Hildegarde
Hildegarde (February 1, 1906 – July 29, 2005) was an American cabaret singer, best known for the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup."
Biography
She was born Hildegarde Loretta Sell in Adell, Wisconsin, and raised in New Holstein, Wisconsin, as a Roman Catholic in a family of German extraction. She trained at Marquette University's College of Music in the 1920s.
She wore elegant gowns and long gloves. "Miss Piggy stole the gloves idea from me," she once said. A noted flirt, she told risqué anecdotes while giving long-stemmed roses to men in her audience. During one performance she waltzed with a U. S. Senator. Her recordings sold in the hundreds of thousands. She is credited with starting a single-name vogue among entertainers. Investments and work in ads for a bottled-water company, barley vitamins and bathtub device gave her a comfortable income through the rock era.
Vaudeville
She worked in vaudeville and traveling shows throughout her career, appearing across the United States and Europe. She was known for 70 years 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.