Esther Williams
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
Credits
- 2002 · Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer as Self (archive footage)
- 1998 · Parkinson as Self
- 1996 · The Rosie O'Donnell Show as Self
- 1992 · MGM: When the Lion Roars as
- 1991 · Pebble Mill as Self
- 1985 · Night of 100 Stars II as Self
- 1985 · That's Dancing! as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
- 1976 · That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
- 1974 · That's Entertainment! as (archive footage)
- 1961 · The Big Show as Hillary Allen
- 1959 · The Big Party as Self
- 1958 · The Donna Reed Show as
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Sarah Harmon
- 1956 · The Dinah Shore Chevy Show as Self
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Swimmer
- 1955 · MGM Parade as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
- 1954 · The Jimmy Durante Show as Self
- 1954 · Reflets de Cannes as Self
- 1953 · Dangerous When Wet as Katy Higgins
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1952 · Million Dollar Mermaid as Annette Kellerman
- 1952 · Omnibus as
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Vicki
- 1950 · Duchess of Idaho as Christine Riverton Duncan
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Panelist
- 1949 · Neptune's Daughter as Eve Barrett
- 1949 · Take Me Out to the Ball Game as K.C. Higgins
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self - Guest Host
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- 1946 · Till the Clouds Roll By as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
- 1945 · Ziegfeld Follies as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
- Future · Private Screenings as Self
- 2024 · Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid as Self (archive footage)
- 2004 · Hollywood Legenden as Self
- 2003 · Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof as Self
- 2002 · The Original Mermaid as Herself (archive footage)
- 2000 · Hollywood Musicals of the 40's as Self (archive footage)
- 1998 · Glorious Technicolor as Self
- 1994 · That's Entertainment! III as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
- 1992 · Querida Concha as
- 1991 · Burt Reynolds' Conversations with... as Self
- 1990 · Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash as Self
- 1990 · Dance Crazy in Hollywood as Self - Actress (archive footage)
- 1972 · Hollywood: The Dream Factory as Self (archive footage)
- 1963 · Magic Fountain as Hyacinth Tower
- 1958 · Andy Hardy Comes Home as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1958 · Raw Wind in Eden as Laura
- 1956 · The Unguarded Moment as Lois Conway
- 1955 · Jupiter's Darling as Amytis
- 1953 · Easy to Love as Julie Hallerton
- 1952 · Skirts Ahoy! as Whitney Young
- 1951 · Callaway Went Thataway as Esther Williams (uncredited)
- 1951 · Texas Carnival as Debbie Telford
- 1950 · Pagan Love Song as Mimi Bennett
- 1950 · The Costume Designer as Self (archive footage)
- 1950 · Screen Actors as Self (uncredited)
- 1948 · On an Island with You as Rosalind Rennolds
- 1947 · This Time for Keeps as Nora Cambaretti
- 1947 · Fiesta as Maria Morales
- 1946 · Easy to Wed as Connie Allenbury
- 1946 · The Hoodlum Saint as Kay Lorrison
- 1945 · Parade of Aquatic Champions as Herself
- 1945 · Thrill of a Romance as Cynthia Glenn
- 1944 · Bathing Beauty as Caroline Marie Brooks
- 1944 · Twenty Years After as (archive footage)
- 1943 · A Guy Named Joe as Ellen Bright
- 1942 · Andy Hardy's Double Life as Sheila Brooks
- 1942 · Inflation as Mrs. Smith
- 1942 · Personalities as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)