Introducing the Incomparable Hildegarde: the Sexuality, Style, and Image of a Forgotten Cultural Icon Monica Gallamore Marquette University
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Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Introducing the Incomparable Hildegarde: The Sexuality, Style, and Image of a Forgotten Cultural Icon Monica Gallamore Marquette University Recommended Citation Gallamore, Monica, "Introducing the Incomparable Hildegarde: The exS uality, Style, and Image of a Forgotten Cultural Icon" (2012). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 196. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/196 INTRODUCING THE INCOMPARABLE HILDEGARDE: THE SEXUALITY, STYLE, AND IMAGE OF A FORGOTTEN CULTURAL ICON by Monica S. Gallamore A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2012 ABSTRACT INTRODUCING THE INCOMPARABLE HILDEGARDE: THE SEXUALITY, STYLE, AND IMAGE OF A FORGOTTEN CULTURAL ICON Monica S. Gallamore Marquette University, 2012 This study is an historical biography of the popular American entertainer from the nineteen-forties and fifties named Hildegarde. Known by her first name long before such designations became commonplace, Hildegarde achieved such celebrity status that she influenced women‘s fashions and promoted a number of consumer products. She even had her own signature Revlon lipstick and nail polish called ―Hildegarde Rose.‖ Hildegarde‘s career spanned for more than seventy years, beginning as a pianist for silent movies in Milwaukee and eventually becoming the darling of nightclubs and supper clubs. Unfortunately, few people remember this entertainer or her influence. She has been overlooked by historians as a cultural influence and a groundbreaking performer even though in 1945 she was the most popular songstress in the nation. Hildegarde is unique because she did not fit into the accepted archetype of women during her heyday. She was neither a domestic, motherly type nor was she the girl next door. In fact, she and her manager, a woman name Anna Sosenko, worked together as well as lived together, all of which was public knowledge. Yet this did not deter the American public from adoring Hildegarde. She set fashion standards for women, and numerous celebrities used her image and copied her act to gain popularity. By the nineteen fifties, she was proclaimed the most impersonated performer in show business. This dissertation encompasses the time from her birth in 1906 through her death in 2005. Included in this study are examinations of: Milwaukee in the 1920s, the life and times of vaudeville performers, the culture of cabaret performers in 1930s Paris and London, radio performance and stars in 20th century America, and the night-club and supper-club craze of 1940s and 1950s. Of particular importance is her relationship with Anna and Anna‘s career as one of the only female managers of the time. Hildegarde‘s life and career is a lense by which to examine popular culture, leisure activities, women‘s history, and music as well as cultural trends and attitudes in twentieth-century America. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Monica S. Gallamore Projects of this sort do not get completed without enormous support from family, friends, colleagues, archivists, and professors. I am indebted to numerous people who have supported me throughout the researching and writing of my dissertation, and also throughout the process of returning to college as a non-traditional student. First and foremost I must thank my dissertation director, Dr. Thomas Jablonsky. He has provided support, dedication, and countless hours of work to ensure my success. Over the years, Dr. Jablonsky has mentored me as an academic, improved my writing, and changed how I view history. But most importantly, he shared my enthusiasm for my project, something for which I will be eternally grateful. I also owe thanks to the members of my committee with whom I have had the pleasure of working. Dr. Kristen Foster originally recognized the potential of Hildegarde‘s life as a dissertation topic. Dr. Phillip Naylor understood the importance of Hildegarde in popular music and culture and has over the years been a fellow musician with whom I could talk about guitars and stress management through playing music. I owe a special thanks to Dr. Steven Avella, first, for ensuring I was accepted with funding to Marquette University and most importantly, for being my friend. Though not on my committee, I owe a special thank you to Matt Blessing, Director of the Library-Archives Division of the Wisconsin Historical Society (formerly Head of Special Collections and Archives at Marquette University). Matt‘s support and belief in my research led him to meet with me in New York City to view a potential acquisition. It was this collection which