by Kim Ruehl

Bette Midler has a golden voice and a green thumb

The mile of the Long Island Expressway that Bette Midler is responsible for cleaning has always kind of amused me. I perk up driving into Manhattan from Long Island, just for that one stretch of road where an outside chance exists of spotting the Divine Miss M (in high heels, I imagine, with her capri pants rolled up past her knees) standing in dirty grass, one of those trash spears in her hand. As most of the Bette Midler-themed scenarios in my imagination do, this one has Bette singing to herself, backed by a slew of lovely chorus girls with feathers on their heads ... and, yes, trash spears in their hands. This scenario remains in my imagination, though, as I've never actually spotted Ms. Midler on the LIE.

Her Vegas show, The Showgirl Must Go On, has been running since February — the one where she's backed by 18 sets of well-sculpted chorus girl legs, sans trash spears. But meanwhile, back in the City, Midler's backing one million well-sculpted tree trunks. Her effort to green NYC started back in 1995, when she founded the New York Restoration Project. Now, she's teamed up with Mayor Bloomberg to plant one million trees by 2017.

Obviously, Bette believes as much in preserving New York's urban forests as she does in preserving the fabulousness of the Showgirl. She's taking this au natural thing very seriously, although it means something entirely different in New York than it does in Vegas. According to her appearance on the Late Show last week, The Showgirl Must Go On is full of almost-nudity.

Are you a fan of Ms. Midler, or at least her efforts to aid NYC's greenery?

Kim Ruehl's blog

Submitted by

Kim Ruehl

on June 26, 2008 - 1:00pm.

TAGS ::

Huge fan!

Submitted by

Lili Putian (73 posts)

on June 26, 2008 - 1:30pm.

I've been a huge fan of Bette Midler for as long as I can remember ...she's fabulous!

If you're not trying to make something better, then as far as I can tell, you are just in the way.

- Ani DiFranco

WOW!!

Submitted by

ley86 (1549 posts)

on June 26, 2008 - 1:57pm.

could you actually ask more from any one individual to be a nicer person?! I've been a fan of her work for as long as I can remember, but became an even bigger fan after seeing her on "Inside the Actor's Studio" when you saw her opening up about her feelings about NYC!

LOVE HER!!!!

bette <3

Submitted by

Leena (83 posts)

on June 26, 2008 - 4:34pm.

can I just say: i LOVE LOVE LOVE bette midler! ever since Beaches and Stella I've adored her. And seeing how caring she is of the environment (as am I), I just love her more :D

[ I carry your heart.. I carry it in my heart.. ]

Major fan!

Submitted by

Elisabeth (132 posts)

on June 26, 2008 - 5:56pm.

I have always loved Bette!! My last name starts with an M and me and aunt have been calling ourselves the Divine Miss M's for as long as i can remember. This lady has always been in my life and i have never stopped loving her. Everytime her name pops up anywhere my heart does a little backflip. Now the only thing left is to see her live, which would be a dream come true.

So yeah, big fan pretty much. And greening up anything is never bad :D.

Midler Maniac

Submitted by

kef3832 (12 posts)

on June 26, 2008 - 11:57pm.

I first discovered Bette when she was the last guest on Johnny Carson (I was 6 1/2, but my dad told me I should watch the last episode with him because there wouldn't be another man like Carson on TV again) and ever since then, I was hooked! I'm not gonna lie, growing up with Bette Midler as your favorite celebrity and all-around personal hero was a bit different... most of my friends did not know who she was (until Hocus Pocus and First Wives Club, of course... two of the many reasons to love Bette). However, 16 years later, I have seen everything she's ever been in, followed her Restoration Project in the news, and have seen her twice in concert (and WILL see her in Vegas), and I am still one of the youngest long-term Midler Maniacs you'll ever meet!

Love, love, love her! She

Submitted by

kerplunksky (46 posts)

on June 27, 2008 - 4:00am.

Love, love, love her! She truly is divine. My mum introduced her to me when I was young (along with Phil Collins, Aaron Neville and Tracy Chapman) I used to listen to cassettes on my walkman (how old am I) when trying to get to sleep and her 'Experience the Divine' album was my favourite, including the fabulous Johnny Carson final song 'one for my baby (and one more for the road)' It also has 'The Rose' which my mum had as her wedding song when she remarried in 95.

Out of all her wonderful films my favorite is still Big Business! Not only was she great playing 2 roles, Lily Tomlin was wonderful and it was in the top 3 most watched films by me and my brother in the 80's (along with Ferris Beullers Day Off and Bugsy Malone, the kids version)

I also commend her using her celeb status to fund her restoration project. I remember first hearing about it on Groundforce (the garden makeover show here in the UK, which I sorely miss) when they surprised her with a Manahttan wasteland makeover: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2195473.stm

OH YES!!! I DO!!!!

Submitted by

Precious Peace (63 posts)

on June 27, 2008 - 2:03pm.

I to have been a fan of the Divine Ms. M since I saw her show on HBO in the early 80s. I am currently making plans to see her as soon as possible in her Vagas show!!!

Wanna Grow Up to BE Bette Midler!

Submitted by

O.M.G. (13 posts)

on June 29, 2008 - 11:30am.

I have always said that "When I grow up, I want to be Bette Midler!" Now that I'm grown, it is sadly impossible to BE her, but I do adore her. I grew up in Hawaii, in Pearl City, and my brothers went to high school with her. A fact they often, in their worst moments, throw at me. I was but a tyke in those days, and only knew Barbie Dolls and pistols.

She is the best, and I'm jealous that NYC has her and we don't have her here in SF.