Esther Williams

Person

Esther Williams

Acting August 8, 1921

Inglewood, California, USA

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 At…

IMDb

Known for

Popular titles

What's My Line?

What's My Line?

7.0 1950 TV Show
The Donna Reed Show

The Donna Reed Show

6.5 1958 TV Show
The Oscars

The Oscars

7.0 1953 TV Show
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

6.2 1956 TV Show
The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.8 1948 TV Show
Parkinson

Parkinson

1998 TV Show
The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show

6.2 1956 TV Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

6.4 1956 TV Show
Omnibus

Omnibus

7.0 1952 TV Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show

The Rosie O'Donnell Show

4.1 1996 TV Show
MGM Parade

MGM Parade

7.5 1955 TV Show
That's Entertainment!

That's Entertainment!

7.4 1974 Movie

Photos

More stills of Esther Williams

Biography

A closer look

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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.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 2024
    Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  2. 2017
    The Fabulous Allan Carr

    Movie Self (archive)

  3. 2004
    Hollywood Legenden

    Movie Self

  4. 2003
    Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof

    Movie Self

  5. 2002
    Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  6. 2002
    The Original Mermaid

    Movie Herself (archive footage)

  7. 2000
    Hollywood Musicals of the 40's

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  8. 1998
    Glorious Technicolor

    Movie Self

  9. 1998
    Parkinson

    TV show Self

  10. 1996
    The Rosie O'Donnell Show

    TV show Self

  11. 1996
    Private Screenings

    TV show Self

  12. 1994
    That's Entertainment! III

    Movie Self - Host

  13. 1992
    MGM: When the Lion Roars

    TV show

  14. 1991
    Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II

    Movie Self

  15. 1991
    Pebble Mill

    TV show Self

  16. 1991
    Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...

    TV show Self

More credits
  1. 1990
    Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Bash

    Movie Self

  2. 1990
    Dance Crazy in Hollywood

    Movie Self - Actress (archive footage)

  3. 1987
    Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

    Movie Self

  4. 1985
    Night of 100 Stars II

    Movie Self

  5. 1985
    That's Dancing!

    Movie From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)

  6. 1976
    That's Entertainment, Part II

    Movie (archive footage)

  7. 1974
    That's Entertainment!

    Movie (archive footage) (uncredited)

  8. 1972
    Hollywood: The Dream Factory

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  9. 1963
    Magic Fountain

    Movie Hyacinth Tower

  10. 1961
    The Big Show

    Movie Hillary Allen

  11. 1959
    The Big Party

    TV show Self

  12. 1958
    Andy Hardy Comes Home

    Movie Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)

  13. 1958
    The Donna Reed Show

    TV show Molly Duncan

  14. 1958
    Raw Wind in Eden

    Movie Laura

  15. 1956
    The Unguarded Moment

    Movie Lois Conway

  16. 1956
    Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

    TV show Sarah Harmon

  17. 1956
    The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

    TV show Self

  18. 1956
    The Steve Allen Show

    TV show Self - Swimmer

  19. 1955
    MGM Parade

    TV show Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)

  20. 1955
    Jupiter's Darling

    Movie Amytis

  21. 1954
    The Jimmy Durante Show

    TV show Self

  22. 1954
    Reflets de Cannes

    TV show Self

  23. 1953
    Easy to Love

    Movie Julie Hallerton

  24. 1953
    Dangerous When Wet

    Movie Katy Higgins