This Day In History: 32 Years Ago Today, Gypsy With Bette Midler Premiered On TV

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This Day In History: 32 Years Ago Today, Gypsy With Bette Midler Premiered On TV
By Mister D
Dec. 12, 2025

Bette Midler’s Gypsy refers to the 1993 television movie adaptation of the classic 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable, which aired on CBS. It is one of Midler’s most celebrated performances and is widely regarded as one of the greatest made-for-TV movies ever produced.

Key Details

• Format: Made-for-television film
• Premiere: December 12, 1993 on CBS
• Director: Emile Ardolino (his final project; he died shortly before completion)
• Book: Arthur Laurents
• Music: Jule Styne
• Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
• Based on: The 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee

Cast Highlights

• Bette Midler as Rose Hovick – the ultimate stage mother (often called the greatest role in musical theatre for a middle-aged actress)
• Cynthia Gibb as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee
• Peter Riegert as Herbie (Rose’s long-suffering agent/boyfriend)
• Jennifer Rae Beck as June Havoc (young Baby June)
• Lacey Chabert as young Louise (Baby Louise)
• Elisabeth Moss in a small early role as Baby June’s replacement
• Michael Jeter, Tony Shalhoub, Jeffrey Broadhurst, and Ed Asner in supporting roles

Notable Aspects

• Midler won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film and was nominated for an Emmy.
• The film is famous for Midler’s electrifying performance of “Rose’s Turn”, the 9-minute tour-de-force breakdown/11-o’clock number that is considered one of the greatest renditions ever captured on film.
• It was filmed on location in Los Angeles and retains nearly the full Broadway score (including the overture and entr’actes), which is rare for TV adaptations.
• The movie keeps the darker, psychological edge of the original Laurents book rather than softening Rose into a purely comic or sympathetic figure.

Reception & Legacy

• Widely praised upon release (often called the definitive filmed version of Gypsy).
• Critics and fans frequently rank Midler’s Rose alongside Ethel Merman (1959 original), Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1989), and Patti LuPone (2008) as one of the all-time great interpretations.
• The 1993 version is generally preferred over the 1962 Rosalind Russell film (which used dubbed singing and cut significant material) and the 2015 London revival filming with Imelda Staunton.

Availability (as of 2025)The 1993 Midler Gypsy is available on DVD and occasionally streams on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, or turns up in Warner Archive collections. It has never received an official Blu-ray release, so high-quality versions are prized by musical-theatre fans.In short: Bette Midler’s 1993 Gypsy is a landmark television event, a career-high performance for Midler, and remains the gold standard filmed version of one of Broadway’s greatest musicals.