Continental Baths - Entertainment

Entertainment

An added attraction at the club was the first class entertainment provided by performers such as:

• Shelley Ackerman
• Karen Akers
• Peter Allen
• The Andrews Sisters
• Jim Bailey
• Fontella Bass
• Vivian Blaine
• Jocelyn Brown
• Tally Brown
• Cab Calloway
• Nell Carter
• Chubby Checker
• Natalie Cole
• Barbara Cook
• Jackie Curtis
• John Davidson
• Yvonne Elliman
• Betty Everett
• Alice Faye
• Wayland Flowers
• Connie Francis
• Gloria Gaynor
• Lesley Gore
• Ellen Greene
• Dick Gregory
• Alaina Reed Hall
• Delores Hall
• Mimi Hines
• Linda Hopkins
• Isis
• Jobriath
• Andy Kaufman
• Larry Kert
• Roslyn Kind
• Morgana King
• Gladys Knight & the Pips
• Frankie Knuckles
• Labelle
• Dorothy Lamour
• Laura Lee
• Larry Levan
• Little Eva
• Darlene Love
• Lorna Luft
• Gisele MacKenzie
• Melissa Manchester
• The Manhattan Transfer
• Barry Manilow
• Barbara Mason
• Bette Midler
• Melba Moore
• Jaye P. Morgan
• Phyllis Newman
• The New York Dolls
• Anita O'Day
• Jane Olivor
• Patti Page
• Freda Payne
• The Pointer Sisters
• Mae Questel
• Johnnie Ray
• Sharon Redd
• Minnie Riperton
• Monti Rock
• The Ronettes
• Lillian Roth
• Millie Small
• Kay Starr
• Dakota Staton
• Eleanor Steber
• Yma Sumac
• Pat Suzuki
• Rip Taylor
• Tiny Tim
• Liz Torres
• Sarah Vaughan
• Margaret Whiting
• Julie Wilson
• Holly Woodlawn

Due to her performances at the baths, Bette Midler earned the nickname Bathhouse Betty. It was at the Continental, accompanied by pianist Barry Manilow (who, like the bathhouse patrons, sometimes wore only a white towel) that she created her stage persona the Divine Miss M.

Despite the way things turned out, I'm still proud of those days . 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, Houston Voice

Despite Midler's constant complaints about "that goddamn waterfall," her poolside performances were so successful that she soon gained national attention, beginning with repeat performances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.