It was five decades ago long distance swimmer Diana Nyad became part of the cultural landscape with her feats including a recording-setting circling of Manhattan and a 102-mile swim from the Bahamas to Florida she accomplished that in 27 hours. In 1978, Nyad made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida but ended the quest after 40 hours. After segueing to a successful career as a sports journalist on ABC’s “Wild World of Sports” for over two decades, she decided at 60 to try again. She made three attempts felled by asthma, muscle fatigue, jellyfish and a tropical storm.
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
- 11/11/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Noreen Nash, a starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who appeared in such notable films as The Southerner, Giant and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, has died. She was 99.
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
- 6/8/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Litany of Happy People. Courtesy of Karpo Godina.Director of photography, screenwriter, film director and also editor, Karpo Godina is the humanist cogwheel that for over fifty years has kept the anomalous machine of (post-)Yugoslav independent cinema going, in directions none has ever been able to predict. Creative exuberance and insolence have constituted the essence of a regional production still criminally underrated, not least because underground directors in Yugoslavia were among the very few to be censored on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Though less prominent than filmmakers like Dušan Makavejev or Želimir Žilnik, Karpo Godina has intersected and nourished the cinema of his colleagues in an ongoing testament to his artistic generosity, uncompromising vision and anti-authorial vocation. Films like Žilnik’s Early Works (1969) would not be the same without his photography, which forever captured the visionary lights of the Yugoslavian ‘Black Wave.’ A small retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art,...
- 10/20/2018
- MUBI
Jean Porter, a petite and vivacious supporting player in such 1940s MGM movies as Bathing Beauty, The Youngest Profession and Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble, has died. She was 95.
Porter died Saturday of natural causes in Canoga Park, California, her daughter Rebecca Dmytryk told The Hollywood Reporter.
Porter was married to writer-director Edward Dmytryk, one of the Hollywood Ten, from May 1948 — shortly after he had landed in trouble with the blacklist — until his death in 1999 at age 90.
The two met after Porter had replaced Shirley Temple in his film Till the End of Time (1946),...
Porter died Saturday of natural causes in Canoga Park, California, her daughter Rebecca Dmytryk told The Hollywood Reporter.
Porter was married to writer-director Edward Dmytryk, one of the Hollywood Ten, from May 1948 — shortly after he had landed in trouble with the blacklist — until his death in 1999 at age 90.
The two met after Porter had replaced Shirley Temple in his film Till the End of Time (1946),...
- 1/14/2018
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We are in the second half of Halloween day already, but indulging in costumed pets doesn’t have to stop when the clock strikes midnight.
Thanks to heroes like Willow the cat, you can experience the unique euphoria one can only truly understand when looking upon an animal masquerading as a cuter version of something else.
This Instagram feline, who currently has over 18,000 followers, puts her paws into a costume nearly every day. And we aren’t talking about store bought classics; these are outfits that are political, original, botanical, nautical and occasionally radical.
This kitty is a powder keg of creativity,...
Thanks to heroes like Willow the cat, you can experience the unique euphoria one can only truly understand when looking upon an animal masquerading as a cuter version of something else.
This Instagram feline, who currently has over 18,000 followers, puts her paws into a costume nearly every day. And we aren’t talking about store bought classics; these are outfits that are political, original, botanical, nautical and occasionally radical.
This kitty is a powder keg of creativity,...
- 10/31/2016
- by kellibendertimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
A video posted by Kora Organics (@koraorganics) on Oct 29, 2015 at 10:36am Pdt Bathing beauty! Making the dreams of teenage boys everywhere come true, Miranda Kerr filmed herself while showering and shared the clip via Instagram — but she did it in the name of transparency. The Aussie supermodel, 32, pressed record to show her fans that she does indeed start each day by lathering up her Kora Organics' cream cleanser and body wash. "Shower time!" Kerr, who shares son Flynn, 4, with ex-husband Orlando Bloom, captioned the [...]...
