Playbill
Songwriters Hall of Fame Will Honor Bette Midler With Lifetime Achievement Award
By Adam Hetrick
March 8, 2012
Grammy Award winner Bette Midler will receive the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award at the 43rd Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 14 in Manhattan.
The annual honor is presented to “industry veterans who are acknowledged as pioneers in their craft, whose body of work over time has been substantial, enduring and influential, and whose success and contributions over a lifetime have inspired the music community.”
In addition to Midler’s honor, Fantasticks and 110 in the Shade writers Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones are being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Jim Steinman (Whistle Down the Wind), Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Seger and Don Schlitz. The inductees were previously announced in February.
The gala will take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.
“Bette Midler captivated the world early in her long career with her stylish presentation and unmistakable voice, making each song her own, and turning them into pure gold,” said SFO chairman Jimmy Webb in a statement. “It will be our great pleasure to honor her at our annual awards gala with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Midler made her Broadway debut as Tzeitel in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She returned to the Great White Way in several concerts: Bette Midler, Bette Midler’s Clams on the Half Shell Revue and Bette! Divine Madness. She was awarded a Special Tony Award in 1974 for “adding luster to the Broadway season.” Midler’s screen credits are extensive and include Oscar nominations for her performances in “For the Boys” and “The Rose.” She is also the recipient of Grammy Awards for Record of the Year (“Wind Beneath My Wings,” 1989), Best Pop Vocal Performance Female (“The Rose,” 1980) and Best New Artist (1973). She is also the producer of the Broadway musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
