Pop Tarts: Is Angelina Jolie Better at Bashing Than at Kissing? Jun 21, 2008
"There was all these dolls of superstars like Cher and Bette Midler ," our spy said. "It was one expensive collection.". (Fox News)
14 songs to avoid at the bar Jun 20, 2008
Guaranteed to induce vomiting: The wind beneath my wings by Bette Midler. By stonoguy. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
To 6/18: Tom Waits Jun 18, 2008
Shiver Me Timbers - Bette Midler recorded this track from Heart of Saturday Night for her 1976 album Songs for the New Depression and it is still a concert staple for the Divine Miss M.. I Don't Wanna Grow Up - This little ditty from Bone Machine was the perfect epitaph for the Ramones, who recorded it for their 1995 farewell album, Adios Amigos. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Let's talk TV Jun 17, 2008
Examples, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Geena Davis - the real stars seem to come and go quickly. It might make for better television. (USA Today -- Life)
High Court on fantasy baseball Jun 2, 2008
Singers Bette Midler and gravel-voiced Tom Waits also used this law to stop commercials that used distinctive voices that resembled theirs. Later, actors George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, who had played chubby "Norm" and postman "Cliff" respectively on the 1980s TV series "Cheers," sued to stop Paramount from licensing the use of two similar-looking characters to be used in airport bars. (AZCentral -- Sports)
Real-Life 'Sex' May 29, 2008
And then, of course, the theater and the party later at the Museum of Modern Art was stuffed with other bold-faced names: Regis and Joy Philbin; Katie Couric; Lorraine Bracco; Edie Falco; Mary J. Blige; Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas; designers Nicole Miller and Donna Karan; Jill Hennessy; Joan Allen; Emmy Rossum; this year s Oscar-nominee Amy Ryan; and Bette Midler, who brought her sensational 20-year-old daughter, Sophie. Do you sense a theme here. (Fox News)
Africa on film focus of SummerFilm schedule at Music Hall May 29, 2008
Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick in Helen Hunt's directorial debut. R, 100 min, US, 2007. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
What the Heck? Hawaii book and music festival May 26, 2008
PHOTO COURTESY LORETTA ABLES SAYRE Bette Midler visited Loretta Ables Sayre recently in Sayre's New York dressing room ... Loretta Ables Sayre e-mailed the picture here with Bette Midler in Sayre's New York dressing room. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Secrets behind celebrity tell-alls May 21, 2008
In his book "Exposing Myself," Geraldo Rivera revealed his affairs with hundreds and hundreds of women including Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Judy Collins, Chris Evert and Margaret Trudeau. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, still dealing with the fallout from his high-priced call girl scandal, reportedly is shopping around a book. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
THOSE LIPS CAN SING May 18, 2008
But instead of conventional Broadway fare, Johansson - who had voice training as a child and initially thought she'd go the way of musical theater - was increasingly haunted by a song that Waits recorded with Bette Midler, "Never Talk to Strangers.". Anyone she spoke to about the choice was perplexed, to say the least. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Warren Cowan, 87, a star at promoting stars May 17, 2008
Warren Cowan, one of Hollywood's most powerful and innovative publicists and the representative of generations of celebrities from Doris Day to Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra to Elton John, Ronald Reagan to Arnold Schwarzenegger died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 87 and lived in Los Angeles. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
Fertile ground May 16, 2008
" In Then She Found Me, trying to fall pregnant is but one of the issues troubling schoolteacher April Epner, who Hunt, 44, also plays. Compounding that particular problem is the fact her immature husband, Ben (Matthew Broderick), has just left her. Add the death of her adopted mother and the uninvited sudden appearance of her loopy birth mother, Bernice (Bette Midler), and you quickly understand why April is barely holding up. The only silver lining appears to be Frank (Colin Firth), the single... (Sydney Morning Herald)
Fame game: Timberlake KOs Ali May 16, 2008
So did Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Fran Drescher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean Connery, Bette Midler and others. Trouble is, when they got around to selecting who was the biggest celebrity who called, The Bert Show chose Justin Timberlake as No. 1 over get this Muhammad Ali. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
