Bette Midler
b. December 1, 1945
Bette Midler was performing on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof when her sister died, sending the young performer into a more self-expressive career. She honed her beautifully ranchy "Divine Miss M" persona at gay baths in New York, and soon was a hit with her "Clams on the Half Shell" revue. Taking her show on the road, Midler performed her cover of the 1934 Arthur Johnston/Sam Coslow tune "[Sweet] Marihuana," feigning hallucinations as she danced with two "Doobie Brothers." (The song is on her "Songs for the New Depression" album).
Midler famously planned to put a joint underneath every seat of the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles for her New Year's Eve show in 1975/76, to celebrate California's pending decriminalization law. Her staff had purportedly rolled 1800 joints before word leaked out and she was talked out of the magic moment by her lawyers and the LA district attorney. Instead she dropped her top at midnight. (California did enact decrim on January 1, 1976, saving the state $1 billion in the next decade.)
On February 15, 1976 Midler bailed seven members of her touring entourage out of jail after they were arrested on cocaine and marijuana possession charges. Two days later, she accepted the Harvard Hasty Pudding award before opening for five nights at Boston’s Orpheum on a tour that ended wth a five-day run at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
In advance of her Emmy-winning TV special 1977, TV Guide wrote a feature article on a toned-down Midler that ended, "Even her dad ought to be able to watch her perform this time." A career in Disney films followed, as well as the tragically overlooked "For the Boys" (1991) where Midler shows some of her indomitable spirit. Admired for her witty performances and appearances on the Grammys (with a gold record in her hair) and the Golden Globes (I'll show you a pair...), in 1992 Midler seranaded Johnny Carson on his last Tonight Show.
Bette shamanically imbibes cannabis on film as Mel Gibson's psychotherapist in "What Women Want" (2000), but you won't see that part of the scene on TNT, where it is censored.
A 2005 interview in Australia's The Age magazine says, "Much like her music, Midler's politics have also drifted towards the middle over the years. In the '70s, Midler's self-professed fondness for marijuana was legendary and unashamed, as was her objection to its criminalised status. Of course, it's a different story in 2005. When asked if she has smoked pot in the past 25 years, Midler replies with a simple 'Honestly? No.'"
She's currently back in Las Vegas in her new show, The Showgirl Must Go On.
SEE AN UPDATE ON BETTE'S LATEST POT-SMOKING MOVIE APPEARANCE, IN THE WOMEN.
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2008 Very Important Potheads
Changing the Face of Cannabis