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