Fact: Bette Midler revived her cult classic Hocus Pocus character Winifred Sanderson for a Halloween masquerade ball held in New York on Friday night (28Oct16). The 70-year-old dressed as the villainous witch from the 1993 horror comedy, complete with orange hair, false teeth and a broomstick. She was joined by comedian Kathy Griffin, who came dressed as her own Snapchat avatar for the event, which was held to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the New York Restoration Project.
Quote: "For the life of me, I can't understand why there’s not a sequel... It was a perfect storm of fun." Bette Midler is puzzled why she, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy have never been asked to reprise their witch characters for a Hocus Pocus sequel.
Tweet: "Why would you watch Batman vs. Superman, a movie about a rich crusader vs. an alien, when you can see Trump vs. Cruz on CNN any day?" Bette Midler suggests the U.S. Republican party battle between presidential wannabes Ted Cruz and Donald Trump is far more enjoyable than the new comic book blockbuster.
Tweet: "Today is Veteran's Day. I am so grateful to all the men and women who have tried so hard and sacrificed so much for all of us." Singer/actress Bette Midler pays tribute to members of the armed forces on Veterans Day (11Nov15).
Tweet: "@kathynajimy @SJP Breaking news!! SEQUEL DELAYED!! @Disney having trouble finding a virgin! #HocusPocus." Bette Midler jokes about the hold up of the sequel to her 1993 movie Hocus Pocus, which co-starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy.
Fact: Nile Rodgers and Chic will headline Bette Midler's annual Hulaween party on 30 October (15). This year's bash will be the singer/actress' 20th. Proceeds from the Halloween celebration will benefit The New York Restoration Project. Dubbed Hell Night on Hulaween Island: A Night to Dismember, the party will take place at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Designer Michael Kors will judge the night's Halloween costume contest.
Tweet: "Reliving 9/11, the brutal and heartbreaking event that put the match to the tinder. I think about it every day." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler honours the victims of the September 11 terror attacks.
Tweet: "Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence are co-writing a screenplay about sisters. Hmm, who could play their mother? She'd have to be DIVINE!" Bette Midler suggests she should be cast as Lawrence and Schumer's mum in a new film comedy.
Quote: "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." Hollywood star Bette Midler had high hopes for her comedic performances in the 1970s at a gay bathhouse in New York.
Quote: "When we first came they put me next to Bruce Springsteen and I was in the centre, and all of a sudden Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones came in and they moved me to the end of the line, next to Latoya (Jackson)." Bette Midler learned about the superstar pecking order when she took part in the USA For Africa We Are The World recording 30 years ago.
Quote: "As the years have gone by and the shows have gotten bigger and I've become more and more of an environmentalist, I'm less and less inclined to take the gigantic shows out. The big ones are 40 trucks and buses and that's too much poison in the air." Bette Midler is scaling back her live shows as she embarks on a new U.S. tour.
Fact: Bette Midler poked fun at Kim Kardashian during an appearance on U.S. show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday (09Mar15) by putting the reality TV star's tweets to music. Prior to her odd performance, the singer/actress revealed she's a fan of Kardashian and her family and has named her pet chickens after them.
Tweet: "Hm. The Daily Show w/ (with) Bette Midler has a nice ring to it. Except for the 'daily' part. I'd prefer The Monthly (Unless I'm On Vacation) Show." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler jokes about taking over the popular U.S. comedy show from departing host Jon Stewart.
Tweet: "Yes, it's my birthday! And my birthday wish is that @ArianaGrande forgives me soon and lets me direct her next video..." Birthday girl Bette Midler wants the pop star's forgiveness as a birthday gift. The two stars were involved in a brief feud last month (Nov14) after Midler criticised the Problem singer's sexy stage and video attire in a British newspaper interview.
Quote: "I think Lady MACbeth could be fun. I think Mae West would be fun... Mame, I think Auntie Mame would be fun. I like the big ones, you know? The big characters, who take life with both hands and just chew it to bits. I love that... Miss Marple. I would love to play Miss Marple." Bette Midler on the film roles she'd like to play.
