Bette before "THE ROSE"

Before entering the film industry, Midler established a devout following focused on her singing and an outrageous personality modeled after Mae West, Sophie Tucker, and Rosalind Russell. Known as "The Divine Miss M," she projected an image of brassy vulgarity, aggressive humor, and bawdy sexuality.

Bette Performing At The Baths

In 1970, Midler began singing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first major album, The Divine Miss M in 1973.
Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [singing at gay bathhouses]. 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.
—Bette Midler, Houston Voice

BEGAN HER CAREER AT THE CONTINENTAL BATHS

“I'm certain that whatever I may do in my life, whatever I may achieve, the headline of my obituary in the New York Times will read: BETTE MIDLER DEAD; BEGAN HER CAREER AT THE CONTINENTAL BATHS.” --Bette Midler