- 10/30/2015
- Us Weekly
Road trip! Caitlyn Jenner went on vacation with her friends in the trans community on I Am Cait, and not only did she open up about her personal life, she conquered her fear of wearing a bathing suit in public. The former Olympian and trans activist spoke candidly about whether she's interested in dating men or women — find out her preferences in the recap below! No Fear: Caitlyn Is a Bathing Beauty Jenner was initially hesitant to break out her bathing suit, but conquered her [...]...
- 8/10/2015
- Us Weekly
Bathing beauty—with a bump! Pregnant Milla Jovovich visited the shores of Malibu on Sunday, Sept. 28, and she dipped her toes in the ocean in one adorable bathing suit. With her husband, director Paul W.S. Anderson, by her side, the actress, 38, frolicked in a black and white one-piece with a small, feminine ruffle that showcased her growing baby bump. She added a baseball cap and a pair of floral sunglasses to keep the California sunshine out of her eyes. Just the day before, the Resident Evil actress [...]...
- 10/1/2014
- Us Weekly
Let's continue our holiday tradition by having a beauty from Hollywood's golden age usher in the new year. In this case, it's Esther Williams, exactly 70 years ago (hard to believe!), when she was just on the cusp of becoming a star. Her breakthrough movie, Bathing Beauty, wouldn't be released until the summer of 1944, but she was already getting a big publicity build-up from MGM--and that meant posing for publicity photos like this one. Esther died earlier this year, but she left a lasting impression, onscreen and off.
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- 12/31/2013
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Swimmer who found movie fame in a string of MGM musicals
Esther Williams, "Hollywood's Mermaid", who has died aged 91, swam her way through more than a dozen splashy MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 50s. While smiling at the camera, she was able to do a combination of crawl, breast and backstroke, and was forever blowing bubbles under water, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply of air.
Like the starlets Lana Turner, Kathryn Grayson and Donna Reed before her, she started out for MGM in a Hardy Family picture, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) – though one that allowed her to swim with Mickey Rooney. After being billed 19th in A Guy Named Joe (1943), she shot to stardom in her third film, Bathing Beauty (1944).
It started out as an average Red Skelton vehicle, first called Mr Co-Ed, then Sing and Swim, but Esther's superb figure and pretty features were heightened by Technicolor...
Esther Williams, "Hollywood's Mermaid", who has died aged 91, swam her way through more than a dozen splashy MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 50s. While smiling at the camera, she was able to do a combination of crawl, breast and backstroke, and was forever blowing bubbles under water, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply of air.
Like the starlets Lana Turner, Kathryn Grayson and Donna Reed before her, she started out for MGM in a Hardy Family picture, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) – though one that allowed her to swim with Mickey Rooney. After being billed 19th in A Guy Named Joe (1943), she shot to stardom in her third film, Bathing Beauty (1944).
It started out as an average Red Skelton vehicle, first called Mr Co-Ed, then Sing and Swim, but Esther's superb figure and pretty features were heightened by Technicolor...
- 6/7/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Los Angeles, June 7 (Ians/Efe) Actress Esther Williams, known as "The Mermaid of Hollywood", died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California, her publicist announced. She was 91.
The star of classic films such as "Ziegfeld Follies" (1945), "Neptune's Daughter" (1949) and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1949), but above all "Bathing Beauty" (1944), Williams was one of the great stars of MGM Studios.
The specialty of Williams, a swimmer who aspired to participate in the Olympic Games, were the aquatic movie ballets of the 1940s and '50s, very popular for their mixture of romance, music, a little comedy and not much in the way of a plot.
Her bathing suit-clad publicity photo was one of the favourite pin-ups of.
The star of classic films such as "Ziegfeld Follies" (1945), "Neptune's Daughter" (1949) and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1949), but above all "Bathing Beauty" (1944), Williams was one of the great stars of MGM Studios.
The specialty of Williams, a swimmer who aspired to participate in the Olympic Games, were the aquatic movie ballets of the 1940s and '50s, very popular for their mixture of romance, music, a little comedy and not much in the way of a plot.
Her bathing suit-clad publicity photo was one of the favourite pin-ups of.
