Esther Williams
Birthday: Born in 1921-08-08 in Inglewood, California, USA
Deathday: 2013-06-06
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.
TV Credits
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Character: Self
The Rosie O'Donnell Show was an American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It aired for six seasons from 1996 to 2002. Topics often discussed on the show include Broadway, children, extended families and charitable works, people and organizations. The show was based out of Studio 8G at NBC's Rockefeller Center studios in New York City, NY, USA and was produced and syndicated by KidRo Productions, Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Te...
Omnibus
Character:
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series....
Private Screenings
Character: Self
Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne interviews noted personalities from the Golden Age of Hollywood....
The Donna Reed Show
Character:
Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a retirement bash for a colleague, and finding quality time away from the children....
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Character: Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show....
MGM: When the Lion Roars
Character:
On April 24, 1924, the movies changed forever: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon assembled “more stars than there are in the heavens.” Patrick Stewart hosts this enthralling Emmy® winner as Outstanding Informational Series, a three-part story of M-G-M’s reign as Hollywood’s class act and legendary entertainment empire. Bursting with memorable film clips, rare interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and insider info, this is a mother lode for film fans, profiling perfectionist moguls, ...
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Sarah Harmon
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961....
The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - Swimmer
...
The Oscars
Character: Self
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar....
MGM Parade
Character: Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films....
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....
What's My Line?
Character: Self - Mystery Guest
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions....
What's My Line?
Character: Self - Panelist
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions....
Reflets de Cannes
Character: Self
...
Parkinson
Character: Self
Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show....
Movie Credits
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Character: K.C. Higgins
The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. turns outs to be a beautiful woman who really knows her baseball. Second baseman Dennis Ryan promptly falls in love. But his playboy roommate Eddie O'Brien has his own notions about how to treat the new lady owner and some unsavory gamblers have their own ideas about how to handle Eddie....
A Guy Named Joe
Character: Ellen Bright
A cocky Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female flier. After he's killed on a mission, he is sent back to Earth by heavenly General with a new assignment....
Easy to Love
Character: Julie Hallerton
Two men vie for the heart of a Cypress Gardens swimming star....
Texas Carnival
Character: Debbie Telford
A Texas carnival showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister....
Andy Hardy's Double Life
Character: Sheila Brooks
Andy is about to head off to college but he's got a few things to take care of before leaving. For starters, he must try and sell his junk car for $20 to pay for a bill and he must convince his father not to go with him to college. Worst of all is that Polly wants to make up but her best friend decides to give Andy a test....
Million Dollar Mermaid
Character: Annette Kellerman
After overcoming polio, Annette Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent....
Dangerous When Wet
Character: Katy Higgins
The health conscious, dairy-farming Higgins family begin each day with an invigorating swim. One day, traveling health-tonic salesman, Windy Weebe, comes to town and suggests they could swim the English Channel. Sponsored by "Liquapep" and coached by Windy, the family arrive in Europe. There it is decided that daughter Katie is the only one strong enough to enter the contest. But while she should be focused on the difficult and risky task ahead, Katie is pursed by dashing Frenchman, André Lanet....
Neptune's Daughter
Character: Eve Barrett
Scatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the South American polo team. Spratt goes along with the charade, but the situation becomes more complicated when they fall in love. Meanwhile, Betty's sensible older sister Eve fears Betty's heart will be broken when Jose returns to South America. She arranges to meet with the real O'Rourke and love soon blossoms between them as well....
On an Island with You
Character: Rosalind Rennolds
A young navy lieutenant is brought in as technical adviser on a song-dance-and-swim film being made by screen star Rosalind Reynolds. Having once done a number with her at a Forces show, the young lad somehow believes she should be his girl. Her boyfriend is just one of those disagreeing....
Thrill of a Romance
Character: Cynthia Glenn
A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon....
Bathing Beauty
Character: Caroline Marie Brooks
After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students....
Easy to Wed
Character: Connie Allenbury
When a newspaper accuses a wealthy socialite of being a homewrecker, she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit. The publication's frazzled head editor now must find a way to discredit her....
Fiesta
Character: Maria Morales
When a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the bullfighting ring....
This Time for Keeps
Character: Nora Cambaretti
An ex-GI falls for a bathing beauty....
Till the Clouds Roll By
Character: Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'....
Pagan Love Song
Character: Mimi Bennett
Island girl Mimi plans to leave Tahiti, but maybe she'll have a reason to stay when Mr. Endicott arrives....
