Bootleg Betty
André Leon Talley reflecting on Bette Midler
By Andre Leon Talley
March 26, 2026
“Bette Midler, like Goldie Hawn, started her glorious rocket ride to success by hoofing her wares on the planks of Manhattan in the sidelines. She went the route of torch bars and downhill dives, singing for a living. It wasn’t until she started at the gay baths that her fame became a household word in New York. About her beginnings at the Continental Bath House, she reveals, “I didn’t even think twice. I have been in those circles since I was 14 years old. That’s why I’m so amazed when I meet people in show business who say, “How could you? Sing in a place like that with men in towels?” To me it was just another place. We had good times at The Tubs. My sense of humour is a lot like theirs (gay men’s). I mean, what they think is funny, I think is funny. I’m talking about “camp.” But as soon as they see it – they change. And they learn. Which is why I’ve had the success I’ve had. I’ve played to audiences that are not gay, and I give them the type of humour (which happens to be mine as well) that they haven’t been exposed to at all … Running around in your underwear with bananas and castanets, it’s just amusing.”
/ André Leon Talley reflecting on Bette Midler in the book Mega-Star, 1984 /