A happy ending nine years in the making May 15, 2008
Hunt says she spent almost 10 years writing and rewriting it, begging for money, getting turned down, begging again, wooing the stars Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick and Colin Firth, and finally making her feature film directing debut with a tough 27-day shoot. "I didn't know it was going to become quite so personal or be quite such a big part of my creative life," Hunt says. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Shia LaBeouf talks up Harrison Ford May 13, 2008
BETTE MIDLER is temporarily back in town hosting the New York Restoration Project's 7th annual "Spring Picnic" on Monday at the Toyota Children's Learning Garden on the lower east side. (It's at 11th street between Avenues B he evening will hark back to the 60's with DJ Tom Finn spinning those "Let's Twist Again" records. (Variety)
New releases May 10, 2008
With Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick as the men in her life and a wonderful, if unexpected, Bette Midler as the birth mother. (100 min., R) (Wesley Morris). (Boston Globe)
We find Hunt's directing skill in 'Found Me' and little else May 9, 2008
Then She Found Me* * 1/2 (out of four)Stars: Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler, Matthew BroderickDirector: Helen Hunt Rating: R for language and some sexual contentRunning time: 1 hour, 40 minutesDistributor: ThinkFilmExpands Friday nationwide ... But there also are forced scenes such as those when Hunt is introduced to her biological mom (Bette Midler) that play like a sitcom. (USA Today)
'Then She Found Me' May 9, 2008
Soon April gets word from Bernice Graves, an over-the-top local television celebrity (Bette Midler, behaving exactly as you'd expect), that Bernice is her real mother and wants to meet her ... Cast: Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Reality rules in Hunt's 'Then She Found Me' May 9, 2008
Bernice is a morning talk-show host and is colorful and loud, so it's no surprise that she's played by Bette Midler. Enter Colin Firth, the thinking woman's heartthrob. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
A celebrity interviewer takes a turn at tell-all May 8, 2008
Bette Midler is "hilariously funny and seriously touching. She is such a talent that when she sings 'Wind Beneath My Wings,' it brings tears to my eyes." Tom Cruise is "one of the nicest people I know." And as for another woman who's a defining force in the media, Walters takes credit for launching her career: "I mentored Oprah Winfrey.". She has a few unkind moments - "George W. Bush may also seem predictable and not always wise to me, but he certainly has been good to me" - and the occasional... (Boston Globe)
Delicate Work May 3, 2008
Starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick and Salman Rushdie ... Immediately after burying the woman she always knew as mother, April is confronted by a frowsy, boisterous, stiletto-wearing local talk show host, Bernice (Bette Midler), who announces that she's her birth mother. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
In 'Then She Found Me,' Hunt conceives a stress test May 2, 2008
After it's announced that April's birth mother is a New York talk-show host played by Bette Midler, you'll need them ... The idea that she could be Bette Midler's illegitimate daughter is like something out of Hollywood science-fiction ... Starring: Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler. (Boston Globe)
PUNCTUAL POMP & RESONANCE Apr 23, 2008
THE Cinema Society pre miered THINKFilm's "Then She Found Me." The Helen Hunt-Matthew Broderick-Colin Firth-Bette Midler movie is sort of a mom-and-pop operation, only it's all mom because Helen Hunt is also the director ... "Tough to admit, but people aren't exactly lining up to give you money to make movies. At least not for me. The thing wasn't easy to get done, but I cared so much about the project. I loved it. I did everything to make it happen. I even wore more than three hats. If it was... (New York Post -- Gossip)
Infotainment Apr 23, 2008
Then She Found MeNEW YORK: From (L-R), actors Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Bette Midler and Ben Shenkman attend a Cinema Society screening of Then She Found Me. ap. (Daily Times, Pakistan)
A labour of love Apr 23, 2008
It's a movie, of course, called Then She Found Me, and it stars her, perhaps equally "of course," along with Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick ... "Bette Midler" and "restrained," however, are not words usually seen in each other's proximity ... "I urged her at first to have faith in the tone of the piece, in the material and in doing less. "Then," she laughs, "I realized, 'This is Bette Midler. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
CHELSEA STOPS TRAFFIC ON GAY BAR CRAWL: 'I grabbed her ass'... Apr 21, 2008
