Gay bathhouse (陣屋)" were built in the 1970s. Singer Bette Midler is well known for getting her start at the famous Continental Baths in New York City in the early 1970s, where she earned the nickname Bathhouse Betty. It was there, accompanied by pianist Barry Manilow (who, like the bathhouse patrons, sometimes wore only a white towel), that she created her stage persona "the Divine Miss M." On getting her start in bathhouses, Midler has remarked: Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses].
The Thorn The Thorn The Thorn is a comic, religious satire movie released on May 24, 1974, as The Divine Mr. J. It was first shown as The Greatest Story Overtold at the Detroit Institute of Art in 1971. It was released on video in the early 1980s as "The Thorn". It was written, directed and produced by Peter Alexander. Its release was legally challenged on grounds that its title and advertising deceptively exploited the fame of its co-star, Bette Midler. "The Thorn" starred John Hassberger as Jesus Christ with supporting roles of Bette Midler as the Virgin Mary; James Harrison as