Bette Midler is continuing to recall precious memories of her time with the late Diane Keaton in the wake of her death.
Appearing on the Thursday, October 16 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Midler, 79, was asked about her favorite memory involving Keaton.
“My favorite [memory] was of course, First Wives Club. We had so much fun on that show,” Midler said. “I think that was the most fun I ever had because those two girls [Keaton and costar Goldie Hawn], between them, I was on the floor every single day. I was crying with laughter.”
She added, “We had a wonderful time.”
News broke on Saturday, October 11 that Keaton had died at age 79. While no details were initially released, her family confirmed via a spokesperson on Wednesday, October 15 that Keaton’s cause of death was pneumonia.
Following the sad news, Midler had nothing but praise for Keaton as she gushed about the actress to host Andy Cohen on Thursday’s WWHL.
“I met her a long, long time ago. A girlfriend introduced me to her and I’ve always adored her. She was so unique, so special, so completely who she was and inimitable,” she said. “Because I used to go home and try and do that style that she had, that kind of like… you know, giddy [style]. I couldn’t do it. Nobody could do it. And I’ve seen a lot of people come close but nobody has ever done the true… that true spirit that she [had]. She’s an extraordinary, extraordinary personality.”
Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton. (Photo by Getty Images)
Earlier in the week, Midler echoed similar sentiments during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, October 14.
“She was such a genius,” Midler said. “There was something about her that was utterly magical … she was completely her own person and inimitable. She was so authentically herself.”
Midler added that she was initially intimidated by Keaton when they first crossed paths.
“I have a great memory of her with Goldie … I had never worked or met them before, and we sat down in a cafe … at a round table, and I was so intimidated,” Midler told Stephen Colbert. “I was a little bit of a newbie. So, we sat there and they started telling stories, and I’ll tell you, I never laughed harder in my whole life. It was brilliant and magical.”
Midler, Keaton and Hawn played former college best friends in First Wives Club, who work together against their estranged husbands. The hit 1996 film was an adaptation of Olivia Goldsmith’s 1992 novel of the same name.
Prior to her late-night TV appearances, Midler paid tribute to Keaton via a heartfelt Instagram post on Saturday, October 11.
“The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died,” Midler wrote alongside a photo of Keaton. “I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”
