Bette
Logo
Format	Sitcom
Starring	Bette Midler Joanna Gleason Kevin Dunn James Dreyfus Marina Malota Lindsay Lohan Robert Hays
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	18 (2 unaired)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	October 11, 2000 (2000-10-11) – March 7, 2001 (2001-03-07)

Bette is a CBS television show which premiered on October 11, 2000, and was the debut of the entertainer Bette Midler in a lead TV series role. A "one-season wonder", 16 episodes were aired on CBS, with its final telecast on March 7, 2001. Eighteen episodes in total were produced, with the final two broadcast on HDTV simulcasting and in foreign markets. Bette was created by Jeffrey Lane, with Midler serving as one of the executive producers.

Synopsis[link]

The cheerful, high-energy sitcom had Midler playing herself - a "divine celebrity" who is adored by her fans. To apply some ambiguity, neither Bette's last name nor that of her on-screen family's was used, to create the offset that there was some difference between the star's real-life and TV persona. There were several similarities to Midler's actual career through the show's run, as the character of Bette had - and directly performed - many of the real-life Midler's past hit songs and achievements. The core of the stories focused on Bette's personal life in her luxurious Los Angeles home. Her husband of nearly 20 years, Roy (Kevin Dunn, eps. 1-12; Robert Hays, eps. 16-18) was an earnest college history professor, and their 13-year-old daughter, Rose (Lindsay Lohan, pilot episode; Marina Malota, eps. 2-18) was bright, active, and not the least bit fazed by her mother's celebrity. Embarking with Bette on her long, wild journey around showbiz was her hardworking best friend and manager, Connie Randolph (Joanna Gleason). Refined Englishman Oscar (James Dreyfus) was Bette's veteran musical director/accompanist, who had an obsession with tabloid media and was always on the lookout for new, strange exploitations of Bette. During the series' run, slightly-fictional Bette recorded a new album, engaged in hijinks at award shows, won a Grammy, made guest roles on series such as JAG and Family Law (a cross promotion by CBS), and starred in a TV Halloween special with Dolly Parton (who appeared as herself, and was said to be longtime friend of the Bette character; Parton and Midler are friends in real life). Other stories were out of the spotlight and closer to home; in one, Bette volunteered at Rose's school with surprising results, and in another, flashbacks were shown depicting the first time Bette met Connie, Roy and Oscar (in that order), along with one featuring the birth of Rose.

Many of Midler's celebrity friends appeared as themselves during the show's short run. Guest stars included Danny DeVito, George Segal, Brenda Song, Sharon Lawrence, Tim Curry, David James Elliott, Oprah Winfrey, Ashley Tisdale, Tony Danza, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton-John, Lindsay Lohan, Jon Lovitz, and the ladies from The View all as themselves.

The show's 16 episodes aired Wednesday nights until its cancellation. Originally in the 8pm time slot, Bette was moved to 8:30/7:30c in February 2001 and aired only a few more times. There were two episodes that went unaired on network TV, but the last two episodes were aired in HDTV in which it was simulcast.

Recasts[link]

When Bette went into production, Lindsay Lohan was the original choice to play Rose. After the completion of the pilot episode, Midler decided that the series would shoot in Los Angeles, instead of New York City, where the pilot was filmed. Lohan did not want to continually commute from her family's current residence in New York City, as the filming schedule for a TV series (typically 26 episodes per season) was more than the 14-year-old was willing to do when having to travel the country. Therefore, Lohan was out, but Midler and the producers decided to keep the pilot (presumably because it added extra attention to the show's debut - Lohan had already made her name as a major child star in The Parent Trap). They began shooting the following episodes with the next choice in casting, Marina Malota.

Several episodes into the series, Kevin Dunn grew unhappy with the increasingly minimal role and lack of development his character Roy was facing. Immediately after episode 12, Dunn departed. The next three episodes of Bette made mentions to Roy but did not use the role, as a replacement was in the midst of being found. Before long, Robert Hays was hired to take over, whose well-chiseled and more youthful physique provided a stark contrast to Dunn. The first Hays episode, "A Brand New Roy" (#16), aired on March 7, 2001, and was infamous for two reasons. In the episode's prologue, everyone in the cast except Roy is at Bette's kitchen table watching a daytime soap opera. Oscar starts a discussion about actors frequently changing in a single role on soaps, with Bette closing with the fact that "It's such a shame when viewers get used to one actor for a long time." She then asks, "Do they think we as viewers are so stupid not to notice? Am I right, Roy?". The scene then cuts to Roy, now played by Hays, sticking his head out from the refrigerator door, asking with a comical look on his face, "What's that you said, honey?". Although Hays filmed three episodes of Bette before the official cancellation, his debut broadcast was the last one aired on CBS.

