Quips And Quotes 11
Bette Midler On Taking Time Off From Touring 1977: “I was born and raised in Hawaii, but when I get through with this television show, the album, and the movie, I’m going back to New York. That’s home to me now. And next year I’ll go on tour again. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On Still Not Doing A Tour In 1977: “First of all, I travel with 30 people in my troupe. There are 8 in the orchestra, 3 girl singers, the lighting and sound guys and all the rest. We travel by plane and car, so it’s not all that profitable. You don’t go out on the road to make a lot of money anyhow. It just creates interest and excitement so people will buy your albums. (Mister D: Times have changed. I believe the opposite is true now.)(Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Trials Of Touring: “There’s a group called Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, who are going to tour with a troupe of 100. There will be 70 in the band alone. That’s the most anybody has schlepped around the country.” (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On Whether Her Hesitancy To Tour Is Only Economic? “God, no. The day you hit the road you get sick and stay sick. It happens to every group on tour. The first thing to go is the voice. Then the feet. And then your can. It’s a nightmare condition from the very beginning. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On What Causes Concert Tour Deterioration? “You’re eating different food and drinking different water everyday. And you don’t have your own doctor around with you. So there you are, sick to your stomach, suffering intestinal problems, nursing a sore throat, and you still get up on stage and perform every night.” (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On What Causes Concert Tour Psychological Deterioration? “You feel terrible because you aren’t doing your best for the people who come to see you. When your voice is gone, you sing over it. It’s a hazard of the road. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On Cancelling Tours: “Two months into my last tour I canceled a couple of shows in Boston and took off for the Virgin Islands for some rest. Then I went back on the road again. I hate to cancel, but sometimes you reach a breaking point.” (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Looks Of Cities While Touring: “And the cities all begiu to look alike. You wake up and don’t know what town you’re in. The hotel rooms all look the same, thanks to all the big chains. And the food franchises and gas stations all look alike. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Drive In From The Airports While Touring: “The drive in from the airport to downtown looks exactly the same in every city. And it’s not exactly scenic…the ugliest routes you can find. The only thing that’s different are the people. Thank God! (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Television Special For NBC: “It’s good to stay in one place for awhile. My TV special goes on air in October for NBC. Dustin Hoffman is going to be my guest star. He’ll play the piano, and we’ll discuss life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On Branching Out Into Other Areas Of Show Business: “It’s not necessary for a recording star to branch out into television and movies, but I think it’s a good idea. (Marietta Journal, June 22, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Last Chance Diet: “For the first two weeks you don’t eat anything but potassium, folic acid, and pre-digested protein. But I’ve lost 15 pounds in a week and a half. I think, actually, if you stayed on it long enough, you could disappear. (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Photo On Live At Last Album: “Sure, I like the picture. I’ve been in the closet about my body for too long. But I want you to know I do draw the line. The other day, I had a call from Tokyo. I could hardly hear this woman. The first thing she said, in a heavy accent is, ‘What is measure?’ I said, ‘What?’ She said ‘What is bust?’ I said, ‘What?’ again. She said ‘Bust, waist, hips…what is measure?’ I said, ‘Oh, my measurements!’ I gave them to her, but that didn’t stop her. ‘Many stars send us lipstick print and breast print.’ ‘Breast print,’ I screamed. ‘What are you talking about?’ She said, ‘we put paint on body, then roll on paper, print paper on T-shirt, and sell. That way people know what is your size.’ ‘I’m not that far out of the closet.'” (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)
Bette Midler On Why Her Mother Pronounces Her Name ‘Bet’: “Because my mother always thought it was pronounced that way. She’s never heard anybody pronounce Bette Davis’ name, she’d just read it. The funny thing is that my mother never really liked show business…at least for me…but she sure loves it now. ” (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Hawaiian Childhood: “It hasn’t changed since the 50’s. They’re entrenched in the 50’s. It’s a moral, uptight, kind of thing, but I think that’s a good foundation to have. If you want to branch out later…okay.” (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)\
Bette Midler On Branching Out Morally: “I’m pretty square that way…about going from pillar to post, I mean. Keeping fourteen men on the string, or even two is exhausting. I’ve been with one man for eight months, which is a long time these days, and I’m still happy. I’m not looking around.” (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)