- 6/7/2013
- by Diksha Singh
- RealBollywood.com
Esther Williams was in a class by herself. The Olympic hopeful turned leading lady, who utilized her aquatic skills in Technicolor romances such as Bathing Beauty and Neptune's Daughter, died early this morning in her sleep. She was 91. A champion swimmer as a teen growing up in Los Angeles, Williams was headed for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Tokyo when the outbreak of World War II prompted the Games' cancellation. But it turned out the brunette beauty was destined for stardom in other arenas. She was discovered swimming alongside Tarzan star Johnny Weismuller as part of Billy Rose's Aquacade show in San Francisco and her career took off in the 1940s when she starred in a...
- 6/7/2013
- E! Online
American competitive swimming superstar and Hollywood actress Esther Williams died at age 91 in Beverly Hills on Thursday, reports The New York Times. The announcement was made by Williams' longtime publicist, Harlan Boll. Though her foremost passion was swimming, she signed a contract with MGM in 1941 when former studio head Louis B. Mayer scouted her out. Beginning in 1942 alongside Mickey Rooney in "Andy Hardy's Double Life," Williams went on to appear in dozens of MGM productions such as the George Sidney musicals "Bathing Beauty" (1944) and "Jupiter's Darling" (1955). Per Williams' request, her contract came with an unlimited guest pass to The Beverly Hills Hotel pool. Born in 1921 in La, Esther Williams started setting records while on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team in her teens, where she worked for a nickel a day. She used that money to access the pool, where the male lifeguards gave her swimming lessons. That's when...
- 6/7/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Swimmer who found movie fame in a string of MGM musicals
Esther Williams, "Hollywood's Mermaid", who has died aged 91, swam her way through more than a dozen splashy MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 50s. While smiling at the camera, she was able to do a combination of crawl, breast and backstroke, and was forever blowing bubbles under water, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply of air.
Like the starlets Lana Turner, Kathryn Grayson and Donna Reed before her, she started out for MGM in a Hardy Family picture, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) – though one that allowed her to swim with Mickey Rooney. After being billed 19th in A Guy Named Joe (1943), she shot to stardom in her third film, Bathing Beauty (1944).
Continue reading...
Esther Williams, "Hollywood's Mermaid", who has died aged 91, swam her way through more than a dozen splashy MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 50s. While smiling at the camera, she was able to do a combination of crawl, breast and backstroke, and was forever blowing bubbles under water, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply of air.
Like the starlets Lana Turner, Kathryn Grayson and Donna Reed before her, she started out for MGM in a Hardy Family picture, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) – though one that allowed her to swim with Mickey Rooney. After being billed 19th in A Guy Named Joe (1943), she shot to stardom in her third film, Bathing Beauty (1944).
Continue reading...
- 6/6/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Esther Williams: Swimwear-garbed star of MGM Technicolor musicals dead at 91 Esther Williams, known for her swimming skills and ability to smile and keep her makeup and coiffure intact underwater in several MGM Technicolor aqua-musicals of the ’40s and ’50s, died in her sleep earlier today at her Beverly Hills home. Williams, who in recent decades launched a successful swimwear line, was 91. (Photo: Esther Williams publicity shot ca. 1945.) Born on August 8, 1921, in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Esther Williams began honing her swimming skills at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Following several victories in swimming competitions, she looked forward to taking part in the 1940 Olympics. World War II, however, interfered. In the early ’40s, she was reportedly discovered by an MGM scout while appearing as a "bathing beauty" at the World’s Fair in San Francisco. The swimming champion would write in her 1999 autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid that...
- 6/6/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Movie star and champion swimmer Esther Williams passed away today at the age of 91. To remember her Hollywood career, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be airing a 24-hour movie marathon of many of her most famous films from the 1940s and ’50s beginning June 13 at 8pm Et. Included in the Esther Williams movie marathon, which TCM says will feature 13 titles, are her film debut in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942); her first starring vehicle, Bathing Beauty (1944); the colorful musical Neptune’s Daughter (1949); the biopic of swimmer Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952); the romantic comedy Easy [...]
The post TCM to remember Esther Williams with 24-hour movie marathon appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post TCM to remember Esther Williams with 24-hour movie marathon appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 6/6/2013
- by Jeff Pfeiffer
- ChannelGuideMag
She made a name for herself as both an actress and a swimmer, and sadly Esther Williams died peacefully in her sleep earlier today (June 6).