Cast[link]

• Bette Midler as Bette
• Kevin Dunn as Roy (eps. 1-12)
• Robert Hays as Roy (eps. 16-18)
• Lindsay Lohan as Rose (pilot)
• Marina Malota as Rose (eps. 2-18)
• Joanna Gleason as Connie Randolph
• James Dreyfus as Oscar

Awards[link]

• Golden Globe (2001) - Nominated - "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical" - Bette Midler
• People's Choice Awards (2001) - Won - "Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series" - Bette Midler
• TV Guide Awards (2001) - Won - "Actress of the Year in a New Series" - Bette Midler
• TV Guide Awards (2001) - Nominated - "New Series of the Year"
• Emmy (2001) - Nominated - "Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series" - Bernard Vyzga (production designer) & Lynda Burbank (set decorator) for the pilot
• Excellence in Production Design Award Television - Won - "Episode of a Multi-Camera Series" - Bernard Vyzga (production designer) & Rich Rohrer (assistant art director) for the pilot

Ratings[link]

International Broadcasts[link]

In Australia, Bette was shown on Network Ten in prime-time on Sunday nights.

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,256435,00.html The Bitter End

External links[link]

• Bette at the Internet Movie Database
• Bette at TV.com

Bette may refer to:

• Bette (album), by Bette Midler
• Bette (TV series), a program starring Bette Midler

People

• Jean-Christophe Bette, French competitive rower
• Jean François de Bette, Marquis of Lede
• Bette (given name), people with the given name Bette

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

A television program (usually television programme outside North America), also called television show, is a segment of content intended for broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.

A television series that is intended to comprise a limited number of episodes is usually called a miniseries or serial. Series without a fixed length are usually divided into seasons or series, yearly or biannual installments of new episodes. While there is no defined length, US industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A one-time broadcast may be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode". A television movie ("made-for-TV movie" or television film), is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful TV movies are later released on DVD.

A program can be either recorded—as on video tape or other various electronic media forms—or considered live television.

Program content[link]

Television programming may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television movies), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.

A drama program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. With the exception of soap operas, many shows especially before the 1980s, remained static without story arcs, the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common television program periods include regular broadcasts (like news), series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or miniseries, which is an extended film, usually with a small predetermined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length. In the UK, the term "miniseries" is only usually used in reference to imported programmes, and such short-run series are usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a title sequence showing opening credits at the bottom lower third of the screen during the beginning, and included closing credits at the end of the show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open", followed by a title sequence and a commercial break. Many serial-type shows begin with a "Previously on..." (such as the series 24) introduction before the new episode. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated, however, as many major television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program have become a significant revenue source as well. Many of the prime-time comedy shows and Saturday morning cartoons were digitally remastered for United States television around mid-May 2008, as there are more original and reissued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or complete series to come. Typically, a DVD of a series or TV movie may contain extended or additional scenes not shown during the broadcast, scenes not allowed for broadcast (due to censorship rule), or additional background information/documentaries.

Television has changed throughout the years, from wholesome family sitcoms and dramas of years ago, to the reality shows of today. When watching television became popular in the mid-20th century, the whole family watched one set together. Also, many channels have deviated from their original programming focus throughout the years because of channel drift.

Most television networks throughout the world are 'commercial', dependent on selling advertising time or acquiring sponsors, broadcasting executives' main concern over their programming is on audience size or eyeballs. Once the number of 'free to air' stations was restricted by the availability of channel frequencies, but cable TV (outside the USA, satellite television) technology has allowed an expansion in the number of channels available to viewers (sometimes at premium rates) in a much more competitive environment.

