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 film "Hawaii" as an extra, playing an uncredited seasick passenger named Miss David Buff. Midler married artist Martin von Haselberg on December 16, 1984, about six weeks after their first meeting. Their daughter, Sophie von Haselberg, who is also an actress, was born on November 14, 1986. Midler relocated to New York City in the summer of 1965, using money from her work in the film "Hawaii". She landed her first professional onstage role in Tom Eyen's Off-Off-Broadway plays in 1965, "Miss Nefertiti Regrets" and "Cinderella Revisited", a children's play by day and an adult show by night. From 1966