The 91-year-old thespian rose to fame in the 1940s thanks to several high-profile roles in MGM Musicals such as “Bathing Beauty,” “Neptune’s Daughter,” and “Million Dollar Mermaid.”
Given her string of successful films, Hollywood created a completely new genre called The Aqua Musical, and MGM built a 90-square-foot pool that was 20-feet deep at their Stage 30 lot.
Williams previously told press, "No one had ever done a swimming movie before, so we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my own underwater movements."
All in all, Esther starred in 25 aqua musicals during her career.
The 91-year-old thespian rose to fame in the 1940s thanks to several high-profile roles in MGM Musicals such as “Bathing Beauty,” “Neptune’s Daughter,” and “Million Dollar Mermaid.”
Given her string of successful films, Hollywood created a completely new genre called The Aqua Musical, and MGM built a 90-square-foot pool that was 20-feet deep at their Stage 30 lot.
Williams previously told press, "No one had ever done a swimming movie before, so we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my own underwater movements."
All in all, Esther starred in 25 aqua musicals during her career.
- 6/6/2013
- GossipCenter
Esther Williams, star of MGM's aquamusicals in the '40s and '50s, has died. She was 91.
Her publicist Harlan Boll tells the Associated Press that Williams died in her sleep on Thursday (June 6). She had been largely out of the public eye since the release of her 1999 memoir, "The Million Dollar Mermaid," after suffering a handful of setbacks to her health.
In 2001, a fall down a flight of stairs in her Beverly Hills home resulted in a fractured ankle became infected, necessitating the use of a walker. In 2007, she suffered a stroke.
Williams began competing in amateur swimming competitions in the late 1930s, with hopes the she would make it onto the U.S. swim team for the 1940 Olympics. Those hopes were shattered when the Olympics were canceled due to the war in Europe. From there, a performance in the Aquacade at the 1940 San Francisco World's Fair caught of...
Her publicist Harlan Boll tells the Associated Press that Williams died in her sleep on Thursday (June 6). She had been largely out of the public eye since the release of her 1999 memoir, "The Million Dollar Mermaid," after suffering a handful of setbacks to her health.
In 2001, a fall down a flight of stairs in her Beverly Hills home resulted in a fractured ankle became infected, necessitating the use of a walker. In 2007, she suffered a stroke.
Williams began competing in amateur swimming competitions in the late 1930s, with hopes the she would make it onto the U.S. swim team for the 1940 Olympics. Those hopes were shattered when the Olympics were canceled due to the war in Europe. From there, a performance in the Aquacade at the 1940 San Francisco World's Fair caught of...
- 6/6/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
Star of the silver screen and in the swimming pool, actress Esther Williams has passed away at the age of 91. Williams died early today in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay tribute to legendary film star and swimmer Esther Williams with a 24-hour marathon of films beginning Thursday, June 13, at 8 p.m. (Et). TCM’s tribute will feature 13 of Williams’ films, including her film debut in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942); her first starring vehicle, Bathing Beauty (1944); the colorful musical Neptune’s Daughter (1949); the biopic of swimmer Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952); the romantic comedy Easy to Wed (1946); and the Hawaii-set musical Pagan Love Song (1950).
The following is a complete schedule of TCM’s June 13-14 tribute to Esther Williams:
Thursday, June 13
8 p.m. – Bathing Beauty (1944)
10 p.m. – Neptune’s Daughter (1949)
11:45 p.m.
Star of the silver screen and in the swimming pool, actress Esther Williams has passed away at the age of 91. Williams died early today in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay tribute to legendary film star and swimmer Esther Williams with a 24-hour marathon of films beginning Thursday, June 13, at 8 p.m. (Et). TCM’s tribute will feature 13 of Williams’ films, including her film debut in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942); her first starring vehicle, Bathing Beauty (1944); the colorful musical Neptune’s Daughter (1949); the biopic of swimmer Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952); the romantic comedy Easy to Wed (1946); and the Hawaii-set musical Pagan Love Song (1950).
The following is a complete schedule of TCM’s June 13-14 tribute to Esther Williams:
Thursday, June 13
8 p.m. – Bathing Beauty (1944)
10 p.m. – Neptune’s Daughter (1949)
11:45 p.m.