Genres[link]

Scripted entertainment[link]

• Animated
• Award shows (partially scripted)
• Drama—which includes:
  • Action-adventure or Thriller
  • Comedy-drama
  • Family drama
  • Legal drama
  • Medical drama
  • Police procedural
  • Political drama
  • Science-fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Supernatural drama
  • Serial drama
  • Soap opera
  • Teen drama
• Miniseries and Television movies
• Comedy
  • Mockumentary
  • Satire
  • Sitcom
  • Sketch comedy

Unscripted entertainment[link]

• Game shows
• Reality
• Talk shows

Informational[link]

• Infomercials—paid advertising spots that are up to an hour long
• News programs
• Documentaries
• News magazines—dealing with current affairs

Development[link]

United States[link]

When a person or company decides to create a new series, they develop the show's elements, consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and cast. Then they offer ("pitch") it to the various networks in an attempt to find one interested enough to order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a pilot.

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series must be put together. If the network likes the pilot, they pick up the show to air it the next season (usually Fall). Sometimes they save it for mid-season, or request rewrites and further review (known in the industry as Development hell). Other times, they pass entirely, forcing the show's creator to "shop it around" to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot stage.

If the show is picked up, the network orders a "run" of episodes—usually only 13 episodes at first, though a season typically consists of at least 22 episodes. (The last nine episodes are sometimes called the "back nine"—borrowing the colloquial golf term).

The show hires a stable of writers, who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second episode, etc. When all the writers have been used, episode assignment starts again with the first writer. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they develop story ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who folds them together into a script and rewrites them.

United Kingdom[link]

In contrast to the US model illustrated above, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a maximum of around 13 episodes). The idea for such a programme may be generated "in-house" by one of the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it sometimes is a product of both. For example, the BBC's long-running soap opera EastEnders is wholly a BBC production, whereas its popular drama Life on Mars was developed by Kudos in association with the broadcaster.

However, there are still a significant number of programmes (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but since the creator(s) handle all the writing requirements, there is a run of six or seven episodes per series once approval has been given. Many of the most popular British comedies have been made this way, including Monty Python's Flying Circus (albeit with an exclusive team of six writer-performers), Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office.

Production[link]

The executive producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick the crew and help cast the actors, approve and sometimes write series plots (some even write or direct major episodes). Various other producers help to ensure that the show runs smoothly.

As with filmmaking or other electronic media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three parts. These are:

Pre-production[link]

Pre-production begins when a script is approved. A director is chosen to plan the episode's final look.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times. Sometimes the principal photography of different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (a guest star might shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon). Complex scenes are translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering requirements.

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one episode or show at a time, hence the need for multiple directors.

Principal photography[link]

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew gather at a television studio or on location for filming or videoing a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be planned during pre-production. Depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot in non-sequential order of the story. Conversations may be filmed twice from different camera angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation is filmed from the opposite perspective. To complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant director, and a second unit crew. A director of photography supervises the lighting of each shot to ensure consistency.

Post production[link]

Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate tasks to begin the video editing. Visual and digital video effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas. Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements may be previously recorded). An editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

Budgets and revenues[link]

In the United States, the average broadcast network drama costs $3 million an episode to produce, while cable dramas cost $2 million on average.^[1] The pilot episode may be more expensive than a regular episode. In 2004, Lost's two-hour pilot cost $10–$14 million, in 2008 Fringe's two-hour pilot cost $10 million, and in 2010, Boardwalk Empire was $18 million for the first episode. In 2011, Game of Thrones was $5–$10 million, Pan Am cost an estimated $10 million, while Terra Nova's two-hour pilot was between $10 to $20 million.^[2][3]

Deficit financing is the term used to describe how many scripted network television shows in the Unites States are financed. A studio finances the production cost of a show and a network pays a license fee to the studio for the right to air the show. This license fee does not cover the show's production costs, leading to the deficit. Although the studio does not make its money back in the original airing of the show, it retains ownership of the show. This ownership retention allows the studio to make its money back and earn a profit through syndication and DVD and Blu-ray disc sales. This system places most of the financial risk on the studios, however a show that is a hit in the syndication and home video markets can more than make up for the misses. Although the deficit financing system places minimal financial risk on the networks, they lose out on the future profits of big hits, since they are only licensing the shows.^[4]