yielded the generous donation of Hildegarde‘s diaries to Marquette University. I have worked in various archives across the United States and am particularly thankful that Ted Hostetler in the Lipscomb Library at Randolph Macon College granted me access to their unprocessed collection of Anna Sosenko. But for me, the Marquette University Special Collections and Archives will always feel like home thanks to Matt and Susan Stawicki-Vrobel who have treated me like royalty when I have worked there. I owe a great deal to Don Dellair as well. Don lovingly saved Hildegarde‘s diaries and graciously donated them along with other materials to Marquette University in memory of Hildegarde. In addition he provided personal anecdotes and companionship to me when I was in New York working. And thank you to Pat Still for housing Hildegarde‘s diaries until they found their home. I would like to also thank Rebecca Silver, Anna‘s niece who gave me access to her private collection of her aunt‘s things as well as shared funny stories about life with Anna and Hildegarde. My friends and family have provided an invaluable support system during this project. I am particularly thankful for Dr. Monica C. Witkowski and Chrissy Jaworski who have patiently listened to me, supported me, shared ideas, and provided comic relief when I needed it. I have relied on them a great deal and feel lucky to have had them and their mothers in my close circle. My thanks to my sister, Melody H. Gallamore, for encouraging me to return to college, listening to my history stories, and giving the world ii Sophia. I am grateful to my mother Bonnie Barnes for encouraging me to love books, love reading, and convincing me I could do anything I set my mind to. It was my mother who took me to New Orleans and showed me the city where jazz was born and the past is alive and vibrant. It was there I learned to love the complex and diverse stories that are American history. And lastly I thank my wonderful husband and travelling companion, Stanford K. Lester. He has shared my vision and quest for a Ph.D. since I first decided to pursue this path. This project is as much his as it is mine. He has never wavered in his belief in me and this dissertation. It was Stan who inspired and pushed me to keep going when I became disillusioned and I could not have completed this without him. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………i NOTE…………………………………………………………………………………..….v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION: INTRODUCING THE INCOMPARABLE THE SEXUALITY, STYLE, AND IMAGE OF A FORGOTTEN CULTURAL ICON……………………………………………….............1 Why Biography, Why Hildegarde………………………….…….13 Sources………………………………………………...……….…27 II. THE MYSTERIOUS AND EXOTIC EUROPEAN CHANTEUSE FROM ADELL, WISCONSIN………………..........................................37 Growing Up in New Holstein………………………………….....42 The Material Girl in Milwaukee………………………………….48 Marquette University……………………………………………..67 Conclusion………………………………………………………..78 III. FROM A DUCK TO A SWAN: HILDEGARDE‘S TRANSFORMATION FROM ENSEMBLE TO MAIN ATTRACTION…………………………………………………..87 Vaudevile………………………………………………………...90 A German Lass……………………………………………….…107 Americans in Paris…………………………................................114 The Continental Success Returns Home —For a While…………………………………….......................137 Conclusion……………………...................................................143 IV. HILDEGARDE, A LUCIOUS, HAZEL–EYED MILWAUKEE BLONDE WHO SINGS THE WAY GARBO LOOKS……..………..153 The Beginning: The Radio, The Fame, The Café Society….…157 iv The Chantoosy: The Music, The Signature Songs, The Competition……………..…………………………..……..169 The Cult of Hildegarde: The Persian Room, War Bonds, and the End of the War………………………..…..180 Conclusion……………………………………………………...200 V. ANNA AND THE QUEEN OF I AM AKA THE MOST IMPERSONATED PERFORMER IN SHOW BUSINESS………………………………..……………………208 Hildegarde Rose…………………………………………….…..212 Anna and the Queen of I Am…………………………….......…226 Yes Virginia, There Really Is a Hildegarde………………….…238 The Beginning of the End………………………………………251 Afterwards……………………………………………………...263 Conclusion……………………………………………………...267 VI. OVER 50—SO WHAT!.........................................................................277 Hildegarde‘s General Malaise…………………………………..282 If You Find Yourself in that Nostalgic Rage…………………...294 Together Again……………………………………………...…301 The Legend…………………………………………………..…305 VII. AFTERWORD……………………………………………………...….317 VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………...……327 v NOTE All of the Hildegarde‘s diaries are part of the Hildegarde (Loretta Sell) Papers Collection at Marquette University. They will be hereafter cited as Diaries. The scrapbooks contained in the Hildegarde Papers of the Billy Rose Theater Collection at the New York Public Library are called