Esther Williams
Age: N/A | From: Inglewood, California, USA
Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: Esther Jane Williams , America's Mermaid
Gender: Female
Place of birth: Inglewood, California, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 31
TV Involvements: 8
Most Famous Work
Biography
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.
Most Famous Work
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
(1956) Sarah Harmon
Lux Video Theatre
(1950) Vicki
What's My Line?
(1950) Self - Panelist
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
(1956) Self
The Oscars
(1953) Self
The Big Party
(1959) Self
Till the Clouds Roll By
(1946) Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
That's Entertainment! III
(1994) Self - Co-Host / NarratorActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Self | |
| 2003 | Self | |
| 2002 | Self (archive footage) | |
| Herself (archive footage) | ||
| 2000 | Self (archive footage) | |
| 1998 | Self | |
| 1996 | Self | |
| Self | ||
| 1994 | Self - Co-Host / Narrator | |
| 1992 | N/A | |
| N/A | ||
| 1991 | Self | |
| Self | ||
| 1990 | Self | |
| Self - Actress (archive footage) | ||
| 1985 | Self | |
| From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage) | ||
| 1976 | (archive footage) | |
| 1974 | (archive footage) | |
| 1972 | Self (archive footage) | |
| 1963 | Hyacinth Tower | |
| 1961 | Hillary Allen | |
| 1959 | Self | |
| 1958 | Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| N/A | ||
| Laura | ||
| 1956 | Lois Conway | |
| Sarah Harmon | ||
| Self | ||
| Self - Swimmer | ||
| 1955 | Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage) | |
| Amytis | ||
| 1954 | Self | |
| 1953 | Julie Hallerton | |
| Katie Higgins | ||
| Self | ||
| 1952 | Annette Kellerman | |
| N/A | ||
| Whitney Young | ||
| 1951 | Esther Williams (uncredited) | |
| Debbie Telford | ||
| 1950 | Mimi Bennett | |
| Vicki | ||
| Christine Riverton Duncan | ||
| Self (archive footage) | ||
| Self (uncredited) | ||
| Self - Mystery Guest | ||
| Self - Panelist | ||
| 1949 | Eve Barrett | |
| K.C. Higgins | ||
| 1948 | N/A | |
| Self | ||
| Self - Guest Host | ||
| Rosalind Rennolds | ||
| 1947 | Nora Cambaretti | |
| Maria Morales | ||
| 1946 | Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited) | |
| Connie Allenbury | ||
| Kay Lorrison | ||
| 1945 | Esther Williams (segment A Water Ballet) | |
| Herself | ||
| Cynthia Glenn | ||
| 1944 | Caroline Marie Brooks | |
| (archive footage) | ||
| 1943 | Ellen Bright | |
| 1942 | Sheila Brooks | |
| Mrs. Smith | ||
| Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited) | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
