Known For
Acting
Born
Aug 08, 1921
Died
Jun 06, 2013
Place of Birth
Inglewood, California, USA
Credits
70 titles
Esther Williams
Biography
Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold-medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller. Williams caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals", which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving. Every year from 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film among the 20 highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid, which went on to become her nickname while she was at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed network television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida. Williams was also a successful businesswoman. Before retiring from acting, she invested in a "service station, a metal products plant, a manufacturer of bathing suits, various properties and a successful restaurant chain known as Trails." She lent her name to a line of swimming pools, retro swimwear, and instructional swimming videos for children, and served as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Esther Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
Self (archive)
Hollywood Legenden
Self
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
Self
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Self (archive footage)
The Original Mermaid
Herself (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Self (archive footage)
Glorious Technicolor
Self
Parkinson
Self
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self
Private Screenings
Self
That's Entertainment! III
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
MGM: When the Lion Roars
Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II
Self
Pebble Mill
Self
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
Self
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
Self
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
Self - Actress (archive footage)
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
That's Dancing!
From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
Magic Fountain
Hyacinth Tower
The Big Show
Hillary Allen
The Big Party
Self
Andy Hardy Comes Home
Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Donna Reed Show
Molly Duncan
Raw Wind in Eden
Laura
The Unguarded Moment
Lois Conway
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Sarah Harmon
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Swimmer
MGM Parade
Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
Jupiter's Darling
Amytis
The Jimmy Durante Show
Self
Reflets de Cannes
Self
Easy to Love
Julie Hallerton
Dangerous When Wet
Katy Higgins
The Oscars
Self
Million Dollar Mermaid
Annette Kellerman
Omnibus
Skirts Ahoy!
Whitney Young
Callaway Went Thataway
Esther Williams (uncredited)
Texas Carnival
Debbie Telford
Pagan Love Song
Mimi Bennett
Lux Video Theatre
Vicki
Duchess of Idaho
Christine Riverton Duncan
The Costume Designer
Self (archive footage)