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 Out in Beverly Hills", beginning a successful comedic acting career. She followed that role with several more Touchstone comedies, "Ruthless People" (1986), "Outrageous Fortune" (1987), and "Big Business" (1988). Later in 1988, Midler lent her voice to the animated character Georgette, a snobbish poodle, in Disney's "Oliver & Company", and had a hit with the tearjerker "Beaches", co-starring Barbara Hershey. The accompanying soundtrack remains Midler's all-time biggest selling disc, reaching No. 2 on "Billboard"s album chart and with U.S. sales of four million copies. It featured her biggest hit, "Wind Beneath My Wings", which went to No. 1 on "Billboard"s