- 6/6/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Swimmer-turned-actress Esther Williams has died, aged 91.
Her publicist Harlan Boll has confirmed that Williams passed away in her sleep earlier today (June 6) in Beverly Hills, CA.
Williams first gained fame while setting swimming records with the Los Angeles Athletic Club both nationally and regionally, but missed out on the 1940 Olympics due to the outbreak of World War II.
The athlete transitioned into the film industry and became famous for appearing in many Technicolor movie musicals in Hollywood's golden era.
Williams is perhaps best known for her roles in Easy to Wed, Dangerous When Wet, Bathing Beauty and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
She also famously played swimming champion Annette Kellerman in the hit 1952 film Million Dollar Mermaid, which was choreographed by Busby Berkeley.
Williams was one of the most successful box officers stars of the early 1950s, but stepped away from the spotlight a decade later.
She was married four times throughout her life,...
Her publicist Harlan Boll has confirmed that Williams passed away in her sleep earlier today (June 6) in Beverly Hills, CA.
Williams first gained fame while setting swimming records with the Los Angeles Athletic Club both nationally and regionally, but missed out on the 1940 Olympics due to the outbreak of World War II.
The athlete transitioned into the film industry and became famous for appearing in many Technicolor movie musicals in Hollywood's golden era.
Williams is perhaps best known for her roles in Easy to Wed, Dangerous When Wet, Bathing Beauty and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
She also famously played swimming champion Annette Kellerman in the hit 1952 film Million Dollar Mermaid, which was choreographed by Busby Berkeley.
Williams was one of the most successful box officers stars of the early 1950s, but stepped away from the spotlight a decade later.
She was married four times throughout her life,...
- 6/6/2013
- Digital Spy
Los Angeles — Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as "Easy to Wed," `'Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
When hard...
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as "Easy to Wed," `'Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
When hard...
- 6/6/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Los Angeles, Calif. - Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as "Easy to Wed," ''Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as "Easy to Wed," ''Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
- 6/6/2013
- by CP
- Huffington Post
Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as Easy to Wed, Neptune’s Daughter, and Dangerous When Wet followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films That’s Entertainment. Williams’ co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
When hard times signaled the end of big studios and costly musicals in the mid-’50s, Williams tried non-swimming roles with little success. After her 1962 marriage to Fernando Lamas, her co-star in Dangerous When Wet, she retired from public life.
Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.
Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
Such films as Easy to Wed, Neptune’s Daughter, and Dangerous When Wet followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.
The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films That’s Entertainment. Williams’ co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
When hard times signaled the end of big studios and costly musicals in the mid-’50s, Williams tried non-swimming roles with little success. After her 1962 marriage to Fernando Lamas, her co-star in Dangerous When Wet, she retired from public life.
- 6/6/2013
- by Associated Press
- EW - Inside Movies
Actress and champion swimmer Esther Williams, who showcased a combination of glamour and athleticism by starring in several spectacular and splashy MGM musicals of the 1940s and '50s, has died. She was 91. Williams died peacefully in her sleep Thursday in Beverly Hills, family spokesman Harlan Boll announced. Williams swam her way to stardom in such timeless motion pictures as Bathing Beauty (1944), Neptune's Daughter (1949) and Million Dollar Mermaid (1952). The audience response to the athletic All-American girl was phenomenal as MGM put Williams' career into high gear. For more than a decade, she reigned in a new Hollywood
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- 6/6/2013
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The silver screen has long boasted many great beauties, but only one was ever worthy of the title "America's Mermaid." Esther Williams, MGM's great synchronized swimming star and box-office attraction of the '40s and '50s, died. She was 91. The star's publicist Harlan Boll told the Associated Press she died in her sleep Thursday. Relatively removed from the public eye since the publication of her 1999 memoir, The Million Dollar Mermaid, Williams suffered some health setbacks in the past several years. In 2001, she fractured her ankle (which then became infected, necessitating the use of a walker) after a spill down...
- 6/6/2013
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Swim in peace, America's Mermaid.
Esther Williams, a champion swimmer who became a movie star, has died. The 91-year-old passed away in her sleep, according to family spokesman Harlan Boll.
