Thank you.  Ahh, it's great to be back on the boards.  I know you think I jest, but before I detect murmurs amongst you like, "why is that man from television sneaking into the theatre," I should point out that I'm aware to qualify as a presenter as this affair, one must have appears on a New York stage.  Now the man at the stage door was very kind, but he was reluctant to let me pass until I produced evidence that indeed I had performed at the Royal Theatre, right down the street here in 1958 when I replaced Tom Yule in Tunnel Of Love.  Umm.  They were as thrilled then as you are here tonight.  I know those are not very impressive credentials but I figure, if Sir Laurence Olivia can stand around on television waiting for his picture to develop, that the committee would be kind enough to let me present this special award tonight, and it is to a very special young lady.  I had the pleasure of being the first to introduce her to the television audience, but to be honest she got her start in the theatre.  First as part of the fabled La Mama troupe, and then played the eldest daughter on Fiddler On The Roof, Tzeitel, and that part she played for three years.  She is a very unique young lady, and has that ineffable presence onstage as the mark of a fine entertainer, and she proved that again last year on Broadway at the Palace Theatre.  So for her outstanding contribution to concert, entertainment on the Broadway stage, it's my pleasure to present this special Tony award to The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler.

[Bette runs out onstage and spins with Johnny]

Um, I had a whole lot of things to tell ya . . . but I can't remember any of them at the present time.  I always wanted one of these things.  I've been in New York for about 8 years and I tried the Broadway stage, you know, and I didn't have too much luck with that, a little bit, and I always wanted one of these and I'm glad I got it because I really worked my little fanny off for it you understand.  I did, I swear it to ya, I killed myself to get one of these.  Now it wasn't competition . . . but it is special and I'm very glad I got it.  I would like to thank some of the people that I worked with, most especially Mr. Aaron Russo, who did a wonderful job of producing my show, and I would like the thank the people who came and had a good time at it.  Oh I'm so . . . I would also like to say, I can't see the cameras, but I'm not interested in addressing my remarks at this time to you because I know this is a theatre going crowd.  I'd like to address my remarks to the people who never go to the theatre, and to the people who have never been to the theatre, and to the people who don't know what theatre is about.  If you're watching this show and you live somewhere where there is a theatre, whether it's a legitimate theatre or a dinner theatre or a university theatre or any kind of theatre . . . you must go and you must try and experience that, because the theater is like nothing else on this whole planet.  And the reason for that is that it is alive, and I thank you.

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