"A One-Woman Corporation"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 168, 11 September 1942, Page 5

"A One-Woman Corporation"

" [™M supposed to have a great voice," said Martinelli, the singer, after hearing a performance by Hildegarde, "but Hildegarde, who hasn’t a great voice, can do more with hers than I can do with mine." Hildegarde, 2ZB’s "Morning Star" for Sunday, September 20, at 11.30, comes from Milwaukee and had a varied career as pianist,. singer, and vaudeville artist before she began working on special cabaret acts of her own, first making a hit at the Café de Paris in London and then in clubs in Paris. ’ "JT spent three and a-half years in Europe and there I acquired the continental finesse, the polish, and the technique necessary for my performance," she said in a recent interview. In 1936 the vice-president of the NBC persuaded Hildegarde to go back to America. The Milwaukee girl, returning to her native country, went on the air as the highest paid single act in radio. Hildegarde to-day is a one-woman corporation. She has a' manager, an ar‘Tanger, a publicity agent, and a personal agent. Every part of her performance is carefully rehearsed, from lighting effects to delivery. Her gowns cost 300 dollars. Generally she does two shows a night. In Chicago she appears at nine and at midnight. In New York she appears at midnight and at one-fifteen. The performance runs for roughly 45 minutes Rehearsals and public appearances take up a large part of the day. "TI know I haven’t a great voice nor am I a great pianist," says Hildegarde, who is honest with herself. "And I love to kid with my Milwaukee French." All the same, many famous authorities have testified to the fact that she is a great entertainer and her popularity is enormous. (A photograph of Hildegarde appears on page 16.)