Costs are recouped mainly by advertising revenues for broadcast networks and some cable channels, while other cable channels depend on subscription revenues. In general, advertisers, and consequently networks that depend on advertising revenues, are more interested in the number of viewers within the 18–49 age range than the total number of viewers.^[5][6] Advertisers are willing to pay more to advertise on shows successful with young adults because they watch less television and are harder to reach than older adults.^[7] According to Advertising Age, during the 2007–08 season, Grey's Anatomy was able to charge $419,000 per commercial, compared to only $248,000 for a commercial during CSI, despite CSI having almost five million more viewers on average.^[8] Due to its strength in young demos, Friends was able to charge almost three times as much for a commercial as Murder, She Wrote, even though the two series had similar total viewer numbers during the seasons they were on the air together.^[5] Glee and The Office drew fewer total viewers than NCIS during the 2009–10 season, but earned an average of $272,694 and $213,617 respectively, compared to $150,708 for NCIS.^[9]

Distribution[link]

After production, the show is turned over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. If the Nielsen ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the show is usually canceled. The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a series on their own like Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Corner Gas, and M*A*S*H and end it with a concluding episode, which sometimes is a big series finale.

On rare occasions, a series that has not attracted particularly high ratings and has been canceled can be given a reprieve if DVD sales have been particularly strong. This has happened in the cases of Family Guy in the US and Peep Show in the UK.

If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100 episodes or more) are made, it goes into broadcast syndication (in the USA) where broadcast to the program rights are then resold.

[edit] Seasons/series

The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to country.

North American usage[link]

The term "series", in North American usage, refers to a connected set of television program episodes that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. A new series is often ordered (funded) for just the first 10 to 13 episodes, to gauge the audience interest. If it is "picked up", the season is completed to the regular 20 to 26 episodes. The term "midseason replacement" usually refers to an inexpensive short-run (10–13 episode) show designed to take the place of an original series that failed to garner an audience and has not been picked up. The term "series finale" can lead to confusion outside of North America. A series finale is the last show of the series before the show is no longer produced. (In the UK, it means the end of a season.)

In North America the term "television season" is used inconsistently. A "full season" typically runs from September through May, with a hiatus between December and February. This broadcast programming schedule typically includes 20 to 26 episodes. A full season is sometimes split into two separate units (confusingly also termed seasons) with one before and one after the hiatus. These smaller "seasons" usually contain half the number of episodes (10–13).^{[citation needed]}

Since the 2000s, these shorter seasons have been referred to as ".5" or half seasons, where the run of shows between September and December is labeled "Season N", and the second run between February and May labeled "Season N.5". This is typically done to increase DVD sales of the show.^{[citation needed]} Distributors release the first half of the season in stores just before the second half first airs to increase interest in the season's second half.^{[citation needed]} Examples of this include the 2004 incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, ABC's FlashForward, and ABC Family's Make It or Break It.

UK and Australia usage[link]

In the United Kingdom and other countries, these sets of episodes are referred to as a "series". In Australia, the broadcasting may be different to North American usage, however, the terms "series" and "season" are the same. For example, Battlestar Galactica has an original series as well as a remake, both are considered different series with their own number of individual seasons. It helps to avoid much confusion when talking about a TV Series.

Australian television does not follow "seasons" in the way that US television does. So there is no "Fall Season" or "Fall schedule", for example. For many years popular night time dramas in Australia would run much of the year, and would only go into recess over the summer period (December–February) where ratings are not taken. Therefore popular dramas would usually run February–November each year. This schedule was used in the 1970s for popular dramas including Number 96. Neighbours and other dramas continue this routine as of 2011. Australian situation comedy series usually have seasons of about 13 episodes, and might premiere at any month between February and November.

British shows have tended toward shorter series in recent years. For example, the first series of long-running science fiction show Doctor Who in 1963 featured forty-two 25-minute episodes, which had been reduced gradually to fourteen 25-minute episodes in 1989. The revival of Doctor Who has comprised thirteen 45-minute installments. However, there are some series in the UK that have a larger number of episodes, for example Waterloo Road started with 8–12 episodes but from series three onward, it increased to 20 episodes, and season seven will contain 30 episodes. Recently, American non-cable networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality shows such as Survivor. However, they often air two seasons per year, resulting in roughly the same number of episodes per year as a drama.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., The Twilight Zone) had between 29 and 39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 to the current 44 (and even less on some networks), beginning in the early 21st century.