Wake up guys, they screwed us with "don't ask-don't tell" and especially DOMA. Gay guys liking Hillary is similar to their like of Bette Midler, Joan Crawford, Liza Minnelli, etc. Can't say why, but it seems to fit. (The Drudge Report)
Rockers help kids kick the habit Apr 19, 2008
The movie, costarring Matthew Broderick, Colin Firth, and Bette Midler, premieres Monday in New York. Lipman will be there. (Boston Globe)
Apex blast ready for its close-up Apr 16, 2008
Asked by Disney to develop projects for Bette Midler after the bloom fell off her acting career, Newton said he and his wife, MaryKate Cunningham, knew it might be time for a change. With their first of two daughters set to be born, they moved back to North Carolina in 1997. (News & Observer)
CORRECTING and REPLACING Neil Diamond Live Concert Tour of a Lifetime Apr 16, 2008
The companys national promotion arm is currently producing tours and productions including Bette Midler The Showgirl Must Go On and Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; and Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, an international tour of the artifacts of King Tut. Recent and upcoming promoted concert tours have included artists such as Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, Hannah Montana, Spice Girls, Prince,Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, So You Think You Can... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
John Oliver believes in 80s ballads and slo-mo Apr 11, 2008
This time, Bushs message is supercharged by Bette Midler singing (You Are) The Wind Beneath My Wings. Overcome by emotion, Oliver wails, Hes only trying to PROTECT us. (MSNBC -- News)
Hollywood invades Sonoma Apr 11, 2008
"Then She Found Me" brings together screen legends Bette Midler and Helen Hunt. Hunt plays April, a woman whose life is falling apart after her husband leaves her and her adoptive mother dies. (Sonoma Index-Tribune, CA)
Norah's first role: Apr 9, 2008
Bette Midler: The multitalented Miss M started out as a singer-songwriter, but she's possibly better known as a versatile actress whose roles range from the comedic to the dramatic in movies such as "The Rose," "Get Shorty" and "Beaches.". Marianne Faithfull: This 1960s scenester (and girlfriend of Mick Jagger) has had a long singing career, recording the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By" before they did and making a much-heralded comeback in the 80s with the album "Broken English." She's also a... (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Chris Rock's sense of shame Apr 7, 2008
" Bert Fields' spectral presence once again hovered over the trial last week, this time as the consigliere of scorned hedge fund manager Adam Sender. Hollywood has been awash in hedge fund money -- over the last three years, hedge funds have shelled out $13 billion to finance some 150 pictures. Yet Sender's outing with Pellicano shows what can happen when a Wall Street master of the universe gets ticked off. As it happens, the sum in question was small, only $1.1 million. That's the amount... (Los Angeles Times)
Private eye to the stars 'offered murder' Apr 3, 2008
" Sender said he did not approve of the suggestion. None of the charges against Pellicano or the four other defendants in the federal case involve solicitation of murder. It was not the only time Pellicano was accused of considering a killing. In court documents filed in 2006, federal prosecutors claimed Pellicano conspired with organised crime figures to place a hit on an associate supposedly hired to threaten a reporter. No one, including Pellicano, was ever charged in connection with that... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Investor testifies about wiretaps Apr 2, 2008
1 million from Russo, a one-time manager of Bette Midler, who had a respectable career managing entertainers and producing movies then turned to politics in the 1990s. Russo died last year. (Los Angeles Times)
Pellicano allegedly suggested killing producer Apr 2, 2008
1 million in an upstart production company and online business with Russo, who managed Bette Midler and produced such films as Trading Places. . (MSNBC -- News)
Working colorful job Mar 29, 2008
Hugues: It would be a toss up between Cher and Bette Midler. ISJ: Who's your ideal next-door neighbor. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Midler considers plastic surgery Mar 27, 2008
Bette Midler would consider plastic surgery ... Bette Midler would consider plastic surgery ... 26, 2008 09:48 AM Bette Midler would consider having plastic surgery. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
VH1 and Sundance Channel to Air Original Four-Part Documentary Series From Perry Films, 'Sex: The Revolution' Premiering on VH1, Monday, May 12 - Thursday, May 15 at 10pm* Each Night Mar 25, 2008
