Bette Midler hits, including "In the Mood" and "Lullaby of Broadway". Her self-titled follow-up album was released at the end of 1973. Again, the album was co-produced by Manilow. It reached Billboard's Top 10 and eventually sold close to a million copies in the United States alone. Midler returned to recording with the 1976 and 1977 albums, "Songs for the New Depression" and "Broken Blossom." In 1974, she received a Special Tony Award for her contribution to Broadway, with "Clams on the Half Shell Revue" playing at the Minskoff Theater. From 1975–1978, she also provided the voice of Woody the Spoon on
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