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].
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