Anna Sosenko

Anna Sosenko (June 13, 1909 – June 9, 2000) was an American songwriter and impresario who started her career in the 1930s. She was a manager and songwriter for cabaret singer Hildegarde, for whom she wrote "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup".

Early life Anna Sosenko was born in Camden, New Jersey, the daughter of Simon and Rebecca Sosenko. Her mother ran a restaurant and boarding house.

Career

Managing Hildegarde Sosenko is perhaps best known as the "formidable" manager and songwriter for American cabaret singer and fashion celebrity Hildegarde, for whom she wrote the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" (1935). "Her ingenuity, her inventiveness, her organizational genius and her undying faith in her merchandise stamp Miss Sosenko as just about the smartest manager in show business today," declared journalist George Frazier, in a Life magazine profile of the pair in 1943.

In the 1960s, Sosenko managed another singer, Felicia Sanders.

Producer and collector In 1959, Sosenko co-produced a stage adaptation of Irving Stone's The Passionate Journey. She promoted Jacqueline Susann's first novel, Every Night, Josephine. In the 1970s and 1980s, she produced star-studded benefit shows, including tributes to Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, and Richard Rodgers. She helped develop the Songwriters' Hall of Fame, now known as the National Academy of Popular Music.

Sosenko had a large collection of theatrical memorabilia, and opened a small gallery in 1965, selling and trading such materials near Lincoln Center. The pair collected art, including works by French impressionists; that collection was sold when they separated in 1955. They reconciled late in life, and even performed together. Sosenko died in 2000, four days before her 91st birthday.