Hildegarde

Hildegarde Loretta Sell, known as Hildegarde (February 1, 1906 – July 29, 2005) was an American cabaret entertainer, singer and piano player. At the peak of her career, Hildegarde was popular for her international appearances and recordings on the radio, on television and in supper club shows. During much of her career, her talents were appreciated in the cabaret setting, where her fashionable appearance, theatrical gestures, and carefully designed lighting created a distinctive stage persona. Hildegarde performed her songs with sensitivity, her warm voice preserved through many recordings. Elements of her performance legacy, including sheet music and signature accessories, are held at the Smithsonian Institution and other cultural archives. Hildegarde has been credited with starting the use of a single name for entertainers. In 1939 she was featured on the cover of Life and in Time magazine. By the end of the 1940s, Hildegarde had become the world’s best-paid cabaret vocalist, reportedly earning $150,000 a year. During the Truman and Eisenhower presidency, she was invited to perform at the White House. In 1960, Hildegarde was honored as a radio star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Among her many popular songs, Hildegarde became known for the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup". After a career spanning almost 70 years from the 1920s into the 1990s, she died at age 99 in Manhattan.