Williams, Esther (1923–)
Williams, Esther (1923–)
American actress and swimmer. Born Aug 8, 1923, in Inglewood, CA; graduate of Los Angeles City College; attended University of Southern California; m. Leonard Kovner (physician, div.); m. Ben Gage (radio announcer and singer), 1945 (div.); m. Fernando Lamas (actor), 1967 (died 1982); m. Edward Bell (former professor and sometime actor).
As a swimmer, won every race entered at the 1939 Women's Outdoor Swimming nationals (100-meter freestyle, 300-meter and 800-yard relays, and 100-meter breaststroke); made Olympic team (1940) but World War II intervened and summer games in Tokyo were canceled; starred in Billy Rose's Aquacade at Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco; as a hugely popular actress, starred in such films as Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942), Bathing Beauty (1944), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), On an Island With You (1948), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), Neptune's Daughter (1948), Pagan Love Song (1950), Skirts Ahoy! (1952), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), Dangerous When Wet (1953), Easy to Love (1953), Jupiter's Darling (1955), The Unguarded Moment (1956), Raw Wind in Eden (1958) and The Big Show (1961).
See also autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid (Simon & Schuster, 1999); and Women in World History.