Mr. DeMora and Ms. Midler met in the early 1970s in New York when she was just starting out and “he was already part of a certain coterie of people all living in the Village and trying to have a big effect for very little money,” Ms. Midler said in a phone interview.
“The first thing he did that really knocked me out were these waitress costumes that opened up and became the American flag,” she said. “Every bead had a meaning and a history behind it. His eye was impeccable, and he was a genius at doing things on a shoestring.”