A former teen swim champion who proved herself an adept comedienne and turned film star, Esther Williams (with the help of MGM) invented the swimming musical and starred in a series of these wet spectacles throughout the 1940s and '50s, creating and filling her own special niche in Hollywood for over a decade.

This page is still under construction.

Memorable Quotations:

• "If I put my arms around your neck, I would choke you." --as Rosalind Reynolds in ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU (1948)
• "Just call me fathead." --as K.C. Higgins in TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949).
• "You're very poetic for a short stop." --as K.C. Higgins in TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949).
• "I'm glad to see the grapevine hasn't withered." --as Whitney Young in SKIRTS AHOY! (1952).
• "You're the one who makes me do things like this." --as Whitney Young in SKIRTS AHOY! (1952).

Music Clips:

• "I Got out of Bed on the Right Side" (clip) from DANGEROUS WHEN WET (1953) sung with William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood and Company (a .MP3 file courtesy Rhino Records).

(For help opening any of the multimedia files, visit the plug-ins page.)

Further Reading:

• The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams (Simon & Schuster, 1999).
• The Golden Girls of MGM by Jane Ellen Wayne (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003).

More Esther Williams Links:

• The Official Esther Williams Website
• Esther Williams History
• The Augusta Chronicle: Esther Williams
• Mad About Esther Williams
• Mermaids in the Movies: Esther Williams
• Howard Keel Homepage: Esther Williams
• The Golden Years: Esther Williams
• TVNow's monthly Esther Williams schedule - when her film will be on TV.
• Great MGM Musicals: DANGEROUS WHEN WET
• Great MGM Musicals: EASY TO LOVE
• Great MGM Musicals: FIESTA
• Great MGM Musicals: JUPITER'S DARLING
• Great MGM Musicals: MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID
• Great MGM Musicals: NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER
• Great MGM Musicals: ON AN ISLAND WITH YOU
• Great MGM Musicals: PAGAN LOVE SONG
• Great MGM Musicals: SKIRTS AHOY
• Great MGM Musicals: TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME
• Great MGM Musicals: TEXAS CARNIVAL
• Great MGM Musicals: THE DUCHESS OF IDAHO
• Great MGM Musicals: THIS TIME FOR KEEPS
• Great MGM Musicals: THRILL OF A ROMANCE
• Great MGM Musicals: TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY
• JGDB: TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY
• JGDB: ZIEGFELD FOLLIES OF 1946
• Great MGM Musicals: ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

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