Esther Williams
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.
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Acted in
Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
2024
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Legenden
2004
as Self
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
2003
as Self
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
as Self (archive footage)
The Original Mermaid
2002
as Herself (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
2000
as Self (archive footage)
Glorious Technicolor
1998
as Self
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Querida Concha
1992
MGM: When the Lion Roars
1992
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
1990
as Self
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
1990
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
That's Dancing!
1985
as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
Magic Fountain
1963
as Hyacinth Tower
The Big Show
1961
as Hillary Allen
The Big Party
1959
as Self
Andy Hardy Comes Home
1958
as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Donna Reed Show
1958
Raw Wind in Eden
1958
as Laura
The Unguarded Moment
1956
as Lois Conway
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Sarah Harmon
The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Swimmer
MGM Parade
1955
as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
Jupiter's Darling
1955
as Amytis
The Jimmy Durante Show
1954
as Self
Reflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
Easy to Love
1953
as Julie Hallerton
Dangerous When Wet
1953
as Katy Higgins
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Million Dollar Mermaid
1952
as Annette Kellerman
Skirts Ahoy!
1952
as Whitney Young
Callaway Went Thataway
1951
as Esther Williams (uncredited)
Texas Carnival
1951
as Debbie Telford
Pagan Love Song
1950
as Mimi Bennett
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Vicki
Duchess of Idaho
1950
as Christine Riverton Duncan
The Costume Designer
1950
as Self (archive footage)
Screen Actors
1950
as Self (uncredited)
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Panelist
Neptune's Daughter
1949
as Eve Barrett
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
1949
as K.C. Higgins
On an Island with You
1948
as Rosalind Rennolds
This Time for Keeps
1947
as Nora Cambaretti
Fiesta
1947
as Maria Morales
Till the Clouds Roll By
1946
as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
Easy to Wed
1946
as Connie Allenbury
The Hoodlum Saint
1946
as Kay Lorrison
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
Parade of Aquatic Champions
1945
as Herself
Thrill of a Romance
1945
as Cynthia Glenn
Bathing Beauty
1944
as Caroline Marie Brooks
Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
A Guy Named Joe
1943
as Ellen Bright
Andy Hardy's Double Life
1942
as Sheila Brooks
Inflation
1942
as Mrs. Smith
Personalities
1942
as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)