Iris Rainer Dart on 'Beaches' at Signature

"Beaches" is what Iris Rainer Dart is best known for, and if it's all she ever did, her career would have reached an enviable high tide. The 1985 novel followed an urchin showgirl and an aristocratic tyke, best girlfriends for life till death claims one of them too soon. The book begat the 1988 Hollywood hit with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, a multi-hankie picture immortalized by a modest little tune called "The Wind Beneath My Wings."