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 Roses Aquacade where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the shows move from New York City to San Francisco While in the city she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic goldmedal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller Williams caught the attention of MetroGoldwynMayer scouts at the Aquacade After appearing in several small roles and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future fivetime costar 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 highestgrossing 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 waterthemed 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 CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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