People, Apr. 17, 1978

"I have never met a dumber broad," complains Bette Midler. Who could it be? Why, the Divine Miss M happens to be describing the Divine Miss M. The occasion: an interview with herself for the tenth-anniversary issue of After Dark magazine. She also appears on the cover, kicking up her heels above a sea of balloons. Soon she will be kicking off her first movie, which, she promises, is "nothing with flying saucers. Nothing with sharks." The Rose is the story of a flamboyant, 1960s blues singer. "It's not about Janis Joplin. It's about a blues singer who wins—beats life at...

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