Esther Williams

Born: 1921-08-08

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.


Placeholder

A Guy Named Joe

as Ellen Bright
Released: 1943-12-24

A cocky Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female...

Movie page

That's Entertainment!

as (archive footage)
Released: 1974-06-21

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50...

Movie page

That's Entertainment, Part II

as (archive footage)
Released: 1976-05-16

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...

Movie page

That's Dancing!

as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
Released: 1985-01-18

A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the...

Movie page

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

as K.C. Higgins
Released: 1949-03-09

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins,...

Movie page

Till the Clouds Roll By

as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
Released: 1946-12-05

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs...

Movie page

Ziegfeld Follies

as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
Released: 1945-08-26

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in...

Movie page

That's Entertainment! III

as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Released: 1994-07-01

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of...

Movie page

Bathing Beauty

as Caroline Marie Brooks
Released: 1944-06-27

After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a...

Movie page

Million Dollar Mermaid

as Annette Kellerman
Released: 1952-12-04

After overcoming polio, Annette Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece...

Movie page

Neptune's Daughter

as Eve Barrett
Released: 1949-06-10

Scatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the...

Movie page

Thrill of a Romance

as Cynthia Glenn
Released: 1945-05-23

A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business...

Movie page

Dangerous When Wet

as Katy Higgins
Released: 1953-06-18

The health conscious, dairy-farming Higgins family begin each day with an invigorating swim. One...

Movie page

The Unguarded Moment

as Lois Conway
Released: 1956-12-27

A high-school music teacher is the victim of a student who writes indecent notes and assaults women.

Movie page

Skirts Ahoy!

as Whitney Young
Released: 1952-05-28

Three young ladies sign up for some kind of training at a naval base. However, their greatest...

Movie page

Easy to Wed

as Connie Allenbury
Released: 1946-07-25

When a newspaper accuses a wealthy socialite of being a homewrecker, she files a...

Movie page

The Hoodlum Saint

as Kay Lorrison
Released: 1946-04-04

A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that...

Movie page

Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash

as Self
Released: 1990-11-30

Celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the animated cat-and-mouse team, Tom & Jerry, including clips...

Movie page

Night of 100 Stars II

as Self
Released: 1985-03-10

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited...

Movie page

Duchess of Idaho

as Christine Riverton Duncan
Released: 1950-07-14

Ellen Hallit is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but is too timid to do anything...

Movie page

On an Island with You

as Rosalind Rennolds
Released: 1948-05-03

A young navy lieutenant is brought in as technical adviser on a song-dance-and-swim film being...

Movie page

The Costume Designer

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1950-07-13

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The...

Movie page

Andy Hardy Comes Home

as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1958-12-22

Andy Hardy, now a grown man with a wife and children, returns to his hometown on a business trip...

Movie page

Dance Crazy in Hollywood

as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Released: 1990-01-01

American dancer and choreographer Hermes Pan recalls his life and work as he relives the...

Movie page

Texas Carnival

as Debbie Telford
Released: 1951-10-05

A Texas carnival showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister.

Movie page

Callaway Went Thataway

as Esther Williams (uncredited)
Released: 1951-11-15

Two smart marketing people resurrect some old films starring cowboy Smoky Callaway and put them...

Movie page

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1972-01-10

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading...

Movie page

Jupiter's Darling

as Amytis
Released: 1955-02-18

Rome is on the verge of being conquered by Hannibal. While Rome's ruler, Fabius Maximus, plots a...

Movie page

Glorious Technicolor

as Self
Released: 1998-12-07

The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.

Movie page

Easy to Love

as Julie Hallerton
Released: 1953-11-26

Two men vie for the heart of a Cypress Gardens swimming star.

Movie page

Fiesta

as Maria Morales
Released: 1947-06-12

When a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the...

Movie page

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2002-09-24

American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he...

Movie page

Andy Hardy's Double Life

as Sheila Brooks
Released: 1942-12-01

Andy is about to head off to college but he's got a few things to take care of before leaving....

Movie page

Hollywood Musicals of the 40's

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2000-09-01

Highlights from the great musicals of the 1940s. Stars featured include Judy Garland, Mickey...

Movie page

The Original Mermaid

as Herself (archive footage)
Released: 2002-02-20

Story of Annette Kellerman, the international swimming vaudeville and silent screen star whose...

Movie page

Magic Fountain

as Hyacinth Tower
Released: 1963-02-04

A financier decides to take a vacation somewhere where nothing can disturb him. He travels to...

Movie page

Pagan Love Song

as Mimi Bennett
Released: 1950-12-26

Island girl Mimi plans to leave Tahiti, but maybe she'll have a reason to stay when Mr. Endicott...

Movie page

This Time for Keeps

as Nora Cambaretti
Released: 1947-10-17

An ex-GI falls for a bathing beauty.

Movie page

Twenty Years After

as (archive footage)
Released: 1944-01-01

This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits,...

Movie page

Inflation

as Mrs. Smith
Released: 1942-01-01

The Devil works with Adolf Hitler to cause inflation in the United States.

Movie page

The Big Show

as Hillary Allen
Released: 1961-05-10

A European circus family is torn apart by greed and jealousy.

Movie page

Raw Wind in Eden

as Laura
Released: 1958-09-19

Passengers struggle to survive after their plane crashes on a remote island. Director Richard...

Movie page

Parade of Aquatic Champions

as Herself
Released: 1945-07-22

Johnny Weismuller, Esther Williams and other aquatic champions present an exhibition of swimming...

Movie page

Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2024-08-11

The story of Esther Williams is that of an improbable encounter. That of the glamorous Hollywood...

Movie page

Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof

as Self
Released: 2003-03-28

Documentary profile of legendary dance choreographer Busby Berkeley.

Movie page

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Sarah Harmon
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

TV Show page

The Steve Allen Show

as Self - Swimmer
First aired: 1956-06-24

TV Show page

The Donna Reed Show

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-24

Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a...

TV Show page

What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

TV Show page

What's My Line?

as Self - Panelist
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

TV Show page

The Oscars

as Self
First aired: 1953-03-19

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The...

TV Show page

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

as Self
First aired: 1956-10-05

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on...

TV Show page

Omnibus

as uncredited
First aired: 1952-11-09

Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.

TV Show page

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

TV Show page

The Rosie O'Donnell Show

as Self
First aired: 1996-06-10

The Rosie O'Donnell Show was an American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by...

TV Show page

Parkinson

as Self
First aired: 1998-01-09

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

TV Show page

MGM: When the Lion Roars

as uncredited
First aired: 1992-03-22

On April 24, 1924, the movies changed forever: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon...

TV Show page

Reflets de Cannes

as Self
First aired: 1954-03-25

TV Show page

Private Screenings

as Self
First aired:

Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne interviews noted personalities from the Golden Age of...

TV Show page

MGM Parade

as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
First aired: 1955-09-14

The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie...

TV Show page