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Esther Williams

Esther Williams

Acting

Born August 8, 1921, Inglewood, California, USA

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.

Filmography

Appearances as themselves (33)
  • 2024Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid — Self (archive footage)
  • 2017The Fabulous Allan Carr — Self (archive footage)
  • 2015Listen to Me Marlon — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • 2004Hollywood Legenden — Self
  • 2003Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof — Self
  • 2002Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer — Self (archive footage)
  • 2002The Original Mermaid — Herself (archive footage)
  • 2000Hollywood Musicals of the 40's — Self (archive footage)
  • 1998Glorious Technicolor — Self
  • Parkinson — Self
  • Private Screenings — Self
  • The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self
  • 1994That's Entertainment! III — Self - Host
  • Burt Reynolds' Conversations with... — Self
  • Pebble Mill — Self
  • 1991Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II — Self
  • 1990Dance Crazy in Hollywood — Self - Actress (archive footage)
  • 1990Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash — Self
  • 1987Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood — Self
  • 1985Night of 100 Stars II — Self
  • 1972Hollywood: The Dream Factory — Self (archive footage)
  • The Big Party — Self
  • The Dinah Shore Chevy Show — Self
  • The Steve Allen Show — Self - Swimmer
  • MGM Parade — Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
  • Reflets de Cannes — Self
  • The Jimmy Durante Show — Self
  • The Oscars — Self
  • 1950Screen Actors — Self (uncredited)
  • 1950The Costume Designer — Self (archive footage)
  • What's My Line? — Self
  • The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
  • 1945Parade of Aquatic Champions — Herself
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