91
Age
50
Movies
20
TV Shows
7.1
Rating
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.
91
Died at
50
Movies
20
TV Shows
7.1
Avg Rating
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.
What's My Line?
1950
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.
Gender
Female
Birthday
August 8, 1921
Died
June 6, 2013
Birthplace
Inglewood, California, USA
Also Known As
The Hoodlum Saint
1946
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
Andy Hardy's Double Life
1942
That's Dancing!
1985
Hollywood Legenden
2004
Twenty Years After
1944
Dangerous When Wet
1953
Easy to Love
1953
Neptune's Daughter
1949
The Big Show
1961
Bathing Beauty
1944
Thrill of a Romance
1945
Texas Carnival
1951
Magic Fountain
1963
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
1990
Parade of Aquatic Champions
1945
That's Entertainment!
1974
Callaway Went Thataway
1951
The Original Mermaid
2002
+ 30 more movies
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
What's My Line?
1950
What's My Line?
1950
Parkinson
1998
The Oscars
1953
The Donna Reed Show
1958
Omnibus
1952
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
Pebble Mill
1991
The Steve Allen Show
1956
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
Lux Video Theatre
1950
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
MGM Parade
1955
The Jimmy Durante Show
1954
Reflets de Cannes
1954
The Big Party
1959
Private Screenings
—
MGM: When the Lion Roars
1992
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
1991