In New York, Steve Ostrow opens the Continental Baths and Bette Midler steps in as the Chosen Chanteuse, kicking off the golden age of bathhouse and cruising culture. In Southern California, the Sandstone retreat gained national notoriety as it took suburban swinging to a new level with its clothing optional, sexually open community. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Keely Smith '50s demure hippest kitten speaks freely now Mar 21, 2008
Diana Krall and Bette Midler attended the same night during her monthlong run last year at Manhattan's ritzy Carlyle Hotel. She stays in touch daily with her two 50ish daughters, who both also live in Palm Springs, although neither ever gave Smith a grandchild. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Where are they now? Mar 18, 2008
Vanessa brings plenty of her Bette Midler moxie to the role, fitting right in with the rest of the cast. Here are some photos I took from the play Saturday night. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Helen Hunt gets comfy in the directors chair Mar 15, 2008
She also co-wrote and stars in the romantic comedy as a New York schoolteacher whose adoptive mother dies just as her birth mother (Bette Midler) shows up out of nowhere ... AP: Its a very interesting cast, though, besides Bette Midler. (MSNBC -- Movies)
SXSW is more than just music Mar 8, 2008
Hunt stars as April Epner, a woman whose birth mother (Bette Midler) contacts her not long after the death of her adoptive mother and her separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick). Reeling from all the changes in her life, April finds herself drawn to the single parent (Colin Firth) of one of her students, who seems just as damaged by life and is as fragile as she is. (MSNBC -- News)
Ferrell's Big Bomb Mar 4, 2008
They all called Will Ferrell s new comedy Semi-Pro" a lock for a $27 million average. But according to studio estimates Sunday, "Semi-Pro" -- which opened in a very wide release of 3,100 theaters -- grossed only $15.3 million in its weekend debut. This isn t good news for anyone, least of all New Line Cinema s now departing chiefs Michael Lynne and Bob Shaye. Semi-Pro was very well-marketed, starting with a popular Super Bowl commercial and following through with an Old Spice tie-in, all of... (Fox News)
Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On Mar 3, 2008
Mexico/Guadalajara Intl. Miami International Film Festival. (Variety)
MAC welcomes Bergeron for Jazz Fest, March 15 Feb 24, 2008
As a sideman, Wayne has been involved with hundreds of CD projects that include Beyonc;, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Christina Aguilera, INXS, Michael Bolton, Gwen Stefani, Earth Wind & Fire, The Pussy Cat Dolls, Chicago, Bette Midler, Ray Charles, Diane Reeves, Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Mel Torm;, Barry Manilow, Arturo Sandoval, Robbie Williams, Keeley Smith, Ronnie Milsap, Lee Ann Womack, Lou Rawls, Green Day, The Mars Volta, The Offspring, Bobby Caldwell, Rosemary Cloony, Diane Schuur, Brian... (Park Hills Daily Journal, MO)
Katie and Kerry feud 'back on' Feb 22, 2008
Showbiz - News - Katie and Kerry feud 'back on' - Digital Spy. Katie and Kerry feud 'back on. (Digital Spy)
Tom Cruise's Lawyers Among 244 Names on Pellicano List Feb 20, 2008
And Bette Midler s former manager, Aaron Russo, has been dead since last August. Someone better tell the feds. (Fox News)
Read on... Feb 19, 2008
Concert that changed your life: Joni Mitchell at the Greek Theatre and Bette Midler at the Roxy, late 70s. Guilty pleasures:* TV: LOVE Boston Legal, Brothers rs, Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report* Film: Vintage films of the 30s, 40s, 50s; also Jacques Tati films * Reading material: Cookbooks -- dont cook, but love the books; photography books. (Variety)
"Idol" Narrows Field To 24 Singers Feb 15, 2008
Performances by Gwen Stefani, Bette Midler and Smokey Robinson made this "American Idol" finale unforgettable. RELATED STORIES & LINKS. (CBS News)
2008 Grammy Nominees Feb 11, 2008
2008 Grammy Winners List, Kanye West, Amy Winehouse Lead The List - The ShowBuzz. 2008 Grammy Winners List. (CBS News)
Backstage bits Feb 11, 2008
Grammy News - Lifeline Live - USATODAY.com. Hancock admits win took him by surprise. (USA Today -- Life)
Marshall Crenshaw: Musician or songwriter Feb 9, 2008
Over the past 25 years, Crenshaw has carved out a successful career as a recording artist, with many of his songs covered by the likes of Robert Gordon, the Gin Blossoms, Carrie Underwood and Bette Midler. Jeanne said in the late 1980s, Marshall received an award for songwriter of the year, and many of his compositions have found their way onto movie soundtracks. (Gaylord Herald Times, MI)
Can these five Grammy hopefuls thrive past pop? Feb 8, 2008
James Taylor, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Chaka Khan first won Grammy gold more than 30 years ago and are back in competition. They rose during the album-oriented age of artist development, long before today's lean, piracy-ravaged music industry. (USA Today -- Life)