Japanese usage[link]

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into kūru (クール^?), from the French term cours for course, which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each kūru generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. The number of episodes permitted per season ranges from three to 65. (See also Japanese television programs.)

[edit] Running time

In the United States, in general, dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while sitcoms last 22 (30 with advertisements). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing, with 55–60 minutes per episode, and shorter seasons overall.

See also[link]

• Category:Television schedules (by country and year)
• List of animated television series
• List of television programs by name in alphabetical order
• Lists of television programs
• Network programming (television)
• Radio programming
• Television advertisement

References[link]

External links[link]

• FCC

v t e Lists of television series by country Africa Algeria Burkina Faso Cameroon Egypt Kenya Ivory Coast Libya Moroccan Nigeria Senegal South Africa Asia Bangladesh Cambodia China Georgia Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan North Korea South Korea Lebanon Malaysia Mongolia Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Taiwan Vietnam Australasia Australia New Zealand Europe Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Czechoslovakia Denmark East Germany Estonia Faroes Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Yugoslavia North America Canada Quebec Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica Mexico Puerto Rico United States South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela

Look up series in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

series (singular/plural) may refer to anything of a serial form:

Mathematics and science[link]

• Series (botany), a taxonomic rank between genus and species
• Series (mathematics), the sum of a sequence of terms
• Series circuits, a kind of electrical network
• Seriation (archaeology), a method of dating objects
• Seriation (semiotics), a concept in interpreting phenomena
• Series (stratigraphy), a stratigraphic unit deposited during a certain interval of geologic time

Media[link]

• Book series
• Film series
• Television series
• Video game series
• Comic book series

Music[link]

• Serialism including the twelve-tone technique
• The ordered sets used in serialism including tone rows
• The harmonic series (music)

See also: sequence

Other uses[link]

• Series (United States currency), referring to the year that a bill's design was adopted
• A book series
• A sequence of competitive sports events, sometimes to decide a championship; see also World Series (disambiguation)
• Serial (radio and television), series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion
• "Television series", the Australian, British, and a number of others countries' equivalent term for the North American "television season", a set of episodes produced by a television serial.
• Land Rover Series, early Land Rover workhorses (forerunners to the Defender)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bette Midler
Midler backstage at the Grammy Awards, February 1990
Background information
Also known as	The Divine Miss M
Born	(1945-12-01) December 1, 1945 (age 66)
Origin	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Territory
Genres	Vocal, pop, adult contemporary, comedy
Occupations	Singer, actress, comedian, author, producer
Instruments	Vocals-mezzo soprano, ukulele
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Atlantic (1972–1997) Warner Bros. (1998–2001) Columbia (2002–present)
Associated acts	Barry Manilow
Website	bettemidler.com

Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys. During her more than forty-year career, Midler has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and won three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.^[1] Her voice type is categorized as deep mezzo soprano.^[2]

Early life and family[link]

Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents moved from Paterson, New Jersey to Honolulu before she was born, and hers was one of the few Jewish families in a mostly Asian neighborhood.^[3] Her mother, Ruth (née Schindel), was a seamstress and housewife, and her father, Fred Midler, worked at a Navy base in Hawaii as a painter.^[4] She was named after actress Bette Davis, though Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one, /ˈbɛt/.^[5] She was raised in Aiea and attended Radford High School, in Honolulu.^[6] She was voted "Most Talkative" in the 1961 school Hoss Election, and in her Senior Year (Class of 1963), "Most Dramatic".^[7] Midler majored in drama at the University of Hawaii, but left after three semesters.^[8] She earned money in the 1966 film Hawaii as an extra,^[5] playing an uncredited seasick passenger named Miss David Buff.

Midler married Martin von Haselberg on December 16, 1984, about six weeks after their first meeting. Their daughter, Sophie Frederica Alohilani Von Haselberg, was born on November 14, 1986.^[9]

Career[link]

Theater work[link]

In the summer of 1965, Midler relocated to New York City, using the money from her work in the film Hawaii. She landed her first professional onstage role in Tom Eyen's Off-Off-Broadway plays in 1965, Miss Nefertiti Regrets and Cinderella Revisited, a children's play by day and an adult show by night.^[10] From 1966 to 1969, she played the role of Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.^[5] After Fiddler, she joined the original cast of Salvation in 1969.^[11]

In the summer of 1970, Midler began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city.^[5] During this time, she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first album in 1972, The Divine Miss M.^[10] It was during her time at the Continental Baths that she built up a core following. In the late 1990s, during the release of her album Bathhouse Betty, Midler commented on her time performing there, "Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], 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".^[12]

In 1971, Midler starred in the first professional production of The Who's rock opera Tommy, with director Richard Pearlman and the Seattle Opera.^[13] It was during the run of Tommy that Midler first appeared on The Tonight Show.

