EW
Photo of Esther Williams

Esther Williams

Actor, Writer
Born August 8, 1921Died June 6, 2013 (91 years)
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.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Till the Clouds Roll By
  • Fiesta

Known For

  • Take Me Out to the Ball Game
  • Neptune's Daughter
  • Million Dollar Mermaid
  • Dangerous When Wet
  • On an Island with You
  • Bathing Beauty
  • Easy to Love
  • Jupiter's Darling
  • Fiesta
  • Skirts Ahoy!
  • Texas Carnival
  • Pagan Love Song
  • Easy to Wed
  • A Guy Named Joe
  • Athena
  • Andy Hardy's Double Life

Featured Videos

    Filmography

    2020
    Cane Fire · as Mimi Bennett In Pagan Love Song
    1992
    1985
    That's Dancing! · as From 'bathing Beauty' (archive Footage)
    1982
    Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter · as Actress - 'bathing Beauty'
    1976
    That's Entertainment, Part II · as (archive Footage)
    1974
    That's Entertainment! · as (archive Footage)
    1961
    The Big Show · as Hillary Allen
    1958
    Andy Hardy Comes Home · as Sheila Brooks (archive Footage) (uncredited)
    1958
    Raw Wind in Eden · as Laura
    1958
    1956
    The Unguarded Moment · as Lois Conway
    1956
    Zane Grey Theatre (TV Series) · as Sarah Harmon
    1955
    The Tender Trap · as Actress In 'easy To Love' - Movie On Tv
    1955
    Jupiter's Darling · as Amytis
    1953
    Easy to Love · as Julie Hallerton
    1953
    Dangerous When Wet · as Katy Higgins
    1952
    Million Dollar Mermaid · as Annette Kellerman
    1952
    Omnibus (TV Series)
    1952
    Skirts Ahoy! · as Whitney Young
    1951
    Callaway Went Thataway · as Esther Williams (uncredited)
    1951
    Texas Carnival · as Debbie Telford
    1951
    1950
    Pagan Love Song · as Mimi Bennett
    1950
    The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Vicki
    1950
    Duchess of Idaho · as Christine Riverton Duncan
    1949
    Neptune's Daughter · as Eve Barrett
    1949
    Take Me Out to the Ball Game · as K.c. Higgins
    1948
    On an Island with You · as Rosalind Rennolds
    1947
    This Time for Keeps · as Nora Cambaretti
    1947
    Fiesta · as Maria Morales
    1946
    Till the Clouds Roll By · as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
    1946
    Easy to Wed · as Connie Allenbury
    1946
    The Hoodlum Saint · as Kay Lorrison
    1945
    Thrill of a Romance · as Cynthia Glenn
    1945
    Ziegfeld Follies · as Esther Williams (segment "a Water Ballet")
    1944
    Bathing Beauty · as Caroline Brooks
    1943
    A Guy Named Joe · as Ellen Bright
    1942
    Andy Hardy's Double Life · as Sheila Brooks

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