Photo Scan: Divine Sara
BETTE MIDLER called in to pump her returning “Kiss My Brass” concert, which plays Radio City Music Hall Oct. 13-17. “Maybe I should call it ‘Kiss My Brass Again!’ ” she said. “It’s not really different from what it was before, just sort of ‘fluffed up’ to keep things timely in terms of current events. I change numbers sometimes. People remember ‘One for My Baby,’ which I did on Carson’s last show, so I give ’em that. I go with how I feel. I regale my audience with the vicissitudes of my career, which I consider an ongoing art project which I must comment on; the good times and the many, many disasters.”
“Oh, but Bette, you’ve had mostly great times; they outweigh the bad,” we said.
“Yes, you’re right, I’ve been blessed,” she said. “But complaining is funnier.”
Midler seemed downright emotional when I told her that her 1991 movie, “For the Boys,” had been on TV a lot recently, and that it was great. (Bette garnered an Oscar nod for this tale of a TV star-USO entertainer, but the box office was weak.) “You’re kidding? It’s been on? A lot? Oh, that’s so great. You know that was a heartbreak, but . . . I guess I have to be grateful it’s there to be seen.”
We spoke of Donna Summer, who was such a sensation at last year’s Hulaween bash to benefit Bette’s fabulous New York Restoration Project. (This year’s event happens Oct. 26 at the Marriott Marquis.) “Was she the greatest, or what? I want to bring her back again. She is the dearest, sweetest person. And that voice! It’s from God.” (Indeed, when Summer opened her mouth to sing, the audience gasped — it was a disco world again.)