Quote: "All of us are just stunned. Kathy (Najimy), Sarah Jessica (Parker) and I have talked about it. We are totally thrilled to death. Because when it came out, it laid a tiny little bit of an egg, so we didn't expect much. And now look at it! October is Hocus Pocus Month!" Bette Midler is thrilled her little Halloween film Hocus Pocus has become such an annual treat.
Quote: "Some people tour with 40 trucks, and I'm like, 'I cannot waste that much gas on a show'. So I'll be walking, I'll be pulling a cart, it's gonna be so much fun!" Veteran entertainer and environmental activist Bette Midler is determined to make her first major tour in over a decade as green as possible next year (15) by cutting down on the number of vehicles needed to transport her equipment from city to city.
Fact: Legendary entertainer Bette Midler has re-released her memoir A View From A Broad 34 years after it first hit shelves. The Beaches star first unveiled the book back in March, 1980, and the re-issue, which includes a foreword written by Midler, hit stores on 1 April (14).
Tweet: "Everyone wants to know what I said off mic at the end of the song. I said, 'I feel like I just won the Olympics!'" Bette Midler reveals what she was about to say onstage at the Oscars on Sunday (02Mar14) as she soaked up the moment after her performance of Wind Beneath My Wings. Her sentence was cut short as the Oscars live telecast cut to commercials.
Fact: Bette Midler will be performing at the Oscars for the first time next month (Mar14). Details of her song are being kept under wraps but producers have hinted it will be "especially moving". Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O, U2, Pharrell Williams and Idina Menzel will also take to the stage.
Quote: "Barbra called and said, 'You know, I hear that you’re doing this and I want to make sure that my side of the story is told'. I said, 'Barbra, I think it’s a love letter to you'." Bette Midler on hearing from Barbra Streisand before taking on her late former manager Sue Mengers in hit play I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers. The production revolves around a phonecall with the actress/singer shortly after Streisand's lawyers fired her.
Quote: "I didn’t have enough sex. Well, I didn’t have enough celebrity sex. And I think that’s important when you’re writing a memoir." Bette Midler on what's stopping her from penning an autobiography.
Quote: "I made that make-up up. That was my make-up design. I was very proud of it... The teeth were brilliant and you know what? I still have the teeth." Veteran actress Bette Midler admits her fantasy horror film Hocus Pocus still holds a special place in her heart, 20 years later.
Quote: "We had a great time making it. We laughed the whole time! We flew! And we got to wear crazy noses and fake teeth and we just had the best time!" Bette Midler on her 20-year-old movie Hocus Pocus, in which she played a witch opposite Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Tweet: "I can't believe they hounded Charlie Hunnam out of 50 Shades of Grey. This is a first. Since when does the audience get a say in casting??" Bette Midler was looking forward to seeing Hunnam as Christian Grey on the big screen. The actor quit the movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey over the weekend (12-13Oct13).
Tweet: "The brilliant, incandescent Julie Harris has died. Unforgettable, magical and irreplaceable." Bette Midler pays tribute to late actress Julie Harris, who died aged 87 on Saturday (24Aug13).
Tweet: "Oh, what a run! I have to thank the wonderful crew and staff at the Booth Theatre. Every night was a pleasure and a joy." Bette Midler thanks her colleagues as she prepares to end her turn in Broadway show I'll Eat You Last.
Tweet: "I'm so exhausted. 7 shows a week, not to mention taking care of the family. I hope I never get too tired to complain." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler is feeling drained performing in her hit Broadway show I'll Eat You Last.
Tweet: "Heard @Pink shows in my area were fantastic; would have killed to be there." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler wishes she had attended one of the pop star's recent concerts.
Quote: "If we'd known how great having children was, we would have had more. When I have a grandchild, I'm kidnapping it." Veteran star Bette Midler cannot wait for her only daughter, Sophie, to become a mum.
Tweet: "Still alive. Cooked for 5 hours, ate in 15 minutes, cleaned for 4 hours, collapsed in a heap at dusk." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler hosted a tiring but successful Thanksgiving feast on Thursday (22Nov12).
Tweet: "Yes!! Hulaween Is Still On!!" Veteran entertainer Bette Midler refuses to cancel her annual Halloween party in light of Hurricane Sandy. The defiant singer/actress is due to host the bash in New York on Wednesday (31Oct12).
