Esther Williams

Esther Williams with Regent LaCoursière, an Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

Esther Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer, aquapreneur, and MGM movie star.

Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, Williams 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. There, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic swimmer and Tarzan star, Johnny Weissmuller.

It was at the Aquacade that Williams caught the attention of MGM scouts. After appearing in several small roles, 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 synchronized swimming and diving.

From 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film listed 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 would go on to become her nickname while at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida.

Aquapreneurism

• Since her retirement from film in the 1960s, Williams has become a businesswoman, lending her name to a line of swimming pools and retro swimwear, instructional swimming videos for children.
• She served as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• As of 2011, Williams lives in Beverly Hills.

Movies

• "Bathing Beauty" (1944, her first starring role)
  
• "Neptune's Daughter" (1949)
  
• "Million Dollar Mermaid" (1952)
  
• "Dangerous When Wet" (1953)
  
• "Andy Hardy's Double Life" (1942; her film debut)
  
• "Thrill of a Romance" (1945)
  
• "Easy to Wed" (1946)
  
• "The Hoodlum Saint" (1946)
  
• "Fiesta" (1947)
  
• "This Time For Keeps" (1947)
  
• "On an Island With You" (1948)
  
• "Pagan Love Song" (1950)
  
• "Texas Carnival" (1951)
  

External links

• Memorials & Monuments Of Open Water Swimming Greats
• Igor de Souza Talks About Mental Preparation On WOWSA Live
• Harry Hinken Proved Nothing Great Is Easy
• Binge Watching Swimming Over The Last Century
• Esther Williams Official Website
• Esther Williams Perfectly Suited To Hollywood Stardom
• Teaching Hannibal How To Swim
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Great Open Water Swimming Venues In Movies
• The Roads Crossed By Régent Lacoursière
• David Yudovin's New Memorial - And Other Landmarks