Acting · Inglewood, California, USA · Born August 8, 1921
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.
MovieEsther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
2024
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Fabulous Allan Carr
2017
as Self (archive)
Hollywood Legenden
2004
as Self
MovieBusby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
2003
as Self
MovieGene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Original Mermaid
2002
as Herself (archive footage)
MovieHollywood Musicals of the 40's
2000
as Self (archive footage)
MovieGlorious Technicolor
1998
as Self
TVParkinson
1998
as Self
TVThe Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
as Self
TVPrivate Screenings
1996
as Self
MovieThat's Entertainment! III
1994
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
TVMGM: When the Lion Roars
1992
Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II
1991
as Self
Pebble Mill
1991
as Self
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
1991
as Self
MovieTom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash
1990
as Self
MovieDance Crazy in Hollywood
1990
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
MovieHappy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
as Self
MovieNight of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
MovieThat's Dancing!
1985
as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
MovieThat's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
MovieThat's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMagic Fountain
1963
as Hyacinth Tower
MovieThe Big Show
1961
as Hillary Allen
The Big Party
1959
as Self
MovieAndy Hardy Comes Home
1958
as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVThe Donna Reed Show
1958
as Molly Duncan
MovieRaw Wind in Eden
1958
as Laura
MovieThe Unguarded Moment
1956
as Lois Conway
TVThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
TVDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Sarah Harmon
TVThe Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Swimmer
TVMGM Parade
1955
as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
MovieJupiter's Darling
1955
as Amytis
The Jimmy Durante Show
1954
as Self
TVReflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
MovieEasy to Love
1953
as Julie Hallerton
MovieDangerous When Wet
1953
as Katy Higgins
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
MovieMillion Dollar Mermaid
1952
as Annette Kellerman
TVOmnibus
1952
MovieSkirts Ahoy!
1952
as Whitney Young
MovieCallaway Went Thataway
1951
as Esther Williams (uncredited)
MovieTexas Carnival
1951
as Debbie Telford
MoviePagan Love Song
1950
as Mimi Bennett
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Vicki
MovieDuchess of Idaho
1950
as Christine Riverton Duncan
MovieThe Costume Designer
1950
as Self (archive footage)
Screen Actors
1950
as Self (uncredited)
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
MovieNeptune's Daughter
1949
as Eve Barrett
MovieTake Me Out to the Ball Game
1949
as K.C. Higgins
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieOn an Island with You
1948
as Rosalind Rennolds
MovieThis Time for Keeps
1947
as Nora Cambaretti
MovieFiesta
1947
as Maria Morales
MovieTill the Clouds Roll By
1946
as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
MovieEasy to Wed
1946
as Connie Allenbury
MovieThe Hoodlum Saint
1946
as Kay Lorrison
MovieZiegfeld Follies
1945
as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
MovieParade of Aquatic Champions
1945
as Herself
MovieThrill of a Romance
1945
as Cynthia Glenn
MovieBathing Beauty
1944
as Caroline Brooks
MovieA Guy Named Joe
1944
as Ellen Bright
MovieTwenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
MovieAndy Hardy's Double Life
1942
as Sheila Brooks
MovieInflation
1942
as Mrs. Smith
Personalities
1942
as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)