Tweet: "Where do these knuckleheads get the idea that I went to a wedding and actually sang at it?" Bette Midler shoots down reports she performed at Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's weekend wedding.
Fact: Bette Midler-produced Broadway show Priscilla Queen Of The Desert is set to close on 24 June (12) after a total of 549 performances. The play, which centres around three singers in drag, has been suffering from declining ticket sales in recent months. The programme opened in March, 2011.
Quote: "Will JayLo (sic) marry that young guy? After the waiter, the first dancer, the actor and the singer? She's been hit w/ (with) enough rice to feed Taiwan." Bette Midler jokes about Jennifer Lopez's multiple marriages. The singer, who is currently dating actor Casper Smart, has been married to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony and engaged to Ben Affleck.
Fact: Bette Midler has gifted U.S. President Barack Obama's daughters with a custom-made ukulele from her own private collection of rare memorabilia. The instrument is the national instrument of Hawaii, where both Midler and Obama were born.
Tweet: "Justin Bieber has a scent? That's hilarious. It should be called 'Someday I'm gonna Shave'...." Bette Midler takes a swipe at teen idol Justin Bieber's fragrance range.
Tweet: "The beautiful and brilliant Wangari Maatai (sic) died last week...She will be sorely missed by all who love and honor our planet." Veteran actress Bette Midler pays tribute to the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who passed away on 25 September (11).
Tweet: "To all Sunday's couples: your walk down the aisle has been a long one...congratulations on finally making it to the altar!" Gay icon Bette Midler sends her best wishes to all couples exchanging vows in New York on Sunday (24Jul11) - the day same-sex marriage in the Big Apple came into law.
Tweet: "Congrats to everyone getting hitched Sunday. My favorite wedding songs are Going To The Chapel, Wind Beneath My Wings and The Rose." Gay icon Bette Midler hopes the first same-sex couples to get married legally in New York on Sunday (24Jul11) play her tracks at the reception.
Quote: "Helen Mirren is stepping into my (Linda Kenny Baden's) Manolos, in the HBO production of Phil Spector! Classy!!" Bette Midler gives Helen Mirren her seal of approval after The Queen star stepped in to replace the veteran singer/actress as Phil Spector's lawyer in a new biopic about the disgraced music mogul.
Tweet: "I was just thinking - gay marriage legal in NY; I may have a new career as a wedding singer!" Bette Midler is happy that same-sex unions have been legalised in New York.
Quote: "There's nobody like her. She was way ahead of Lady GaGa and Madonna and all these gals who broke the rules. She was funny." Barry Manilow heaps praise on veteran performer Bette Midler.
Fact: Bette Midler was celebrating after the successful opening night of her Broadway show Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert on Sunday (20Mar11). Renee Zellweger, Kathleen Turner, Christie Brinkley and Guy Pearce were among the stars who showed up to watch the zany production, which was co-produced by Midler.
Quote: "I just love Teddy Pendergrass. I've always been a big fan. Also, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, The Sound of Philadelphia and Harry Nilsson; A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night is one of the most beautiful records ever made. And I listen to The (Rolling) Stones." Bette Midler reveals what's on her iPod.
Quote: "It's a different world now, with the Internet, iTunes, YouTube, Twitter - all this stuff which is so different from what I do and I really don't know where I fit in it. I feel if you can entertain a group of people live, you're really going to be OK, and I've always been able to do that. But I'm curious to see where I fit in in this new world, so I'm exploring my options." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler is carefully choosing her next project.
Quote: "I'd like to master the piano, I'd like to be able to play more than one song on the ukelele, I'd like to see my daughter have kids." Bette Midler has big dreams.
Quote: "Sometimes I look at the romance and I'm enchanted by it. She looks like a female Elvis and he looks a little like Elvis, too." Bette Midler on rumoured TWILIGHT couple Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.
Quote: "I don't know what possessed me. We were singing some American song and I thought, 'What's more American than a hot dog?' Someone talked me into it but they forgot to put a zip in it and I had to be cut out of it! I was glue-gunned in and at the intermission they had to cut me out. What a nightmare that was!" Bette Midler reveals the drama she went through to don her infamous hot-dog stage outfit on her first world tour.
