The Incomparable Hildegarde
Hildegarde - Cabaret singer; born February 1, 1906 in Adell, Wisconsin and raised in New Holstein, Wisconsin. A Roman Catholic in a family of German extraction, Hildegarde trained at Marquette University's College of Music in the 1920s.
Hildegarde worked in vaudeville and traveling shows throughout her career, appearing across the United States and Europe. Her career spanned seven decades and she was known as "The Incomparable Hildegarde", a title bestowed on her by columnist Walter Winchell..
She was also nicknamed the "First Lady of the Supper Clubs" by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Hildegarde was a friend of Anna Sosenko, a songwriter, who wrote "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" for her . Hildegarde and Anna worked together for twenty years before the two broke up in the 1950s.
Hildegarde was credited with starting the single-name vogue among entertainers and was an inspiration for Liberace, who acknowledged her influence on his performances: "Hildegarde was perhaps the most famous supper-club entertainer who ever lived.
I used to absorb all the things she was doing, all the showmanship she created. It was marvelous to watch her, wearing elegant gowns, surrounded with roses and playing with white gloves on. They used to literally roll out the red carpet for her".
She appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1939, and her recordings sold in the hundreds of thousands. Revlon even introduced a Hildegarde shade of lipstick and nail polish.
For more information on Hildegarde, visit Wikipedia.
Buy Hildegarde album/CD music at Amazon. (Click on image below to browse.)
Above: Hildegarde on the cover of Life magazine in April 17, 1939.
Above: Hildegarde in the 1970's introduced as the "Dear that made Milwaukee Famous - The Incomparable Hildegarde"
Above: Hildegarde singing "Darling je vous aime beaucoup" (1935).
Above: Hildegarde with piano "Now, here comes Hildegarde" (1933).
