BETTE MIDLER - MIDLER: 'I DON'T WANT TO DIE ON VEGAS STAGE'

Veteran singer/actress BETTE MIDLER will retire from showbusiness once the curtain comes down on her two-and-a-half-year run of shows in Las Vegas because she doesn't want to die onstage. The 62-year-old is taking over from Celine Dion as the resident act at the Colosseum venue at the Caesar's Palace hotel + casino later this month (Feb08), where she'll perform The Showgirl Must Go On for 30 months. But Midler isn't tempted to extend her run beyond 2010, because she wants to enjoy her twilight years away from the entertainment industry. She says, "I'm much older than Celine is. Physically I'm in good shape right now, but I can't tell what's going to happen to me. "Life doesn't go on forever. You have to ask yourself, 'How many summers and winters do I have?' And I really don't want to die onstage. "When you're done, you're done. I just want to go in my sleep."