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
The Donna Reed Show
What's My Line?
What's My Line?
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Oscars
MGM Parade
The Steve Allen Show
All Movies (51)
- Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid2024 · as Self (archive footage)
- The Fabulous Allan Carr2017 · as Self (archive)
- Hollywood Legenden2004 · as Self
- Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof2003 · as Self
- Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer2002 · as Self (archive footage)
- The Original Mermaid2002 · as Herself (archive footage)
- Hollywood Musicals of the 40's2000 · as Self (archive footage)
- Glorious Technicolor1998 · as Self
- That's Entertainment! III1994 · as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
- Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II1991 · as Self
- Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash1990 · as Self
- Dance Crazy in Hollywood1990 · as Self - Actress (archive footage)
- Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood1987 · as Self
- Night of 100 Stars II1985 · as Self
- That's Dancing!1985 · as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
- That's Entertainment, Part II1976 · as (archive footage)
- That's Entertainment!1974 · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Hollywood: The Dream Factory1972 · as Self (archive footage)
- Magic Fountain1963 · as Hyacinth Tower
- The Big Show1961 · as Hillary Allen
- Andy Hardy Comes Home1958 · as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Raw Wind in Eden1958 · as Laura
- The Unguarded Moment1956 · as Lois Conway
- Jupiter's Darling1955 · as Amytis
- Easy to Love1953 · as Julie Hallerton
- Dangerous When Wet1953 · as Katy Higgins
- Million Dollar Mermaid1952 · as Annette Kellerman
- Skirts Ahoy!1952 · as Whitney Young
- Callaway Went Thataway1951 · as Esther Williams (uncredited)
- Texas Carnival1951 · as Debbie Telford
- Pagan Love Song1950 · as Mimi Bennett
- Duchess of Idaho1950 · as Christine Riverton Duncan
- The Costume Designer1950 · as Self (archive footage)
- Screen Actors1950 · as Self (uncredited)
- Neptune's Daughter1949 · as Eve Barrett
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game1949 · as K.C. Higgins
- On an Island with You1948 · as Rosalind Rennolds
- This Time for Keeps1947 · as Nora Cambaretti
- Fiesta1947 · as Maria Morales
- Till the Clouds Roll By1946 · as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
- Easy to Wed1946 · as Connie Allenbury
- The Hoodlum Saint1946 · as Kay Lorrison
- Ziegfeld Follies1945 · as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
- Parade of Aquatic Champions1945 · as Herself
- Thrill of a Romance1945 · as Cynthia Glenn
- Bathing Beauty1944 · as Caroline Brooks
- A Guy Named Joe1944 · as Ellen Bright
- Twenty Years After1944 · as (archive footage)
- Andy Hardy's Double Life1942 · as Sheila Brooks
- Inflation1942 · as Mrs. Smith
- Personalities1942 · as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)
All TV Shows (20)
- Parkinson1998 · as Self
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show1996 · as Self
- Private Screenings1996 · as Self
- MGM: When the Lion Roars1992
- Pebble Mill1991 · as Self
- Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...1991 · as Self
- The Big Party1959 · as Self
- The Donna Reed Show1958 · as Molly Duncan
- The Dinah Shore Chevy Show1956 · as Self
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre1956 · as Sarah Harmon
- The Steve Allen Show1956 · as Self - Swimmer
- MGM Parade1955 · as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
- The Jimmy Durante Show1954 · as Self
- Reflets de Cannes1954 · as Self
- The Oscars1953 · as Self
- Omnibus1952
- Lux Video Theatre1950 · as Vicki
- What's My Line?1950 · as Self - Mystery Guest
- What's My Line?1950 · as Self
- The Ed Sullivan Show1948 · as Self