[2] Hildegarde worked in vaudeville and traveling shows throughout her career, appearing across the United States and Europe.

Her recordings sold in the hundreds of thousands, and her admirers ranged from soldiers during World War II to King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and the Duke of Windsor.

A noted flirt, Hildegarde told risqué anecdotes while giving long-stemmed roses to men in the audience.

Investments and work in ads for a bottled-water company, barley vitamins and a bathtub device gave her a comfortable income through the rock era.

She was the business partner and good friend of Anna Sosenko, an aspiring songwriter whom she met at a boarding house in Camden, New Jersey, at the beginning of her career.