The Divine Miss M Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hawaii

Bette's father, Fred Midler, worked at a Navy base in Hawaii, and that's where Bette was born in 1945. Her parents had moved from New Jersey to Aiea, a rural area in Honolulu, which had a tiny population in the middle of the 20th century; by 2020 just over 10,000 people lived in the town. Bette Midler performed in several school productions while attending Radford High School in Honolulu.

In 1965 she moved to New York City to study theater.

Answer: Beaches

The 1988 musical drama, "Beaches", was directed by Garry Marshall, and starred Bette Midler as Cecilia Carol "C.C." Bloom. In the movie, C.C. meets Hillary when the pair are 11-year olds and the two remain life-long friends, even though they live on opposite sides of the country and pursue quite different careers. C.C. rushes to Hillary's side when Hillary is diagnosed with a serious heart disease, and helps Hillary's daughter deal with her mother's death.

Midler's song from the movie, "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1988), made it to the first spot on Billboard's Hot 100, and the sound track from the movie earned her a Grammy for Record of the Year.

Answer: True

True! In fact, Midler's full name is Bette Davis Midler. Bette's mother, Ruth, greatly admired Bette Davis' acting, but didn't realise Davis pronounced her name 'Betty'; Ruth's daughter's name was always pronounced as 'Bet.' Both performers have earned over thirty industry awards, and were nominated for Best Actress awards with Davis winning the Academy Award twice for "Dangerous" (1936) and "Jezebel" (1939), and Midler winning Golden Globes for "The Rose" (1979) and "For the Boys" (1991).

Answer: The Toast of Chicago

Delores De Lago, the Toast of Chicago, debuted during Midler's 1978 World Tour. In this role, Midler was supported by her trio of backup singers, The Harlettes. Midler's portrayal of The Toast of Chicago was fun, provocative, and inventive, and was greatly enjoyed by the audiences that flocked to see her shows.

In her book, "A View From a Broad" (1980), Midler said that Delores was "a woman of tremendous ambition and absolutely no pride at all; a woman of tremendous determination and absolutely no skill; a woman of the grandest notions and not the simplest hint of taste."

Answer: Sophie

Sophie Frederica Alohilani von Haselberg was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 14, 1986, two years after the marriage of her parents in Las Vegas. Sophie has indicated that she had the support of her parents when she initially pursued an academic career in sociology and East Asian studies, but said that while she enjoyed the many industries she explored, she really loved acting.

After she had come to terms with the fact that she would always be compared to her mother, she decided to pursue a career in acting.

It's not surprising that Sophie followed in her parents' footsteps, given they are both performers.

Answer: Judith

Bette Midler was the third of four children, and sadly, her older sister Judith was killed crossing a road in New York while on her way to see Bette in a performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1968. Bette's and Judith's other siblings were a brother named Daniel and a sister named Susan. Twenty-three years old at the time, Midler was at the start of her career. She had to call her parents to notify them of the accident.

Judith Light starred in "Who's the Boss?" from 1984 to 1992. Midler and Light starred together in the 2019-20 television series "The Politician."

Answer: Pasadena

Four of Bette Midler's concerts on the 1979-80 Divine Madness Tour were filmed at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, then cut together to create a single 94-minute movie of the concert. It was released in 1980 and was followed up with a promotional tour by Midler. Sixteen songs, including "Leader of the Pack" and "The Rose", were included on the final version, which also incorporated some of her stand-up comedy routines.

Answer: Martin von Haselberg

Midler briefly met Argentinian Martin von Haselberg, who is known for his comedy performances, in 1981 at a concert. After they reconnected at a nightclub, and a whirlwind romance, Midler proposed to him. They were married in a Las Vegas chapel six weeks later on 16 December 1984 by an Elvis impersonator.

Answer: One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

The second to the last episode of "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson as host was May 21st, 1992, and the only two guests Johnny Carson had on the show that night were Bette Midler and Robin Williams. "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)" was one of Carson's favourite songs, and Midler sang it directly to him.

She also sang "Miss Otis Regrets", "Here's That Rainy Day, and "You Made Me Watch You". Carson appeared solo for his last program the following night, which showed clips from his long tenure as host.

Answer: The First Wives Club

At the funeral of their friend, who committed suicide after her ex-husband married a younger woman, Brenda Morelli-Cushman (Bette Midler), Elise Eliot-Atchison (Goldie Hawn) and Annie MacDuggan-Paradis (Diane Keaton) decide to seek retribution from their ex-husbands who have also left them for younger women. Forming the "First Wives Club", they plan to destroy their ex-husbands.

In the movie Midler sang the song "You Don't Own Me" with her co-stars.