Quote: "You have a different class of people now where the talent element is mostly gone and the fame element has taken over... It makes a very crowded field for people with talent to elbow their way to the front. We are in a very bleak time." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler laments the current state of showbusiness.
Quote: "I love the fact that you can just roll out of bed. Vanity gets set aside. I'd be lying to you if I told you that wasn't a part of taking the job." Bette Midler enjoyed voicing a character in new animated film CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE because she could turn up to work without making an effort.
Quote: "Elton has sold out Madison Square Garden more than anyone ever has, more than the Knicks and the Rangers. Even though he doesn't know what either of those things are." Bette Midler is a big fan of SIR Elton John.
Quote: "That is so scary. I'm terrified." Beyonce is stunned to learn she has won more Grammy Awards than veteran entertainers Barbra Streisand, Cher and Bette Midler combined. The Irreplaceable hitmaker added a further six trophies to her name at last month's (Jan10) ceremony, taking her total to 16.
Quote: "Oh my God, please, I've been performing for queens my whole life... I know them all, but I never met the real one... I've been a fan of hers... It was the most frightened I've ever been in my whole life. I was absolutely petrified." Bette Midler on her recent meeting with The Queen.
Quote: "I'm so tired I think I just wanna lie down." Bette Midler's Las Vegas show has left her exhausted.
Quote: "When I met her, I thought I was high - until my grandmother saw me in photographs and saw Bette Midler. She said, 'Baby, you made it! You're doing good.' " 50 Cent's grandmother approves of the rapper's odd friendship with BETTE MIDLER.
Fact: Veteran entertainer Bette Midler staged the 100th performance of her Las Vegas production THE SHOWGIRL MUST GO ON on Sunday (07Jun09). The 63-year-old star has another 100 shows left on her contract at the Caesars Palace Colosseum but has yet to confirm if she'll extend her stay on the Sin City stage.
Quote: "I ought to get a burka (Muslim head scarf). I am so afraid to walk outside the house without hair and make-up. I've been snapped once too often looking hideous." Bette Midler has made one fashion faux-pas too many.
Quote: "Me and Bette (collaborating) would be really hot. But I'd need to make something new for her. For the right song, we'd definitely get together." Rapper 50 Cent is taking his pal Bette Midler's offer of a duet seriously.
Quote: "I'd like to meet the Queen. I always liked her. I think she's really decent. I'd like to shake her hand." Bette Midler longs for a royal engagement.
Quote: "I dress strategically. I show the good bits and hide the bad bits! My voice is in great shape, my arms are a little saggy but I work my voice out every day." Legendary singer/actress Bette Midler is more worried about keeping her vocals in shape than her figure.
Quote: "I'm a boiler, a stewer, a braiser and a baker. I like to reduce all that food down to just a paste! I'm not the greatest baker but I'm very enthusiastic." Bette Midler admits her culinary skills leave a lot to be desired.
Quote: "It has a putting green in it, an astro-turf practice putting green like a large rug and two barbecues and a deck and an umbrella. It's hilarious!" Veteran entertainer Bette Midler reveals her customised Las Vegas hotel suite.
Quote: "I was married in the same month, actually, that a whole bunch of people were married; Sally Field was married that month, Madonna was married, half a dozen other big-time ladies were (married) and none of them (marriages) survived. I'm the only one. I'm a survivor." Bette Midler is thrilled her 24-year marriage has lasted longer than most celebrity unions. The entertainer wed her husband in Las Vegas after a six-week courtship.
Quote: "I don't think it's a successful form. I don't think of LINDSAY as a singer-actress anyway." Bette Midler claims Lindsay Lohan is struggling to juggle acting with a singing career.
Quote: "I wasn't so keen to sing it in the first place. The man who brought it to me said, 'If you don't sing this, I will never speak to you again'. The song is like a warhorse. It's been good to me." Bette Midler on her famous tune WIND BENEATH MY WINGS.
Fact: Veteran entertainer Bette Midler has paid tribute to Madonna in a video parody of the pop star. Midler promotes her new album JACKPOT! THE BEST BETTE in the YouTube.com clip in which she is seen wielding a vacuum cleaner and speaking in a faux-British accent.
