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 same year, Midler had a supporting role in "Get Shorty". Her 1997 HBO special "Diva Las Vegas" earned her a third Emmy Award, for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Midler's other 1990s films include "The First Wives Club" (1996). In 1997, Midler, along with her co-stars from "The First Wives Club", Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, was a recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award, which honors "outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry." Midler starred in her own