Bette Midler "Isn't She Great" and "Drowning Mona". In Andrew Bergman's "Isn't She Great", a highly fictionalized account of the life and career of author Jacqueline Susann, she played alongside Nathan Lane and Stockard Channing, portraying Susann with her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with press agent Irving Mansfield, her success as the author of "Valley of the Dolls", and her battle with and subsequent death from breast cancer. The dramedy garnered largely negative reviews by critics, who dismissed it as "bland material [that] produces entirely forgettable comic performances." For her performance in the film,
Brian Kelly (actor) at the time as saying that he loved the role because of its family-friendly qualities. The success of "Flipper", which was filmed in Miami and the Bahamas, led to a brief movie career, including a lead in "Around the World Under the Sea" (1966). In 1970, Kelly sought to change his image by playing the role of Robin Stone in "The Love Machine", based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann. Just prior to filming, he was involved in a motorcycle accident which left his right arm and leg paralyzed. John Phillip Law took over the role. Kelly—whom Susann had called