Esther Williams would have been the first to laugh at the famous
quote, attributed to many, that described her Hollywood success: "Wet,
she is a star."
The swimming champion-turned-actress, who died in
her sleep at her Los Angeles home on Thursday at age 91, was one of the
shimmering lights of the Technicolor water musicals of the 1940s and
1950s.
"She was a major, major star, a tremendous box office attraction," says film historian Leonard Maltin.
"Esther Williams had one contribution to make to movies — her magnificent athletic body," wrote
New York Times
film critic Pauline Kael. "And for over 10 years MGM made the most of
it, keeping her in clinging, wet bathing suits and hoping the audience
would shiver."
After her dream of swimming in the 1940 Helsinki
Olympics was squashed when the event was canceled due to World War II
("It was her one big regret not swimming in those Games," says Maltin),
she made an unlikely detour to Hollywood.
Williams became one of
the great moneymakers of that era by appearing in spectacular swimsuit
numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.