[edit] 1972–1980: The Divine Miss M and success

Midler released her debut album, The Divine Miss M, on Atlantic Records, in December 1972. It reached Billboard's Top 10 and became a million-selling Platinum-certified album,^[14] earning Midler the 1973 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.^[15] It featured three hit singles, with "Do You Want To Dance?", "Friends", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", which became Midler's first No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit. "Bugle Boy" became a very successful rock cover of the classic swing tune originally introduced and popularized in 1941 by the famous Andrews Sisters, of whom Midler has repeatedly referenced as her idols and inspiration, as far back as her first appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Midler told Carson in an interview that she always wanted to move like the sisters, and Patty Andrews once remembered, "When I first heard the introduction on the radio, I thought it was our old record. When Bette opened at the Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Maxene and I went backstage to see her. Her first words were, 'What else did you record?'"^[16] During another one of Midler's concerts, Maxene went on stage and presented her with an honorary bugle. Bette recorded other Andrews Sisters hits, including "In the Mood" and "Lullaby of Broadway."^[16]

Her self-titled follow-up album was released at the end of 1973. It reached Billboard's Top 10 and eventually sold close to a million copies in the United States alone.^[17] Midler returned to recording with the 1976 and 1977 albums, Songs for the New Depression and Broken Blossom.

Midler at the premiere of The Rose, 1979

In 1974, she received a Special Tony Award for her contribution to Broadway,^[18] with Clams on the Half Shell Revue playing at the Minskoff Theater. From 1975–1978, she also provided the voice of Woody the Spoon on the PBS educational series Vegetable Soup. In 1977, Midler's first television special, Ol' Red Hair is Back, premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win the Emmy Award^[19] for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music.^[20]

In 1979, Midler made her first motion picture, starring in the 1960s-era rock and roll tragedy The Rose, as a drug-addicted rock star modeled after Janis Joplin.^[5] That year, she also released her fifth studio album, Thighs and Whispers. Midler's first foray into disco was a commercial and critical failure and went on to be her all-time lowest charting album, peaking at No. 65 on the Billboard album chart.^[21] Soon afterward, she began a world concert tour, with one of her shows in Pasadena being filmed and released as the concert film Divine Madness (1980).

In 1979, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Rose, a role for which she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Comedy or Musical).^[5] The film's acclaimed soundtrack album sold over two million copies in the United States alone, earning a Double Platinum certification.^[14] The single version of the song held the No. 1 position on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for five consecutive weeks and reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100. It earned Midler her first Gold single^[14] and won the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.^[15]

[edit] 1981–89: Wind Beneath My Wings and Beaches

In 1981, Midler worked on the troubled comedy project Jinxed!. However, during production, there was friction with co-star Ken Wahl and the film's director, Don Siegel.^{[citation needed]} Released in 1982, the film was a major flop.^{[citation needed]} Midler did not appear in any other films until 1986. During those four years, she concentrated on her music career and in 1983, released the album No Frills, produced by Chuck Plotkin, who was best known for his work with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. The album included three single releases: the ballad "All I Need To Know", a cover of Detroit native Marshall Crenshaw's "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" – which Midler fell in love with after flipping his 45 of "Someday Someway"^{[citation needed]} – and Midler's take on the Rolling Stones cover "Beast of Burden". The rock and New Wave album became Midler's third lowest charting album in the U.S.

