Bootleg Betty
On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide Hardcover
By Mister D
March 11, 2024
Today, Bette Midler is a beloved legacy star, best known for her comic witch in Disney’s Hocus Pocus (1993) and its 2022 sequel. She has also gained prominence for sentimental, anthemic ballads like “Wind Beneath My Wings,” her initiation of green space projects in New York City, and tussling with Donald Trump on Twitter. Her profile is that of an articulate, civic-minded matriarch enjoying mainstream stardom. But more than fifty years earlier, she emerged from the steam of the subterranean Continental Baths as the Divine Miss M, the bawdy, campy, fearless alter ego she created in front of an audience of towel-clad gay men who came to the baths seeking not just sex, but a sense of community and safety from an often-harrowing outside world. “I was able to take chances on that stage that I could not have taken anywhere else,” she wrote. “Ironically, I was freed from fear by people who, at the time, were ruled by fear. And for that, I will always be grateful.” Overnight, Bette Midler became a much-loved icon of the gay community.
The Divine Miss M coalesced gay, Jewish, feminist, and show business sensibilities into an outrageously funny and emotionally compelling persona that traveled with surprising ease from the cultural margins to the entertainment mainstream. Her embrace by mom-and-pop audiences, rock fans and critics, and the guardians of middle-of-the-road show business demonstrates just how deeply the tastes and sensibilities of her original audience have been absorbed into popular culture. On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide traces the early development of Midler’s performing ethos from New York’s downtown experimental theater scene and examines her impact across media, with chapters on the soaring highs (and occasional cringe-worthy lows) of her stage work, movies, recordings, and television appearances, and considers her influence as an environmental activist and social media presence.
On Bette Midler features performance analysis and deeply researched background information, all supporting informed—and divinely opinionated—consideration of Midler, the artist. It judges her work by the highest standards she established for herself.
From The Publisher
Review
“Winkler’s blend of dishy backstage detail, over-the-top adoration, and solid criticism befit his larger-than-life subject. Midler’s fans will find plenty to sink their teeth into.” — Publishers Weekly
“Bette Midler is one of our most brilliant and versatile divas – she can swerve from hilariously campy to heart-tuggingly profound at the drop of a fake eyelash – and Winkler captures the full breadth of her talent, her creative roots, her choices, her stature as a reigning gay icon, and her largesse. This comprehensive guide deftly sneaks into Midler’s crackling mind and defines the wind behind her diva wings.” — Michael Musto, columnist and author
“Winkler’s On Bette Midler is as brassy, bold, smart, and revelatory as its subject, the forever Divine Miss M. His deft and detailed delineations of Midler’s protean career demonstrate why she has ruled for more than half a century. She emerges from this entertaining pop cultural history as a brave and uncompromising exporter of gay culture, a hilarious one-woman wrecking ball of celebrity pretension, and a unique song stylist who can crack you up and break your heart in a whip-lashing minute. Winkler’s Midler is a glorious and sparkling package of sex, savvy, parody, and profundity. I couldn’t put it down.” — Patrick Pacheco, Emmy-winning journalist and author of Chita, A Memoir, written with Chita Rivera
“On Bette Midler is a gorgeously written, fiercely researched account of the Divine Miss M. Winkler critically taps into Midler’s formidable talent and artistic restlessness charting, in meticulous detail, the multiple branched magnitude of Midler’s contribution to entertainment. Winkler invites readers to zoom into their treasured gems of Midler’s formidable canon, then proceeds to scrupulously unfold the many intricacies of the genesis of that moment and its ultimate flight – glorious or not – into the cultural sphere. With a critical eye towards her style, vocal gifts and challenges, Winkler, weaves Midler’s famous one liners, sarcastic wit, and sometimes barbed humour into a rich exploration of an astounding and influential artist of our time.” — Phoebe Rumsey, author of Embodied Nostalgia: Early Twentieth Century Social Dance and the Choregraphing of Broadway Musical Theatre
About the Author
Kevin Winkler enjoyed a career of more than twenty years as a curator, archivist, and administrator at the New York Public Library, prior to which he was a professional dancer. His books include Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theatre of Tommy Tune (2021) and Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical (2018), which won the Theatre Library Association’s George Freedley Memorial Award, Special Jury Prize, was a finalist for the Marfield Prize from the Arts Club of Washington, D.C., and was cited as an ALA/ACRL CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title. He is an on-screen commentator for the acclaimed documentary Merely Marvelous: The Dancing Genius of Gwen Verdon (2019).