Quote: "I'm the people's diva and I go where my people are. My people happen to be drinking, gambling and whoring in Vegas." Veteran singer/actress Bette Midler explains why she chose to Las Vegas for her residency. She debuted her show Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On earlier this year (Feb08) at the city's renowned Caesar's Palace venue.
Quote: "I wanted to be Bette Midler when I grew up. It's not about being her. It's about being myself the way Bette Midler unapologetically has been herself." UGLY BETTY actress America Ferrera looks up to the veteran star.
Quote: "They offered me a pile of money. I have to say they really stepped up to the plate." Bette Midler explains her decision to come out of retirement to perform a string of shows in Las Vegas.
Quote: "I wouldn't let her (watch it). I thought the language was too strong and there was stuff I didn't want her to know about." Bette Midler refused to let her daughter SOPHIE watch her controversial concert movie THE ROSE growing up.
Quote: "I've had great reviews, the food is great and I think I found my town. It's so strange because I avoided it for so many years but here I am wearing my rhinestones every day and feeling, 'Oh, I'm home.'" Bette Midler is enjoying her residency in Las Vegas, which began in February (08).
Quote: "I've actually seen her closet because we asked her if we can borrow some shoes for her character in the film... and she's got some good shoes in there." Helen Hunt is envious of THEN SHE FOUND ME co-star Bette Midler's shoe collection.
Quote: "At the time we were making this picture for $3 million, Will Smith was making I AM LEGEND for $150 million." Bette Midler on her low-budget new movie THEN SHE FOUND ME.
Quote: "When it really starts to cave in, I probably will start to give it a real good think." Bette Midler won't rule out cosmetic surgery.
Quote: "You know - you do want to smack her. Everyone knows how good she is except her and that's a damn shame." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler on the plight of troubled star AMY WINEHOUSE.
Quote: "I would try to make her comfortable being herself and being alone without a lot of attention... I would try to get her to calm down and know there's a world besides this showbusiness world." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler on her advice for troubled BRITNEY SPEARS.
Quote: "I'll be showing various parts of my body that are still showable. My legs are still divine." Bette Midler won't be fully covered up during her 30-month residency at Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace.
Quote: "I'm a big personality, but I'm a little person." Bette Midler sums up her appeal.
Quote: "In a funny way, I'm quite civilised. After all the cussing and moaning and working blue, it turned out that I was really a lady." Bette Midler has always enjoyed family life.
Fact: Showbiz icon Bette Midler and supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell have all commissioned Brooklyn, New York artist HUGH MCMAHON to sculpt their heads in pumpkin, which are then freeze-dried to prevent decay.
Quote: "We're definitely going to have skimpily clad humans of some kind, some gender or another. We're not really sure which one." Showgirl Bette Midler on her upcoming Las Vegas show, which will replace Celine Dion's long-running A New Day at Caesar's Palace.
Quote: "It's hot here in New York City, and it's not just me and my menopause." Bette Midler jokes about the current Manhattan heatwave.
Quote: "I did a little bit, but I couldn't hold up physically. If I smoked dope, I'd have a wonderful time. I'd be there for days, you know: 'Get her off!' Once I actually came off the stage, ran up the aisle, bought myself a bag of popcorn, got back on the stage." Bette Midler recalls her troublesome case of the munchies.
Quote: <p>"Every night I get dressed up like Poland and he invades me." Singer Bette Midler describes the secret to staying happily married to her German husband, Martin Von Haselberg. </p>
Quote: <p>"You got a very late start. Personally, I would like to attend my child's wedding without the aid of life support." Bette Midler pokes fun at comedian David Letterman, who became a father at the age of 56. </p>
Quote: <p>"You got a very late start. Personally, I would like to attend my child's wedding without the aid of life support." Bette Midler pokes fun at comedian David Letterman, who became a father at the age of 56. </p>
Fact: <p>Late diva BRENDA LEE's family is so delighted with Bette Midler's new tribute album, BETTE MIDLER SINGS THE PEGGY LEE SONGBOOK, they've released private home video footage of the FEVER singer, which Midler will release as an accompanying DVD. </p>