The Hoodlum Saint
Character: Kay Lorrison
A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's much more difficult to find work than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding attended by many of the city's rich and powerful, meets a beautiful girl named Kay who turns out to be his ticket to meeting those rich and powerful people, and he soon manages to land a job on a newspaper. He gets caught up in the "make money at all costs" game but receives a rude awakening when the stock ma...
The Unguarded Moment
Character: Lois Conway
A high-school music teacher is the victim of a student who writes indecent notes and assaults women....
That's Entertainment! III
Character: Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain....
Duchess of Idaho
Character: Christine Riverton Duncan
Ellen Hallit is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but is too timid to do anything about it. To help her, her roommate Chris decides to step in, and devises a plan. Chris follows Morrison on his trip to Sun Valley, Idaho and plays the overattentive female, hoping that he will send for Ellen (who often played his "fiancée" when he had a female he couldn't discourage otherwise.) Complications arise when Chris catches the eye of band leader Dick Layne, and finds herself caught in a tr...
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Character: Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system....
Jupiter's Darling
Character: Amytis
Rome is on the verge of being conquered by Hannibal. While Rome's ruler, Fabius Maximus, plots a defense against Hannibal's armies, Fabius' fiancée, Amytis, is curious about the fearless conqueror. Amytis travels to Hannibal's camp just to get a look at him, but she ends up being captured. However, she is instantly smitten by the Carthaginian commander, so she tries to shift his attentions away from Rome -- and to her instead....
Raw Wind in Eden
Character: Laura
Passengers struggle to survive after their plane crashes on a remote island. Director Richard Wilson's 1958 drama stars Esther Williams, Jeff Chandler and Rosanna Podesta....
Skirts Ahoy!
Character: Whitney Young
Three young ladies sign up for some kind of training at a naval base. However, their greatest trouble isn't long marches or several weeks in a small boat, but their love life....
Glorious Technicolor
Character: Self
The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work....
The Big Show
Character: Hillary Allen
A European circus family is torn apart by greed and jealousy....
Inflation
Character: Mrs. Smith
The Devil works with Adolf Hitler to cause inflation in the United States....
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
Character: Self - Actress (archive footage)
American dancer and choreographer Hermes Pan recalls his life and work as he relives the glorious history of the Hollywood musical....
That's Entertainment!
Character: (archive footage)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history....
Callaway Went Thataway
Character: Esther Williams (uncredited)
Two smart marketing people resurrect some old films starring cowboy Smoky Callaway and put them on television. The films are a big hit and the star is in demand. Unfortunately no one can find him. When a lookalike sends in a photo, the marketing team hires him to impersonate Callaway. Things get sticky when the real Callaway eventually shows up....
Magic Fountain
Character: Hyacinth Tower
A financier decides to take a vacation somewhere where nothing can disturb him. He travels to the south of Spain, to a small village where he lives a primitive life. A chance meeting with a young American sociologist who works to guide women towards a healthier and more comfortable life change the pace of his life....
Night of 100 Stars II
Character: Self
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities....
Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
Character: Self (archive footage)
The story of Esther Williams is that of an improbable encounter. That of the glamorous Hollywood of the 1940s with a swimming champion. A meeting that gave birth to the most kitsch and flamboyant genre films in Technicolor: the Aqua-musicals! A dive into the troubled waters of post-war Hollywood, where only her qualities as an athlete allow an extraordinary actress to fight to emancipate herself and avoid the traps of the predators who lurk around her...
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Character: Self (archive footage)
American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he formed a style (first "blue collar dancer") and developed different cinematique techniques, such as brilliantly shot dancing sequences....
Ziegfeld Follies
Character: Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style....
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Character: Self (archive footage)
Highlights from the great musicals of the 1940s. Stars featured include Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Danny Kaye, Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra....
Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
Character: Self
Celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the animated cat-and-mouse team, Tom & Jerry, including clips from their animated shorts!...
That's Entertainment, Part II
Character: (archive footage)
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers....
Twenty Years After
Character: (archive footage)
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases....
The Costume Designer
Character: Self (archive footage)
This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the pu...
That's Dancing!
Character: From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s 50s and 60s up to the break dance and the music videos from the 80s....
Parade of Aquatic Champions
Character: Herself
Johnny Weismuller, Esther Williams and other aquatic champions present an exhibition of swimming and diving....
The Original Mermaid
Character: Herself (archive footage)
Story of Annette Kellerman, the international swimming vaudeville and silent screen star whose life story inspired the MGM classic Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams, which featured lavish Busby Berkeley scenes....
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
Character: Self
Documentary profile of legendary dance choreographer Busby Berkeley....
Andy Hardy Comes Home
Character: Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
Andy Hardy, now a grown man with a wife and children, returns to his hometown on a business trip and finds himself getting mixed up in local politics....