Bette Midler On Whether Her Boyfriend Was An Actor In 1977: “Yes. But we don’t watch each other’s work. Then you never get into that ‘What do you really think?’ area. That’s no good.” (Morning Star, July 3, 1977)
Bette Midler On Why She Wouldn’t Debate Anita Bryant: “She’d find passages in the Bible to try and support her position, and I’m afraid I would be speaking from raw emotion.” (Morning Star, July 19, 1977)
Bette Midler On Gays Being The Victims Of Peace Of Our Times: “When we have no war, no plagues, no real concerns to take up our time, we manufacture concerns, and the Gay issue has become it. Hate is a form of entertainment for some people. They pick at it, nurture it. It’s a way for them to escape boredom. (Morning Star, July 19, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Police Who Saved Her From A Flasher At Her Home: “They all have their acts. They’ve chosen their heroes. One came in as Dennis Weaver, one came in as Kojak, one was Colombo…and there was a team who arrived as Car 54.” (Morning Star, August 23, 1977)
Bette Midler On The Perception Of What The Public Has Of Her: “The public must be tired of reading that I’m terrified of this, terrified of that. I can see it now…I’m old and someone asks of someone else what my career had been like, and the answer is: ‘It was one long terror.'” (Morning Star, August 23, 1977)
Bette Midler On Success: “Success has made me more secure. I don’t fall into such deep depressions anymore. Now the things that depress me involve frustrations over things I consider injustices towards others…Anita Bryant’s anti-gay stand…the anti-abortion laws. It frustrates me when people’s freedoms are restricted because of other’s beliefs.” (Morning Star, August 23, 1977)
Bette Midler On Being Compared To Barbra Streisand: “First of all, it makes me feel bad for her. I know I’d feel badly if I were Barbra, because everyone likes to think that they’re unique. I also know that no one feels like they’re tugging at someone else’s coattails, pushing against them on a ladder. It can be very irritating.” (Morning Star, August 23, 1977)
Bette Midler On Why She Resents Cleaning Up Her Act For TV: “I feel a hatred over the fact that people in a position of power can make judgements over what people watch.” (Morning Star, August 23, 1977)
Bette Midler On When She Realized She Was A Star: “When did I realize I was finally a star? I haven’t realized it yet. It all seems like a fairy tale; and mine’s not really a fairy tale life. So it’s hard to believe it’s me people are talking about.” (Times-Picayune, November 6, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Tastes Instincts: “I have pretty good instincts. I go right to the line, and even if I do things in bad taste, I do them in such a way that it’s okay.” (Times-Picayune, November 6, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Show Biz Goal: “I wanted to be an actress. But everyone wanted me to be conventional, to fit a stereotype, which I couldn’t. I’m not a conventional person. It was quite a fight.” (Times-Picayune, November 6, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Music: “I never intended to concentrate on oldies. In fact, I don’t. I sing contemporary numbers as well. But everyone has seized on the way I sing oldies, so I guess that’s my strength.” (Times-Picayune, November 6, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Ultimate Goal: “I want to do something beautiful that will last forever. Maybe I’ll never do it, and maybe everyone will laugh at me and say, ‘she’s just a fool’. But I don’t think so.” (Times-Picayune, November 6, 1977)
Bette Midler’s First Order Of Business When Changing Her Image: “Slimming down for the great public, you know. They don’t like them roBUST! Besides, I looked like a house. I didn’t care for the way I looked. I couldn’t get into any of my clothes, but I saw what I looked like on the Great Tube. It was terrifying! I finally had enough and lost 15 to 20 pounds.” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On Turning To Her First Love: “Acting is what I’ve always done. I started in the theater. I thought I would be a great dramatic actress. I was 16 when I started, and I always expected to be some kind of leading lady. But when I got to New York, leading ladies don’t look like me, they’re not build like me. It was kind of hard to get those jobs because there were established people to contend with.” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her First Movie The Rose: “It’s a strong story about a rock and roll singer. It’s got a lot of music in it, a lot of rock n’ roll music. It’s pretty strong stuff. ” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On What She Might Do After The Rose; “I might end up in opera, who knows? I think I’d like to do some version of Salome, a rock and roll version of Salome. I saw a real serious version of it the other day on some cheesy channel. You know the ones you have to fiddle with to get the channel.” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On A More Likely Project To Enter After The Rose: “A musical comedy in the old MGM style. It’s what I really want to do. I really want to do an technicolor musical comedy…a great, big, old fashioned musical comedy. The kind they don’t seem to know how to make anymore. I see them on TV and I go to the theaters that still show them. They drive me mad…they’re so full of light, sound, and color and people acting happy.” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Association With Camp: “It didn’t hurt me. I don’t think anything can hurt you, except maybe being a Communist.” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler On Her Funny Lady Image: “I’ll keep that. I think it’s important. I love to laugh. I need it. If I don’t laugh at least once a day, I’m a dead chicken. It’s good for people to laugh at themselves and laugh at what’s going on around them. Otherwise you might just throw in the big cookie!” (Advocate, November 10, 1977)