Called "America's Mermaid," Williams starred in several splashy, Technicolor "aquamusicals" in the 1940s and '50s, including "MIllion Dollar Mermaid," "Neptune's Daughter," and "Bathing Beauty."
As a teenager, Williams was a competitive swimmer who dreamed of going to the Olympics. But when the 1940 Games were canceled due to World War II, she joined the Aquacade at the San Francisco World's Fair alongside "Tarzan" star Johnny Weissmuller. There, she caught the eye of MGM scouts.
She acted opposite Mickey Rooney in her first movie, 1942's "Andy Hardy's Double Life." From there, a bathing suit-clad Williams became a sex symbol in a genre created just for her -- the aquamusical.
"No one had ever done a swimming movie before," she once said,...
Esther Williams, a champion swimmer who became a movie star, has died. The 91-year-old passed away in her sleep, according to family spokesman Harlan Boll.
Called "America's Mermaid," Williams starred in several splashy, Technicolor "aquamusicals" in the 1940s and '50s, including "MIllion Dollar Mermaid," "Neptune's Daughter," and "Bathing Beauty."
As a teenager, Williams was a competitive swimmer who dreamed of going to the Olympics. But when the 1940 Games were canceled due to World War II, she joined the Aquacade at the San Francisco World's Fair alongside "Tarzan" star Johnny Weissmuller. There, she caught the eye of MGM scouts.
She acted opposite Mickey Rooney in her first movie, 1942's "Andy Hardy's Double Life." From there, a bathing suit-clad Williams became a sex symbol in a genre created just for her -- the aquamusical.
"No one had ever done a swimming movie before," she once said,...
- 6/6/2013
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Mara Lemos Stein Michael Arenella playing on Governor’s Island
For the random visitor to Governors Island this weekend, the sight of many gents sporting straw boater hats, bow ties and seersucker suits, and ladies in fringe dresses, lace blouses and feather hairpieces on the short ferry ride over to the island was just a preamble to the time traveling experience that is the Jazz Age Lawn Party.
Celebrating its sixth year in a row, the former military enclave is...
For the random visitor to Governors Island this weekend, the sight of many gents sporting straw boater hats, bow ties and seersucker suits, and ladies in fringe dresses, lace blouses and feather hairpieces on the short ferry ride over to the island was just a preamble to the time traveling experience that is the Jazz Age Lawn Party.
Celebrating its sixth year in a row, the former military enclave is...
- 6/27/2011
- by Mara Lemos Stein
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
This week we're taking the plunge as Guljit Kambo front crawls through the principal piscines in film history
In the Us, the swimming pool is the ultimate materialist dream. Got your own pool? You've made it. Here in the UK, the private pool is entirely exotic, a fantasy belonging to rock stars and retired cockney gangsters on the Costa del Sol. Personally speaking, I can't swim, and the sickly smell of chlorine still haunts me from childhood. But who can resist the exotic allure of the movie swimming pool? Witness the under-lit dreams of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Showgirls (complete with thrashing frolics).
There's more to the screen pool, however, than being a symbol of status and success. It can signify something far beyond the banal – after all, what is a swimming pool but mere water? In a great film, the pool is a theatre for...
In the Us, the swimming pool is the ultimate materialist dream. Got your own pool? You've made it. Here in the UK, the private pool is entirely exotic, a fantasy belonging to rock stars and retired cockney gangsters on the Costa del Sol. Personally speaking, I can't swim, and the sickly smell of chlorine still haunts me from childhood. But who can resist the exotic allure of the movie swimming pool? Witness the under-lit dreams of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Showgirls (complete with thrashing frolics).
There's more to the screen pool, however, than being a symbol of status and success. It can signify something far beyond the banal – after all, what is a swimming pool but mere water? In a great film, the pool is a theatre for...
- 9/9/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Bathing beauty John C. Reilly stuffed his beach bod into a wetsuit and attempted to ride the waves Wednesday while vacationing in Hawaii with his family.Sometimes it's hard to just go with the flow. See Also Romano and Bakula -- Board Stiffs ...
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- 1/1/2010
- TMZ
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