Gay icon Own Kind of Music" and "Different") and free love. Her music was later featured in the acclaimed gay film "Beautiful Thing" (1996), adapted from the play of the same name. Singer and actress Bette Midler became recognized as a gay icon in the 1970s. After performing on Broadway, Midler began performing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist Barry Manilow, who produced her first major album "The Divine Miss M" (1973). "Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [singing at
Bette Midler Gallagher Levi, continuing through January 2018, in the Broadway revival of "Hello, Dolly!" for which she won her second Tony Award. In 2017 she also appeared in the role of Muv in the 2017 film "Freak Show". On April 20, 2018 it was announced that Midler will be returning to "Hello, Dolly!" on July 17 to close out the run of the successful revival. In 1991, Midler was an early sponsor of the Adopt-a-Highway, paying $2,000 a month for a crew to clean up a 2-mile section of the Ventura Freeway in Burbank, California. Signs at both ends of the