Bette Midler To Johnny Carson: “Hollywood isn’t dead,. It’s sitting right in this chair.” (Albuquerque Tribune, October 4, 1973)
Bette Midler From Her Intimate Tour 1978: “I’m gonna star in a movie with Roman Polanski. It’s called ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Grade.’ Well, darlings, nobody said I was tasteful.” (Seattle Daily Times, January 7, 1978 )
Bette Midler From Her Intimate Tour 1978: “Now I’m going to do a little ballad. Don’t you all have to go to the john.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler Talks About The Rose: “Aside from their self destructiveness, I don’t know what characteristics of Janis, Hendrix, and Morrison will come out in my film role. I think that Janis’s drug addiction and lesbian side were exagerrated. I never got any lesbian vibes from her and I couldn’t finish the book that wrote of them. I looked on her as a warm person, full of life and humor.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler Talks About The Rose: “A lot of the music will be blues. I love the blues as sung by Bessie Smith. The blues are so easy to sing and I identify with their simplicity. Rock n’ Roll after all is just whitened up blues.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Her Singing: “I sing from the top of my throat, my head, my diaphram, and even my butt. I’ve done vocal exercises for years, even though I have no upper register to speak of.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Briefly Appearing Half Nude At One Performance: “Many people objected but to me it seemed appropriate for New Year’s Eve. I certainly wouldn’t do it on April Fool’s Day.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Being The Heroine Of The Gay Set: “I’ll be a heroine to anybody. People talk about my changing my image to something more sedate, but I’m the same person I’ve always been.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Losing Weight For The Rose: “I have losr between 15 and 20 pounds on a liquid protein diet. People still give me clothing, but I haven’t a clue as to what my measurements are. My wardrobe in the show is simple and inexpensive.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Saving Money: “I am saving money, but when the holocaust comes it won’t really matter. So I plan to spend and spend and spend and get my charities in order. (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler On Maybe Getting Married To Peter Riegert: “I suppose it could lead to marriage and children, but if it did I’d have to stop beating my breast because breast-beating is not proper for a married lady.” (Richmond Times Dispatch, January 20, 1978)
Bette Midler To A Heckler: “Look at that mouth. It has a capacity for 18!” (Register-Republic, January 23, 1978)
Bette Midler To A Cleveland Audience In 1978: “You are human beings and we don’t have those in Los Angeles.” (Plain Dealer, February 8, 1978)
Bette Midler On Fame: “I was never popular as a kid, so I began fantasizing myself bigger than…in order to get attention. And here I am. (Arkansas Gazette, July 2, 1978)
Bette Midler To A Heckler: “Look at that mouth. It has the capacity of 18!” (State (Columbia, South Carolina), July 8, 1978)
Bette Midler Apologizes To The Crowd On A Bad Opening Night: “I’ve been a bad girl. I was tardy. I kept you waiting. I didn’t do my homework. I’ll tell you the truth, I’m very tired. I didn’t deserve what you gave me tonight. And I know it. I thank you for being so kind. (Seattle Daily Times, September 14, 1978)
Was Bette Midler Nervous About Making Her First Film, The Rose?: “Oh this isn’t my first film. I’ve never told anybody this. I never thought I’d have any reason to. But once I was an extra. I was an extra in The Detective with Frank Sinatra. And then I was an extra in…are you ready?…Goodbye Columbus. Thirty two fifty a day to and from New Rochelle to watch Ali McGraw snap at the straps of her bathing suit. Snap those straps Ali. Snap those things. (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)
Bette Midler In The Rose: “I hate mushy love stuff. Wake me when the killing starts.” (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)
Aaron Russo On Bette In The Rose: “Wait till you see her on that screen. There’s only one person you’ll be able to compare her to. Charlie Chaplin.” (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)
Mark Rydell On Bette In The Rose: “Bette’s performance is shattering. She has a very raw sense of the truth. This film is savage. The music is severe. And the look is brutal,” (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)
Bette Midler On What It’s Like Making The Rose: “It’s like a party. Every night. Can you imagine being invited to a party every night, where you’re the guest of honor? I don’t know how I got so lucky. And I get paid, too.” (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)
Bette Midler On The Rose: “I want to present this person as a woman, not a legend. She has such a good heart and soul” (Plain Dealer, September 17, 1978)