t h i n g “) and r e t u r n i ng to the stage. Bette is p u t t i ng the f i n i s h i ng touches on a book t i l l ed “A Vi ew From A B r o a d ,’ some observations and t r a v el expe r i enc es of the Divine Miss M, wr i t t en f r om her ” p a r t i c u l a r ly j a u n d i c ed perspective” The book s h o u ld be out early next year.
THE CHARISMATIC Bette a d m i t t ed t h at as the y e a rs go on. Ihe spa rk and f i re t h at ma r k ed her ent ry into the p e r f o r m i ng prof e s s ion h a ve dimini shed s l ight ly.
‘I m be coming meeeellow,” she p u r r ed “I used to be a n g ry all the time R e a l ly f e i s ty. I used to a lways ask
why this d i d n ‘t h a p p en and why t h is did But I’m “not l ike t h at a n y m o ie I ‘m m u ch more ‘ A w, l et it go. Ma y be Janice Jophn. The performer hit Chicago this week and discussed those things that “gross me out.
” t o m oi row we’ll fix i t’ That’s not a very good a t t i t u de to h a ve ”
On-stage, Bette admi ts t h at her b e h a v i or is r a t h er l i mp ” But the m a g ic of s h ow bus ine ss is l ike
adr ena l in.
“I love lo p e r f o rm and I love to be the We of the p a r ty ” she n e a r ly s h o u t ed It lakes a lol of energy to be on
all I he t ime and I can l do it I save it I’ve had p l e n ty of off-nighls And 1 used lo r e a l ly get sick o v er
t h em. I used to get d r u n k.”
” But 1 don t do t h at anymore I s t i ll h a ve o f f – n i g h t s, but t h ey don t t e r ror i ze me the way they used to. I m a little m o te s e d a te ”
