Richard Amsel a nationwide artists’ talent search; the artist was 22 at the time. Amsel quickly found popularity within New York's art scene, and his illustrations caught the attention of Barry Manilow, then a young singer/songwriter named who was working with Bette Midler, a newly emerging entertainer in cabaret clubs and piano bars. Manilow introduced the two, and it was quickly decided that Amsel should do the cover of her first Atlantic Records album. The cover, for "The Divine Miss M" proved to be one of the most ubiquitous of the year. More album covers and posters soon followed, as did a
Bette Midler charts, including her renditions of "The Rose", "Wind Beneath My Wings", "Do You Want to Dance", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", and "From a Distance". In 2008, she signed a contract with Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to perform a show titled "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On", which ended in 2010. Midler made her motion picture debut in 1979 with "The Rose", which earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since starred in a number of hit films, which include: "Down and Out in