Esther Williams
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 8, 1921
- Died
- June 6, 2013 (aged 91)
- Birthplace
- Inglewood, California, USA
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
Photos
Filmography
Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Fabulous Allan Carr
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Listen to Me Marlon
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Legenden
Movie · as Self
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
Movie · as Self
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Original Mermaid
Movie · as Herself (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Glorious Technicolor
Movie · as Self
Parkinson
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Private Screenings
TV · as Self · 1 ep
That's Entertainment! III
Movie · as Self - Host
MGM: When the Lion Roars
TV · 3 eps
Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II
Movie · as Self
Pebble Mill
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
Movie · as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
Movie · as Self
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Movie · as Self
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie · as Self
That's Dancing!
Movie · as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie · as (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Magic Fountain
Movie · as Hyacinth Tower
The Big Show
Movie · as Hillary Allen
The Big Party
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Raw Wind in Eden
Movie · as Laura
Andy Hardy Comes Home
Movie · as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Donna Reed Show
TV · as Molly Duncan · 1 ep
The Unguarded Moment
Movie · as Lois Conway
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV · as Sarah Harmon · 1 ep
The Steve Allen Show
TV · as Self - Swimmer · 2 eps
Jupiter's Darling
Movie · as Amytis
MGM Parade
TV · as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage) · 1 ep
The Jimmy Durante Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Reflets de Cannes
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Easy to Love
Movie · as Julie Hallerton
Dangerous When Wet
Movie · as Katy Higgins
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Million Dollar Mermaid
Movie · as Annette Kellerman
Skirts Ahoy!
Movie · as Whitney Young
Omnibus
TV · 1 ep
Texas Carnival
Movie · as Debbie Telford
Callaway Went Thataway
Movie · as Esther Williams (uncredited)
Pagan Love Song
Movie · as Mimi Bennett
Duchess of Idaho
Movie · as Christine Riverton Duncan
The Costume Designer
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Screen Actors
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Vicki · 1 ep
What's My Line?
TV · as Self · 4 eps
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Movie · as K.C. Higgins
Neptune's Daughter
Movie · as Eve Barrett
On an Island with You
Movie · as Rosalind Rennolds
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 4 eps
Fiesta
Movie · as Maria Morales
This Time for Keeps
Movie · as Nora Cambaretti
Easy to Wed
Movie · as Connie Allenbury
Till the Clouds Roll By
Movie · as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
The Hoodlum Saint
Movie · as Kay Lorrison
Thrill of a Romance
Movie · as Cynthia Glenn
Ziegfeld Follies
Movie · as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
Parade of Aquatic Champions
Movie · as Herself
A Guy Named Joe
Movie · as Ellen Bright
Bathing Beauty
Movie · as Caroline Brooks
Twenty Years After
Movie · as (archive footage)
Andy Hardy's Double Life
Movie · as Sheila Brooks
Inflation
Movie · as Mrs. Smith
Personalities
Movie · as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)