Madison Wisconsin State Journal
September 27, 1989
Jurors won’t be treated to a Bette Midler concert in her $10 million lawsuit against Ford Motor Co., but they may hear her recordings, a judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima on Monday said Midler may not sing in court at the trial, which will decide whether Ford and the Young & Rubicam ad agency used a “sound-alike” to impersonate her singing “Do You Want to Dance” in a 1985 car commercial The Divine Miss M had turned down the ad opportunity herself.
Lawyers for Ford and the ad agency sought the ruling, contending that Midler might alter her voice in court to mimic the singer in the commercial Midler’s lawyer, Peter Laird, said it hasn’t been decided exactly how her
music will be presented to the jury.
