I would much rather watch myself than listen to myself. The moving is second nature, but the listening… that’s the art.
BETTE MIDLERI would much rather watch myself than listen to myself. The moving is second nature, but the listening… that’s the art.
BETTE MIDLERSome say love it is a river that drowns the tender reeds. Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your heart to bleed. Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower and you, its only seed.
BETTE MIDLERFrom a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white. From a distance the ocean meets the stream, and the eagle takes to flight. From a distance, there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace, it’s the voice of every man
BETTE MIDLERIf somebody makes me laugh, I’m his slave for life.
BETTE MIDLERI always try to balance the light with the heavy – a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes.
BETTE MIDLERUnfortunately, every time there’s a budget crunch in New York, the Parks Department is usually the first to be cut. So they need all the help they can get.
BETTE MIDLERIf you pick up a ukulele, it will make you unbelievably happy.
BETTE MIDLERJust because people don’t meet you doesn’t mean they’re not out there breaking their asses trying to get around.
BETTE MIDLERMy parents have not insisted that we go to college, but she wanted us to learn. Teacher, librarian, secretary, nurse. All my siblings were employed. But I wanted to be the boss, an independent contractor.
BETTE MIDLERWe’re all divine, but I was the only one who had the nerve to call myself that.
BETTE MIDLERThe first time I saw a picture of [fabled actress] Ethel Barrymore – she was on Broadway and she was wearing pearls. I thought, “That’s who I should grow up to be.” It’s odd, because it was her physical image that I wanted;
BETTE MIDLERI have a ball – and it keeps my heart rate up. I get to wear fabulous clothes. I get to make people laugh. That’s my core business, and that’s where I’ll always return.
BETTE MIDLERCats always seem so very wise, when staring with their half-closed eyes. Can they be thinking, I’ll be nice, and maybe she will feed me twice?
BETTE MIDLERThrough books and photographs, I saw a world that was not my own – and I realized that there was another world. That’s why I’m concerned about education, because it helps our children see other worlds.
BETTE MIDLERI believe that Judy Garland’s artistry was so fine. I mean, when people say: ‘oh, she brought so much of her life to her music’, I don’t really believe that. I believe that she didn’t have to. She just was a moving human being. That was her gift.
BETTE MIDLERSometimes, when I wake up, my soul is in another city!
BETTE MIDLER