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.[1] 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.[2][3][4][5][6] 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.[7] 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."[8] 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.
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^Williams 1999, p. 285.
^"Esther Williams". The Telegraph. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
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...
Queen of the Sea (1918). Esther Jane Williams (8 August 1921 – 6 June 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. Williams set multiple national...
stepson of swimmer and film star EstherWilliams, who married his father when Lamas was 11 years old. Both Williams and Dahl were best friends of actress...
active from 1937 to 1975. Born in Chicago, Illinois, his first wife was EstherWilliams. Gage joined NBC's Hollywood announcing staff in 1937. Later that year...
7, episode 5 of Death in Paradise before taking on the role of DS EstherWilliams in the 2023 spin-off series, Beyond Paradise. "Britz". Channel 4. Retrieved...
star. MGM put him with EstherWilliams in Pagan Love Song (1950), which was successful, but not as profitable as most EstherWilliams films because it went...
starring EstherWilliams, Fernando Lamas and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the...
Pictures where he was top billed in Sangaree (1953). Back at MGM he was EstherWilliams' leading man in Dangerous When Wet (1953), a big success. At Warner...
1953 Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, Color. The film stars EstherWilliams, Victor Mature, and Walter Pidgeon, with David Brian and Donna Corcoran...
through 1955. She notably appeared in two aquatic musicals that featured EstherWilliams (playing swimmer Annette Kellerman as a child in one of them), and...
The EstherWilliams Trophy is one of two trophies that have circulated among ships of various navies, after originating in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)...
and were featured singers in the 1952 film Skirts Ahoy! with actress EstherWilliams. The group was initially composed of five biological sisters. Music...
directed by George Sidney, and starring Red Skelton and EstherWilliams. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical...
The Lady Takes a Flyer with Lana Turner, and Raw Wind in Eden with EstherWilliams. A Motion Picture Exhibitor Poll listed him as the tenth-most popular...
Daughter (1949) in which EstherWilliams wore provocatively named costumes such as "Double Entendre" and "Honey Child". Williams, who also was an Amateur...
morning with June Allyson and starting a new one Thursday afternoon with EstherWilliams. I didn't know which branch of the service I was in!" MGM built up...
pairing EstherWilliams and Van Johnson. It was filmed at the MGM Studios lot and exteriors shot in Sun Valley, Idaho. Christine Riverton Duncan (Esther Williams)...
since the 1920s. The swimming pool at the Grand Hotel is named for EstherWilliams, who starred in the 1947 film This Time for Keeps. This featured many...
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