Bette Midler Launches 'The Joy Behar Show' As First Guest

CNN executives have confirmed that the Divine Miss M. herself, Bette Midler, will join Joy Behar in the launch of Behar's new talkshow, HLN's "The Joy Behar Show," premiering tomorrow, September 29 at 9pm EST.  Midler no doubt signifies cache for talk show hosts: she was Johnny Carson's last guest on The Tonight Show.

Behar will join HLN colleagues Nancy Grace, Jane Velez-Mitchell and A.J. Hammer. Additional guests for the shows' premiere include Bay Buchanan and Janeane Garofalo, who will join Behar in a panel discussion that will no doubt leave audiences laughing.

Bette Midler made her Broadway debut playing Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof.  Thereafter, she began singing in clubs around town including at the famed Continental Baths where she developed the trademark act that would make her one of the most renowned talents of a generation--bawdy humor, revealing costumes and a distinctive voice made for an act that was poignant, tacky and altogether fabulous. Her performances of songs like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Delta Dawn, and Superstar were unforgettable and caused audiences to fall in love with the self-anointed "Divine Miss M." Bette's first album, The Divine Miss M, hit #9 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart and went platinum. In 1973, she won her first Grammy for Best New Artist. After successfully touring the world, she returned to Broadway in the Tony winning, Clams On The Halfshell.

Midler's first starring role in the feature film, The Rose, garnered two Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy for the film's title song and a best actress Oscar nomination. Additional films include Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Big Business and her most popular movie, Beaches.  Forty years, four Grammys, four Golden Globes, three Emmys, a Tony Award and tons of record-breaking performances since she hit the scene, the "Divine Miss M" is still going strong, opening a brand new show in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace in 2008. 

To read about Behar's show launch party at The Oak Room in New York thrown by The View co-host Barbara Walters on mediabistro.com, click here.