ESTHER WILLIAMS in 1950 publicity photo.
She had to settle instead for becoming a movie star.
The self-described “Million Dollar Mermaid,” whose wholesome beauty, shapely figure and aquatic skills launched an entire genre of movies — the Technicolor “aqua musicals” — died Thursday at 91. She was remembered for her Hollywood fame but also her influence on fashion and on synchronized swimming, the Olympic sport inspired by her cinematic water ballet.
Williams followed in the footsteps of Sonja Henie — who went from skating champion to movie star — and became one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers after she lost the chance to compete in the Olympics when they were canceled due to the onset of World War II. She appeared in glittering swimsuit numbers that featured towering fountains, waterfalls, pools, lakes, slides, water skis and anything else that involved water.
“The girl you will dream about!” raved the 1944 trailer for “Bathing Beauty,” the first big aqua musical. It showed a smiling Williams posing in a bright pink one-piece suit with the pointy chest popular at the time, a matching pink bow in her hair.
Co-starring Red Skelton, the show was first called “Mr. Coed.” But MGM executives changed the title when they realized how big the actress was going to be during filming, according to a biography on Williams’ website.
“No one had ever done a swimming movie before,” Williams said later. “So we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my own underwater movements.”
That film was followed by many more. “It appeared as if I had invited the audience into the water with me,” Williams said, “and it conveyed the sensation that being in there was absolutely delicious.”
Such films as “Easy to Wed,” “Neptune’s Daughter” and “Dangerous When Wet” all followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Williams in the water.
“They were the ultimate example of Hollywood escapism,” says film historian Leonard Maltin. “To their endless credit, the studio seized upon this asset — a beautiful, graceful woman — and figured out a way to make her a movie star.”
Williams’ film extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation film “That’s Entertainment.” Her co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.
She also was a favorite swimsuit pinup for GI’s in World War II, and a refreshing presence among MGM’s stellar gallery — warm, breezy, with a frankness and self-deprecating humor that delighted interviewers.
As news of her death spread Thursday, pinup shots of her circulated on Twitter. Threetime Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Rowdy Gaines tweeted: “Esther Williams … our first female Michael Phelps … RIP.”
USA Synchro, the governing body of U.S. synchronized swimming, also paid tribute. “Her movies with a swimming theme inspired many young girls and women to get into the pool and try to copy her movements,” said Judy McGowan, the group’s president.
Williams also left her mark on the swimwear industry, popularizing styles that showed just enough cleavage and leg, without being too risque. Her signature suits were colorful, with flattering ruching. She later turned them into a business, forming her own swimwear label.
“Swimwear during that period was all about creating the hourglass shape,” says Janie Bryant, a current Hollywood costume designer. “The bust, the waist, the hips. There’s been a whole resurgence in the love of vintage and appreciating the hourglass figure that she helped make famous.”
The bathing caps also were “decorative and fabulous,” said Bryant, who designs for the 1960s-era TV show “Mad Men.”
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