BETTE MIDLER DONATES GOWNS, COAT TO MUSEUM

Bette Midler has given the Museum of the City of New York 11 gowns and one coat that once belonged to Marian Anderson.

The museum says the gowns were bought for the museum by Midler, "a patron whose historical and theatrical conscience provided the incentive for the purchase at auction."Anderson, renowned African-American singer, wore the garments at concerts from the 1930s through the early 1950s.