Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back

8.7

Genre: Comedy Music TV Movie Documentary
Run time: 60 min
Premiere: 1977. December 7.

Director: Dwight Hemion
Writer: Bruce Vilanch Jerry Blatt Tom Eyen Buz Kohan
Starring: Bette Midler Dustin Hoffman Emmett Kelly Sharon Redd

In 1977, Bette Midler's first television special premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win Bette her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. To make the show palatable to home viewers, the special featured heavily cleaned up versions of the material Midler was performing at that time on stage. The title of the show, Ol' Red Hair is Back, was a takeoff on the title of Frank Sinatra's recent album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.