Matt
Lauer and Bette Midler |
LENOX
HILL HOSPITAL
Bravo
for Divine Miss M
For Cleaning up Our Town
By
Edward Callaghan
 OR
her work on behalf of the New York Restoration Project and
Adopt-a-Highway, Bette Midler was honored by Lenox Hill
Hospital at the Waldorf-Astoria. President Gladys George
pulled in more than 1,400 supporters and raised a record-breaking
$2.5 million for the hospital’s community programs.
The
occasion was the Lenox Hill Hospital Autumn Ball 2002
"Bravo," a celebration of the hospital’s staff,
benefactors and folks like Bette who make a life a little better
for everyone.
NBC’s
Matt Lauer presented a Medal of Distinction to Midler. He
said his wife Annette was keeping a sharp eye on him because
"she knows that I’m a sucker for blondes with big
knockers." Matt and Annette enveloped Bette in roses.
Annette,
who gave birth to 18-month-old Jack at Lenox Hill Hospital, said,
“I didn’t want to leave – they pampered me so.”
Bette
also praised the hospital: “I love Lenox Hill – 2 beds, 24-hour
service, good lighting and a view of 66th Street. It’s
our perfect getaway, our very own Four Seasons Hotel.”
She
told pals Karen and Bill Lauder, “Doesn’t every bad girl dream
of being honored by a fancy East Side hospital?”
Gladys George, Annette and Matt Lauer,
Bette
Midler, James and Ellen Marcus
Photos
by
Rob Rich
|
On
accepting her silver hand-engraved Tiffany medallion, Bette said,
“We began picking up trash in Fort Tryon Park. Our motto was get
the trash off the streets onto the stage where it belongs.”
The
comment drew howls for the lady who has played everywhere from the
Continental Baths to the Philharmonic.
The
self-described Queen of Composte told of her work crews finding dead
bodies amongst the trash.
There
was much praise for chairman Jim and Ellen Marcus who
declared this event their "swan song" as they couldn’t
do BETTE-r.
For
over a century, the Autumn Ball has been regarded as one of the
season’s most glamorous events, and this year was no exception.
"BRAVO!" was chaired by Erika and Peter Aron,
Gladys George and Stuart Orsher, Diane and Paul
Guenther, Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin, and Ellen
and James S. Marcus.
In
the audience were the McEnroe Clan-tennis ace John,
his wife Patty and parents Kay and John, the Robert
Nederlanders, William and Karen Lauder and the Rev. Calvin
Butts.
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