Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams (born August 8, 1921 in Inglewood , † June 6, 2013 in Beverly Hills ) was an American swimmer and actress . In the 1940s and 1950s she achieved a high level of recognition as a swimming beauty in the globally successful "aqua musicals".
Life
As a 16-year-old, Esther Williams won three US breaststroke and freestyle swimming championships . As a 17-year-old, she set national records for 100 yards chest and 100 meters freestyle. Williams was intended for the US team at the Tokyo Olympics in 1940 , which, however, did not take place because of World War II .
As a female lead in the water ballet outdoor show aquacade of Billy Rose in which they swim with other idols like Johnny Weissmuller and Gertrude Ederle occurred, Hollywood took notice of them. In 1942 she made her film debut alongside Mickey Rooney . She then gained attention with the Hollywood-produced film Badende Venus and other "aqua musicals" based on the same pattern until the mid-1950s. She could not establish herself with dramatic roles. From 1962 she withdrew from the film business. She still appeared on television and presented her own swimwear and swimming pools.
In his first marriage, Williams was married to the medical student Leonard Kovner from 1940 to 1944. After the divorce, she married manager and singer Ben Gage in 1945, with whom she had three children. After the divorce in 1959, she did not enter into her third marriage to the actor Fernando Lamas until 1969 . Lamas died in 1982. Her marriage to Edward Bell in 1994 lasted until her death.
In 1966 she was inducted into the international swimming pool 's hall of fame .
On June 6, 2013, Esther Williams died in her sleep in her Beverly Hills mansion at the age of 91.
literature
- "The Million Dollar Mermaid", autobiography, New York, Simon and Schuster 1999, Esther Williams, Digby Diehl
Filmography (selection)
- 1943: Fight in the Clouds (A Guy Named Joe)
- 1944 bather Venus (Bathing Beauty)
- 1945: Broadway Melody 1950 (Ziegfeld Follies)
- 1945: Honeymoon in threes (Thrill of a romance)
- 1946: A Trap for the Bride (Easy to Wed)
- 1947: Enchanting Lips (This Time for Keeps)
- 1947: Mexican Nights (Fiesta)
- 1948: On an Island With You
- 1949: Take Me Out to the Ball Game
- 1949: Neptune's Daughter (Neptune's Daughter) ( Oscar for the song: , It's Cold Outside Baby , Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser )
- 1950: Venus falls in love (Duchess of Idaho)
- 1951: The Cowboy Who Was Twice (Callaway Went Thataway)
- 1951: Texas Carnival
- 1952: Girls Ahoy (Skirts Ahoy!)
- 1952: The Golden Mermaid (Million Dollar Mermaid)
- 1953: You are so easy to love (Easy to Love)
- 1953: Dangerous When Wet
- 1954: Jupiter's Darling
- 1954: Athena
- 1956: In the Clutches of the Devil (The Unguarded Moment)
- 1958: Storm over Eden (A Raw Wind in Eden)
- 1960: The Big Show
Web links
- Esther Williams in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Esther Williams in the nndb (English)
- Nikolaus Bernau: The cool wet turns 85. In: Berliner Zeitung . August 8, 2008, p. 27 , accessed May 10, 2014 .
- Esther Williams in the International Swimming Hall of Fame (English)
- Esther Williams . In: Virtual History (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hollywood: Esther Williams is dead. In: Zeit Online . June 7, 2013, accessed May 10, 2014 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Williams, Esther |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Esther Jane |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American swimmer and actress |
| BIRTH DATE | August 8, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Inglewood |
| DATE OF DEATH | 6th June 2013 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Beverly Hills |