Esther Williams
Acting
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.
Ziegfeld Follies
as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
Age 24 (now 91)
Esther Williams: Hollywood's Mermaid
as Self (archive footage)
Age 103 (now 91)
Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof
as Self
Age 81 (now 91)
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
as Self (archive footage)
Age 81 (now 91)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
as Self (archive footage)
Age 79 (now 91)
That's Entertainment! III
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Age 72 (now 91)Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II
as Self
Age 70 (now 91)
Dance Crazy in Hollywood
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
Age 68 (now 91)
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
Age 54 (now 91)
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 52 (now 91)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage)
Age 50 (now 91)
Andy Hardy Comes Home
as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 37 (now 91)
Callaway Went Thataway
as Esther Williams (uncredited)
Age 30 (now 91)
Till the Clouds Roll By
as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
Age 25 (now 91)
Ziegfeld Follies
as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
Age 24 (now 91)
Personalities
as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)
Age 20 (now 91)
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
as Self
Age 70 (now 91)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Sarah Harmon
Age 35 (now 91)
MGM Parade
as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)
Age 34 (now 91)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Esther Jane Williams, America's Mermaid
IMDB
nm0930565