Bathhouse Bette As is well known, Bette Midler didn't get her start in the Bathhouses of New York city, she did perform at other places prior to her engagements at the Continental Baths, such as the Improv and Kelly's, however, it was at the bathhouse where the Divine Miss M was born. This is where the act, and the character were allowed to grow and flourish and get their start. On the stage at the Continental Baths in 1970, Bette's career was born. She came up with a show, and drew forth from herself the stage persona of the "Divine Miss M." In late 1970, she was joined by a budding piano player by the name of Barry Manilow. This pairing put two opposite personalities together, but the talent and the outcome was PHENOMENOL. Ms. Midler started out her campy, "trash with flash" to the growing audiences of gay men who attended her shows, found her act, personality and talent to be extraordinary, and screamed for more. The audiences were outrageous, but supportive, and said by some to have given her the confidence to spread her wings, and set out to take over the rest of the world. ``Despite the way things turned out [AIDS], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses in New York City]. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of `Bathhouse Betty' with pride." (Bette Midler to the Houston Voice, Oct. 23.) Bathhouses The "bathhouse" phenomenon began with the need for their existence as municipal baths. Not every building was required, or had bathing facilities, and in an effort to keep up with proper hygiene and disease control, these municipal bathhouses were set up. Even before the municipal bathhouses closed down, due to the introduction of bathing facilities within the tenements, the private bathhouses became the gathering place of homosexual men as a private world in which they were able to pursue companionship, and or homosexual intimate encounters, or merely to have the company of "like minded" individuals. After the municipal bathhouses closed, the private baths remained open and throughout the twentieth century became what is considered by many to be the center of gay social interaction especially in the cities with large gay populations like New York and San Francisco. Almost all of the baths were closed down by 1985, by the cities, due to the AIDS epidemic sweeping through the homosexual community.* The Continental Baths The Continental Baths was opened by owner Steve Ostrow in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel, in the late 1960's. Ostrow came up with the idea to have performers in for entertainment for his patrons. Among those who performed at the Continental Baths were: Melba Moore, Peter Allen, Cab Calloway, The Manhattan Transfer, John Davidson, Wayland Flowers and of course Bette Midler. "Many of those who were fortunate enough to see Bette's early bathhouse shows attest to the fact that her greatest achievement in show business took place the night she convinced the otherwise shy Barry Manilow to accompany her on the piano while wearing only a white towel, which was considered 'proper bathhouse attire'"** By 1974, the Continental Baths had lost much of its gay clientele. The reason for the decline in patronage was, as one gay New Yorker put it, "We finally got fed up with those silly-assed, campy shows. All those straight people in our bathhouse made us feel like we were part of the decor, and that we were there for their amusement. So we ended up going to other bathhouses where sex was taken more seriously." The performances were highly popular among the straight couples who went there "dressed in tuxedos and Norma Kamali gowns," (which set the bathers apart from the group once again, because, previously a white towel was the only attire required.) BUT there were a great number of those patronized the Continental Baths who were interested primarily in the sexual side of the bathhouse, not in the flashy nighttime "big" name performers. When they realized they were going to ostracized to some extent in what had always been a their own environment, and that their "escape" into the freedom that the baths allowed them with their homosexuality, they decided to find it elsewhere, at another establishment. "The gay writer, Edmund White, always seemed to be "Exasperated" by the concerts because they distracted the regular patrons from the more important task of cruising for sex. "I was so sex-obsessed that I found it irritating when she (Midler) was there," said White, "because everybody stopped their sexual activities to listen to her. I was the person fuming away in the background, hoping everybody would hurry up and get back to work!" ** At the end of 1974, with the number of patrons at an all time low Steve Ostrow made the decision to discontinue the lounge acts. He turned his attentions to rebuilding his business and patronage. His answer to the problem? To make the Continental Baths coed. But sadly, it didn't work even with advertising, and he was forced to close the Continental Baths permanently. When the venue was reopened, it was called "Plato's Retreat" and was a heterosexual swingers' club, but that didn't last long. With the threat of the AIDS epidemic the City of New York closed it down around 1985. The Ansonia Hotel, now houses the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. These are photos I took in 1994. * NOTE When AIDS first emerged it WAS considered a primarily gay disease, which led to these decisions for closing down the bathhouses. Some of the activities that occurred within the bathhouse itself, were found to be highly dangerous activity when concerned with the spread, and contagion of the AIDS/HIV disease. We now know that though it did strike the homosexual population the hardest at the beginning, it is NOT a gay disease or a disease that affects only IV drug users, it is a disease which can strike anyone who does not take proper precautions in high risk situations. ** Much of the information about the Continental Baths is From "History of Gay Bathhouses" A website done by an awesome guy named Eddie. The site is no more, but Thanks to Eddie for allowing me to use the two Continental ads and the information.