Cher inks 3-year Vegas deal Feb 8, 2008
Cher will alternate performances at the 4,300-seat Colosseum with other headline acts Elton John and Bette Midler. In December, Celine Dion ended a five-year run at the theatre, which opened in 2002 as home of her show, A New Day. (Globe and Mail)
NO CELEBRITIES POSIN' AT POSEN SHOW - HOST TAKES BACK INVITES Feb 8, 2008
In past seasons, paparazzi-bait like Serena Williams, Bijou Phillips, Ivana Trump, Katie Lee Joel, Bette Midler, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Lucy Liu, Martha Stewart and Kelly Ripa have filled Posen's front row with star power. Last night the star power consisted of Patti LuPone. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Cher Signs For 3 Years In Las Vegas Feb 8, 2008
Cher will alternate performances at the 4,300-seat Colosseum with other headline acts Elton John and Bette Midler. Cher's 90-minute show will run four nights a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with ticket prices ranging from $95 to $250. (Click2Houston, TX)
Divine Miss Midler becomes sassy Vegas 'Showgirl' Feb 7, 2008
Showgirl is very much a ladies club, and so were the sets of Bette Midler's upcoming films ... And the new resident is the divine Miss Bette Midler, who wasted no time putting her own touches on the subterranean suite ... Then with a shrug, she adds: "Although I'm sure when I die, I'll collapse into a heap and be unrecognizable. I'll melt and there will no longer be a Bette Midler. And I'm sure a lot of people will be really happy about that.". (USA Today -- Life)
Cher shares about life, love, tattoos Feb 7, 2008
Cher shares: Life, love, tattoos, politics, paparazzi - USATODAY.com. Sign up to receive our free Books e-newsletter and get the top news of the day in your inbox. (USA Today)
2/6-9: Cloris Leachman Feb 4, 2008
" With a love of work and determination to continue until the end, Leachman recently wrapped up two films: a remake of The Women, with a cast that includes Meg Ryan, Candice Bergen and Bette Midler, and American Cowslip, with Peter Falk in the cast. In between, she also found time to write her memoir, which will be published in the fall. She's also reaching out through a new Web site that's under construction. How would she like her fans to remember her? "If they think about me, I'd like to lift... (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Keys to perform at Grammys Feb 4, 2008
Presenters at the ceremony include Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler and Nat King Cole's daughter Natalie. . (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Dwight Hemion, 81, noted TV producer Feb 2, 2008
He received 47 Emmy Award nominations and won 18 for such programs as "Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music" (1965), "Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back" (1977), and "Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980), starring ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov."He defined what the network spectacular was in the 1960s and 1970s," said Ron Simon, a curator at the Paley Center for Media, a New York-based museum of radio and television history. "He was the go-to guy for any established performer to create a special... (Boston Globe)
Kylie Minogue says career is far from over Feb 1, 2008
A: "I love being a show girl so I have to go with all the good and proper gay divas Cher, Judy, Marilyn, Ann Margret, Dolly all of them. I love Joni Mitchell, I love Bjork, I love all different kinds of performers. But those show girls are gutsy ladies. I am desperate to make it to see Bette Midler in concert. You've got to pay respect to those girls.". Click for related content. (MSNBC -- Music)
Grammys Add Alicia Keys, Feist, Beatles Tribute To Performer Lineup Jan 31, 2008
The 50th annual awards show, which takes place on February 10, also announced the first slate of presenters, which will feature a variety of past Grammy winners including Natalie Cole, Juanes, Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler and Bonnie Raitt. And the prime-time spot for Canadian songwriter/ sometime Broken Social Scene member Leslie Feist will give the "1234" singer her biggest national (and international) exposure to date. (VHI.com -- Music News)
Her hopelessly devoted lure Olivia at last Jan 29, 2008
For Newton-John, the performance will seal her status as one of that select group of female singers whose age - she turns 60 in September - doesn't preclude adoration from a large gay fan base; Barbra Streisand, Cher, Bette Midler and Liza Minnelli are similarly well-loved. It will be Newton-John's first performance at a gay festival, suggesting that 30 years after tossing aside her good-girl image in the finale of Grease, she's doing it all over again. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
