Bathhouse Betty

Yesterday the queen of all gay icons Bette Midler was (unbelievably) 62 years old!! What can I say about Bette? She, of all the classy divas we adore, has probably had the greatest influence on me and several generations of gay men. (My own nickname is Dolores Delargo, the Toast of Chicago!)

I first encountered this sassy lady when I happened to catch a late-night showing of her classic (and currently still deleted) show Art or Bust in the 1980s; and to this day the opening routine Lovely Legs and Great Big Knockers - and the spectacle of that formation Busby Berkely routine in mermaid fishtails and in electric wheelchairs - remains indelibly imprinted in my brain! I recently managed to get a copy of the VHS video, and I have to say that watching it even today makes my heart cheer...

"I'm still proud of those days. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride."

As is well documented, The Divine Miss M began her fabulous career as a singer in gay New York bathhouses, alongside Barry Manilow on the piano. On the video of Art or Bust there is even some footage of her shows - Googie Gomez eat your heart out! Even from such relatively lowly beginnings she was always a brilliant performer, and with a pair of lungs(!) like that she was destined for the big time.

With several hit albums and rave concert reviews under her belt, Bette gained huge international success with her performance as the Janis Joplin-esque lead character in the movie The Rose in 1979. And inevitably, with her bawdy sense of humour and almost inexhaustible energy, she re-launched herself in the 80s as a favourite comedic actress in a series of wildly popular comedies such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, The First Wives Club and Hocus Pocus.

But it was Beaches that sent her to the top of the heap. A sad "girly" film it may be, but Bette's torch song Wind Beneath My Wings from that movie remains one of the most successful songs of the late 20th century (it is still apparently one of the top choices to play at funerals to this day). Personally I think the song has become more of an albatross round Bette's neck - she must be sick of it - and I prefer her in films like the Oscar-nominated For the Boys.

However, Bette Midler is - and always will be - the gayest of the top female performers. Recent hit albums include songbooks of two of the top gay icons of the 50s Peggy Lee and Rosie Clooney, and her 1998 album Bathhouse Betty was released as a specific tribute to her early career on the gay scene. That girl knows her audience - Happy Birthday Bette!

Bette Midler - Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy

The official Bette Midler website