Midler performed on USA for Africa's 1985 fund-raising single "We Are the World", and participated at the Live Aid event at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.^[22] Also in 1985, she signed a multi-picture deal with Touchstone Pictures. She was subsequently cast by director Paul Mazursky in Down and Out in Beverly Hills, beginning a successful comedic acting career.^[5] She followed that role with Ruthless People (1986), Outrageous Fortune (1987), and Big Business (1988).^[5] Later in 1988, Midler lent her voice to the animated character Georgette, a snobbish poodle, in Disney's Oliver & Company, and had a hit with the tearjerker Beaches, co-starring Barbara Hershey.^[5] The accompanying soundtrack remains Midler's all-time biggest selling disc, reaching No. 2 on Billboard's album chart and with U.S. sales of four million copies. It featured her biggest hit, "Wind Beneath My Wings", which went to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, achieved Platinum status,^[14] and won Midler her third Grammy Award – for Record of the Year – at the 1990 telecast.^[15]

1990–2000: Chart comeback[link]

Midler in Los Angeles, 1990

In 1990, Midler's single "From A Distance" topped the charts and achieved platinum status. The next year, Midler co-starred with Woody Allen in Scenes from a Mall, again for Mazursky. She earned another Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for 1991's For the Boys, directed by Mark Rydell, who also directed The Rose. For the latter, she was awarded another Golden Globe for Best Actress (Comedy or Musical).^[20] She turned down the lead role in 1992's Sister Act, which instead went to Whoopi Goldberg.^[23] In 1993, she starred with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in the movie, Hocus Pocus, as Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson, the head witch of the Sanderson Sisters.^[5][24]

Midler's other films include Stella (1990), The First Wives Club (1996), and The Stepford Wives (2004).^[5] Her television work includes an Emmy-nominated version of the stage musical Gypsy and a guest appearance as herself in Fran Drescher's The Nanny. In 1997, Midler, along with her co-stars from The First Wives Club, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, was a recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award, which honors "outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry".^[25]

Midler won an Emmy Award in 1992 for her performance on the next-to-last episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in May 1992, during which she sang an emotion-laden "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" to Johnny Carson. That night, Midler began singing "Here's That Rainy Day", Carson's favorite song; Carson joined in a few lyrics later.^[26] She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Understudy", which was the season finale of that show's sixth season in 1995.

Her 1997 HBO special Diva Las Vegas earned her a third Emmy Award, for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program.^[20]

In 1995 and 1999, she reached the top of the US Dance Charts with remixes of her hits "To Deserve You"^[27] on Atlantic and "I'm Beautiful"^[28] on Warner Brothers Records. "To Deserve You" reached No. 2 and "I'm Beautiful" reached No. 1.

2000–01[link]

Midler has guest-starred in various sitcoms over the years, including The Simpsons in the episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled" (she is first seen traversing a highway picking up trash when she is approached by Bart and Lisa with a request for Midler to appear on a show to revive Krusty's dying career). In 2000, Midler starred in her own sitcom, Bette. Airing on CBS, initial ratings were high but soon declined and the show did not last a full season, being cancelled in early 2001. During the show's short lifespan, Bette's daughter (played by Lindsay Lohan in the pilot, then by Marina Malota starting with the third episode) and her husband were recast (Robert Hays succeeded Kevin Dunn in the final episode aired). The show was also reportedly rocked by backstage turmoil. Also in 2001, Bette or Bust, a book chronicling Midler's "Divine Miss Millennium Tour", was released.

Music[link]

Midler has won three Grammy Awards.,^[29] Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "The Rose" and Record of the Year for "Wind Beneath My Wings". Two of her recordings, "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From a Distance" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. "From a Distance" became her longest running No. 1 – six consecutive weeks – on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. When the American Film Institute announced "The 100 Years of the Greatest Songs" on June 22, 2004, two of Midler's recordings were selected by the board: "Wind Beneath My Wings" (No. 44) and "The Rose" (No. 83). However, after years of erratic record sales, Midler was dropped from the Warner Brothers label in 2001, after nearly three decades with Warner Music Group.

After a reported long-standing feud with Barry Manilow, the two joined forces after many years in 2003 to record Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. Of the project, Manilow said he'd had a dream that he was recording with Midler again, so he called her up with the idea and she agreed that it was due time to work together again. Manilow duetted with Midler on the song "(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China", after a little dialogue between the two artists at the start of the track. Now signed to Columbia Records, the album was an instant success, being certified gold in only a few weeks. One of the Clooney Songbook selections, "This Ole House", became Midler's first Christian radio single shipped by Rick Hendrix and his positive music movement. The album was nominated for a Grammy the following year.^[30]

