Esther Williams

Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1922) was a United States competitive swimmer and 1940s and 50s movie star. Known as "America's Mermaid," she was famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming, diving and "water ballet," which is now known as synchronized swimming. However, her role in the creation of the genre of the aquatic musical did not come without hard times. She was injured multiple times during filming and was exploited by both men and the industry. Her personal life was complicated by her career, especially when it came to her children. Nonetheless, Williams embraced her role as an actress, as well as her roles as wife and mother. She now lives in California with her fourth husband and has a line of women's swimwear.

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Esther Williams

Early years

The youngest of five children, Williams was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised by her sister Maurine during the Great Depression. Her brother Stanton, a child actor, was expected to be the family's chance to get out of poverty, but he died when she was eight years old (he was 16). Next, Williams began swimming at the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) and quickly became a distinguished competitor and set new swimming records.

Career

Swimming

By the time Williams was 16, she had won three national championships and was headed for the 1940 Olympics, which were canceled due to World War II. Thus, she left competitive swimming to appear in movies that later lead to her recognition as the “'Godmother’ of synchronized swimming." In 1966, she was inducted into the International Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame for her outstanding swimming.

Acting

Williams began her acting career when she starred in Aquacade at the San Francisco World Fair, which left her dissatisfied, as she experienced sexual harassment, dishonesty and selfishness during the show. This resulted in her initial rejection of show business, but she was eventually persuaded to sign a major contract with MGM. MGM served as a “finishing school” for Williams, where she studied acting, singing and dancing, as well as how to be more lady-like. Her film Bathing Beauty, was Hollywood’s first film with swimming as the main selling point and was a huge financial success. As her films became more popular, her stunts became more dangerous. Williams did her own stunts and suffered serious injuries, including a near drowning, broken eardrums and, worst of all, a broken back. A majority of her injuries were a result of the innovative stunts she was performing and the inexperience the film crew and directors had in making an aquatic musical. During the filming of her most famous film Million Dollar Mermaid, she broke three vertebrae and was left in a full body cast for six months. Despite the excitement about her films, they became predictable as she continually played the same happy, beautiful, innocent woman. Though she won a Golden Globe in 1953 for Million Dollar Mermaid, Williams’ acting skills were limited and she was unsuccessful outside of synchronized swimming. She eventually left MGM and gave up almost three million dollars in deferred income (because she did not fulfill her contract).

Personal life

Williams was married four times and had three children with her second husband, Ben Gage – Benjamin, Kimball and Susan. Her first marriage to Leonard Kovner (1940-44) ended in divorce because he did not want her in show business, nor did he want to have any children. Her second marriage to Ben Gage (1945-59) suffered due to his drinking, partying, gambling and bad investments. She was left broke and owed the IRS $750,000 in back taxes that were unknown to her until they divorced. During her marriage to Gage, Williams went through several periods of depression and had affairs with other men. Her third marriage to Fernando Lamas (1969-82) wasn’t much better. He was vain, egotistical, possessive, jealous and controlling. She was forced to give up her life as she knew it, as he became her primary concern. Until Lamas' death, Williams was forced to race back and forth between her and Gage's home to see her children every day. Her children were not welcome in Lamas' home because they were proof of her having been with another man.

Current work

Williams retired from acting in the early 1960s and now lives with her forth and current husband, Edward Bell (married in 1994) in California. She lends her name to a brand of swimming pools and a line of classic women's swimwear based on the full-cut swimsuit designs from her films. She still swims everyday and focuses most of her time on family life.

Filmography

• Personalities (1942) (uncredited | short subject)
• Inflation (1942) (short subject)
• Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
• A Guy Named Joe (1943)
• Bathing Beauty (1944)
• Thrill of a Romance (1945)
• Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
• The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
• Easy to Wed (1946)
• Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) (cameo | uncredited)
• Fiesta (1947)
• This Time for Keeps (1947)
• On an Island with You (1948)
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
• Neptune's Daughter (1949)
• Screen Actors (1950) (short subject)
• Duchess of Idaho (1950)
• Pagan Love Song (1950)
• Texas Carnival (1951)
• Callaway Went Thataway (1951) (cameo)
• Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
• Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
• Dangerous When Wet (1953)
• Easy to Love (1953)
• 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955) (short subject)
• Jupiter's Darling (1955)
• Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars (1956) (short subject)
• The Unguarded Moment (1956)
• The Armed Venus "Lux Video Theatre" (1 television episode, 1957)
• Raw Wind in Eden (1958)
• The Black Wagon "Zane Grey Theater" (1 television episode, 1960)
• The Big Show (1961)
• The Magic Fountain (1963)
• "Querida Concha" (1 television episode, 1993)
• That's Entertainment! III (1994) (narrator)

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1996. ISBN 9780874368260.
• Young, Nancy K. and William H. Young. The 1950s: American Popular Culture Through History. Westport : Conn Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. ISBN 9780313323935.
• Williams, Esther and Digby Diehl The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. ISBN 9780684852843 .

External links

• The Official Esther Williams Website Esther-williams.com.
• Esther Williams (I). [3]
• ESTHER WILLIAMS. [4]
• Esther Williams at Reel Classics. [5]

Credits

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