Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Focus On The Hocus Part III!

Bette Midler

Mary Sanderson smelled out the children and Sarah Sanderson drew them in with her song, but it was Winifred Sanderson that orchestrated and executed all of the wicked plans of the Sanderson sisters in Disney’s Hocus Pocus. Bette Midler was the most famous and established actor in the film and carried the movie for its entirety. That being said, without the talents of Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, the film would probably not have become the cult classic that it is today.

Midler has won multiple Grammy awards, Emmy awards, Golden Globes, and one Tony award. She is a multi-platinum selling recording artist with numerous hit singles and has starred in a number of successful films in a career that began in the 1960’s.

Midler’s career really took off in the early seventies when, after building up a solid following locally in New York City, she released her first album, The Divine Miss M. The album was well-received and spawned numerous hits. Midler won the Grammy for Best New Artist for 1973. Midler released more albums and in 1979 starred in The Rose. She was nominated for an Academy award for her performance in the film.

Midler continued to both sing and act throughout the 1980’s, including performances in Disney’s Oliver And Company (1988) and films such as Ruthless People (1986) and Down And Out In Beverly Hills (1986). She released one studio album, No Frills, in 1983.

During the 1980’s and throughout her career, Midler recorded numerous songs on film soundtracks, almost always resulting in at least one charting single for her from each album. The biggest single of her career was Wind Beneath My Wings from the film Beaches (1988) in which she also had a starring role.

Since the 80’s, Midler has continued to have success. She continues to act and sing and has appeared in multiple films including The Women (2008), Get Shorty (1995), and What Women Want (2000). She lent her voice to the animated The Addams Family released in 2019 as well. In 2000, she had her own short-lived sitcom, Bette, and has appeared in guest-starring roles in numerous television shows over the decades. She often appears as a parody of herself in guest appearances. One of her most memorable performances (in my opinion) was on a 1995 episode of Seinfeld entitled The Understudy. Kramer becomes Bette’s caretaker at the hospital after George injures her during a charity softball game. Her understudy takes on Midler’s starring role in the stage play “Rochelle Rochelle” (which has its own twisted life in Seinfeld). The incident parallels and parodies the real life drama between Olympic ice skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.

I could list more of Midler’s accomplishments, but in all honesty, I don’t have enough time or energy to do so. I haven’t even mentioned her brilliant stage career or her charity work. Just know this: Bette Midler has seen and done just about everything. She’s been an award winning actor on both stage and screen, lived the life of a rock star, and given back to both society and her adoring fans. She’s done it all with a smile as well. She might have been the wickedest Sanderson sister, but she seems to be a genuinely good person in the real world.

Thanks for checking out my post. This completes my three part Focus On The Hocus segment of Thirty-One Days O’Horror. I’ll be going back to my regularly scheduled spooky posts tomorrow!