In 2003–04, Midler toured the U.S. in her new show, Kiss My Brass, to sell-out audiences. In early 2005, an Australian tour, Kiss My Brass Down Under, was equally successful. Midler joined forces again with Manilow for another tribute album, Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. Released in October 2005, the album sold 55,000 copies the first week of release, returned Midler to the Top 10,^[31] and was nominated for a Grammy Award.^[32]

Grammy Awards[link]

• The year given is the year of the ceremony.
• In 1981 the album In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record won the Grammy for Best Recording for Children, Midler was one of the various artists featured. This Grammy was awarded to the producers, David Levine and Lucy Simon.
• "Wind Beneath My Wings" also won the Grammy for Song of the Year. This Grammy was awarded to the songwriters, Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar.
• In 1990 Midler's version of "From a Distance" won the Grammy for Song of the Year. This Grammy was awarded to the songwriter, Julie Gold.

Ongoing work[link]

In 2006, Midler released a new Christmas album, Cool Yule, featuring the title song (written by Steve Allen) and a duet of "Winter Wonderland"/"Let It Snow" with Johnny Mathis. Midler starred in the 2007 film Then She Found Me, directed by Helen Hunt and starring Hunt, Matthew Broderick, and Colin Firth, and appeared on the American Idol season 6 finale, singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" live at the Kodak Theatre.

On December 6, 2007, Midler's album Cool Yule received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.^[33]

Midler had a Vegas show entitled Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The show comprised The Staggering Harlettes, 20 female dancers called The Caesar Salad Girls and a 13-piece band. The show debuted on February 20, 2008, and played its final performance on January 31, 2010, after a two-year run.^[34] The show was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding variety,music or comedy special in 2011.^[35]

A new "best of" album, Jackpot: The Best Bette, was released in 2008 and reached No. 66 on the U.S. charts, and No. 6 in the UK, where it was certified Platinum for sales of over 300,000 copies.^[36]

In June 2009, Midler appeared on the Bravo TV show My Life on the D-List with Kathy Griffin. In December 2009, Midler appeared in the Royal Variety Performance, an annual British charity event attended by Queen Elizabeth II. She performed "In My Life" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" as the closing act.^[37]

In 2010, Midler voiced the character Kitty Galore in the animated film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. The film was a modest success, grossing $112 million worldwide.^[38] In November 2010, Midler released Memories of You, another compilation of lesser known tracks from her catalog. She promoted the album to her UK fans on Daybreak and The Graham Norton Show, on the latter of which she also performed "Dreamland" from For the Boys.^{[citation needed]}

Midler is one of the producers of the Broadway production of the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert which opened in February 2011.^[39]

Midler will be co-starring alongside Billy Crystal in the movie Parental Guidance due to be released in 2012. Midler also auctioned her outfits and achievements from her 40-year career in November 2011 in order to raise money for the New York Restoration Project.

Midler has an estimated net worth of $175 million.^[40]

In June 2012, she is slated to receive the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York in recognition of her having "captivated the world" with her "stylish presentation and unmistakable voice".^[41]

Charity work[link]

In 1995, Midler founded the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization with the goal of revitalizing neglected neighborhood parks in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of New York City.^[5] These include Highbridge Park, Fort Washington Park, and Fort Tryon Park in upper Manhattan and Roberto Clemente State Park and Bridge Park in the Bronx.^[42]

In 1999, the city planned to auction 114 community gardens for commercial development. Midler led a coalition of greening organizations to save them. NYRP took ownership of 60 of the most neglected plots. Today, Midler and her organization work with local volunteers and community groups to ensure that these gardens are kept safe, clean and vibrant. In 2003, Midler opened Swindler Cove Park, a new 5-acre (20,000 m²) public park on the Harlem River shore featuring specially designed educational facilities and the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse, the first community rowing facility to be built on the Harlem River in more than 100 years. The organization offers free in-school and after-school environmental education programming to students from high-poverty Title I schools.^[42]

Discography[link]

• 1972: The Divine Miss M
• 1973: Bette Midler
• 1976: Songs for the New Depression
• 1977: Live at Last
• 1977: Broken Blossom
• 1979: Thighs and Whispers
• 1983: No Frills
• 1990: Some People's Lives
• 1995: Bette of Roses
• 1998: Bathhouse Betty
• 2000: Bette
• 2003: Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
• 2005: Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook
• 2006: Cool Yule

Tours[link]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]