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Aug 14, 2020 · Esther’s introduction in Bathing Beauty is also her first big swimming scene on film. And she was left completely to her own devices. The scene was shot at the beautiful Lakeside Country Club in Burbank.
- She Was Born in The Right Place
- She Almost Didn't Make It
- She Suffered A Family Tragedy
- She Was Found Alone
- She Held onto The Trauma
- Her Hobby Helped Her Move on
- She Got Discovered
- She Fought Off A Star
- She Played It Safe
- Her Hopes Were Dashed
Before Esther Williams’ birth, her family had relocated to Los Angeles because of her big brother's burgeoning film career. Esther was born soon after the move, and dad hadn’t had a chance to build any bedrooms in their new home. So, in 1921, the living room became the delivery room for baby Esther. But even that inauspicious beginning almost never...
When she got older, Esther Williams made a disturbing discovery. She learned that she was an unwanted child. She was the fifth of five and her mother was done raising children. When she was carrying Esther, Bula Williams tried to end the pregnancy. Her unsuccessful attempts included going horseback riding and jumping from furniture. Bula didn’t los...
Esther Williams wasn’t the only star in the family—her older brother Stanton actually had a show biz break of his own. Academy Award-nominated actress Marjorie Rambeau noticed him and thought he had a chance in movies. Stanton made two films—but then, the unthinkable happened. Stanton’s colon suddenly burst, and he didn’t survive. Sadly, there was ...
About five years after Stanton passed, William’s mother—maybe in an effort to replace her lost son—invited 16-year-old Buddy McClure to join the family. McClure had recently lost his mother, and so the fit seemed perfect. But McClure was hiding a terrifying dark side. Late one night McClure caught young Esther alone, and raped her. Esther kept what...
Williams finally confessed what had happened to her mother, who confronted McClure. While he did admit to her what happened, she took mercy on him—at first. Eventually, she kicked him out, and the family never saw him again. Esther Williams needed an outlet to move on from this horrible period, and she eventually found one that would change her lif...
Williams found solace in the water, and became interested in competitive swimming. While the ocean was fine, she preferred pools, and took a job counting towels to ensure her admission at the local one. She also found a quick leg up by learning strokes that other female swimmers didn’t practice, including the butterfly. It seems strange that someth...
After Esther Williams won three US national championships in swimming, impresario Billy Rose noticed her skill and beauty. Rose was running a show called Aquacade,which was an over-the-top music, dance, and swimming extravaganza. Rose offered Williams a part in the show to replace a departing performer. A stunned Williams jumped at the job—but she ...
While working in Aquacade, Williams co-starred with Olympic swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller. Later, in her memoir, Williams spilled the tea about her heartthrob co-star.Williams wrote that Weissmuller was constantly trying to seduce her, but the Tarzan portrayer’s ape-like attempts at courtship didn’t impress Williams. She ended up turning him...
When attending Los Angeles City College, Esther Williams had met doctor-in-training Leonard Kovner and fell hard. The two tied the knot on June 27, 1940, near San Francisco—but their whirlwind romance wasn’t the fairy tale that Williams expected. She said of her husband: “he was smart, handsome, dependable...and dull.” Ouch. Williams tried, but the...
By 1940, Esther Williams had set her sights on the Olympics Games. That year, Japan was the host city—but then, tragedy struck. Tensions that were leading to WWII caused the IOC to cancel the Olympics. Williams’ dreams of winning gold were completely shattered. So, she did what any resourceful athlete would do: she switched to acting. Pikist
Apr 27, 2024 · In 1944 she starred in Bathing Beauty, the first in a series of swimming musicals created especially for Williams. These bubbly Technicolor extravaganzas replaced the usual musical dance numbers with elaborately choreographed swimming, diving, and waterskiing displays and underwater ballet sequences, performed by Williams along with a bevy of ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Jun 13, 2013 · In a popular series of MGM musicals from Bathing Beauty to the 1955 Jupiter’s Darling, Esther Williams would doff her robe, revealing a sleek one-piece swimming costume, dive into a pool...
Bathing Beauty, previously titled Mr. Coed, starred Red Skelton as a man who enrolls in a women's college to win back his swimming instructor fiancée, played by Williams. This was her first Technicolor musical.
Esther Williams emerges from the water during the finale. On July 17, 2007, Turner Entertainment released Bathing Beauty on DVD as part of TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Volume 1 . The five-disc set contains digitally remastered versions of several of Williams' films, including Easy to Wed (1946), On an Island with You (1948), Neptune's ...
Jun 6, 2013 · Esther Williams in Bathing Beauty, 1944: she became the main attraction as MGM began to appreciate the possibilities of a swimming movie. Photograph: Cine Text / Allstar/Sportsphoto Ltd....
