
Cast
Esther Williams
Acting
Cast
Esther Williams
Known for
Acting
Born
1921-08-08
From
Inglewood, California, USA
Died
2013-06-06
Also known as Esther Jane Williams, America's Mermaid
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.

Bathing Beauty
as Caroline Brooks

Fiesta
as Maria Morales

That's Entertainment! III
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator

Easy to Love
as Julie Hallerton

Night of 100 Stars II
as Self

Texas Carnival
as Debbie Telford

Till the Clouds Roll By
as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)

A Guy Named Joe
as Ellen Bright

That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
as Self

The Fabulous Allan Carr
as Self (archive)

Ziegfeld Follies
as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")

The Hoodlum Saint
as Kay Lorrison

Dangerous When Wet
as Katy Higgins

That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)

Skirts Ahoy!
as Whitney Young

That's Dancing!
as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)

Andy Hardy Comes Home
as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)

Twenty Years After
as (archive footage)

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage)

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
as Self (archive footage)

Callaway Went Thataway
as Esther Williams (uncredited)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
as K.C. Higgins

Thrill of a Romance
as Cynthia Glenn

Neptune's Daughter
as Eve Barrett

Jupiter's Darling
as Amytis

Dance Crazy in Hollywood
as Self - Actress (archive footage)

Raw Wind in Eden
as Laura

Million Dollar Mermaid
as Annette Kellerman

Pagan Love Song
as Mimi Bennett

Personalities
as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)

Screen Actors
as Self (uncredited)

Andy Hardy's Double Life
as Sheila Brooks

On an Island with You
as Rosalind Rennolds

The Big Show
as Hillary Allen

Easy to Wed
as Connie Allenbury

The Unguarded Moment
as Lois Conway

Inflation
as Mrs. Smith

Hollywood Legenden
as Self

Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
as Self

Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II
as Self

Duchess of Idaho
as Christine Riverton Duncan

Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
as Self

Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
as Self (archive footage)

This Time for Keeps
as Nora Cambaretti

Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
as Self (archive footage)

The Costume Designer
as Self (archive footage)

Glorious Technicolor
as Self

Magic Fountain
as Hyacinth Tower

Parade of Aquatic Champions
as Herself

The Original Mermaid
as Herself (archive footage)