Los Angeles Athletic Club ( LAAC ) is a privately owned athletic club and social club in Los Angeles , California , United States . Established in 1880, the club is today best known for its John R. Wooden Award presented to the outstanding men's and women's college basketball player of each year.
107-528: Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade , where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in
214-523: A FINA meeting in October 1938, the bureau unanimously agreed to prohibit up-and-down movements of the legs in the vertical plane. Prior to 1935, the breaststroke rules from both FINA and the NCAA stated that the arms had to be simultaneously pushed forward on recovery. Since the rules did not state that the arm recovery had to be underwater, a few swimmers came up with the idea of an overarm recovery, which
321-515: A "capturable" image for use in the fleet. Three weeks after Williams signed her contract, George Sidney directed her first screen test. According to Williams's autobiography, the studio used this test to get Lana Turner back in line with the terms of her contract and as punishment for Turner's having eloped with Artie Shaw . Williams screen tested with the leading man, Clark Gable , for the film Somewhere I'll Find You . However, when Turner divorced Shaw after four months of marriage, she rejoined
428-408: A 115 ft dive off a tower during a climactic musical number for the film Million Dollar Mermaid and was in a body cast for seven months. She subsequently recovered, although she continued to suffer headaches as a result of the accident. Her many hours spent submerged in a studio tank resulted in ruptured eardrums numerous times. She also nearly drowned after not being able to find the trapdoor in
535-624: A D in her algebra course, preventing her from getting a scholarship to the University of Southern California . She enrolled in Los Angeles City College to retake the course. In 1939, Williams expressed interest in pursuing a degree in physical education in order to teach it one day. To earn money for tuition, Williams worked as a stock girl at the I. Magnin department store, where she also modeled clothing for customers and appeared in newspaper advertisements. While Williams
642-442: A Romance was the 8th highest-grossing film of 1945. Williams had to help Johnson swim, and she placed her hand under his back to keep him afloat. The studio's publicity department tried to put the two together in public as much as possible in the hopes of encouraging a romance, even though Williams was involved with Gage at the time. When asked why they didn't date, Johnson replied, "because I'm afraid she can't get her webbed feet into
749-424: A breath is important. If the swimmer lifts their head too high, the swimmer's hips often drop, creating drag, thus slowing the swimmer down. The closer one's head is to the water; the better one swims the general technique used by swimmers. The proper utilization of the core muscles, in conjunction with precise timing and fluid body movement, greatly facilitates the execution of the butterfly stroke. The body moves in
856-469: A definition of the two styles of breaststroke to the rules which named traditional breaststroke style "A" and butterfly-breaststroke style "B". A consequence of this was competitors were not able to swim both of the styles in the same race. By 1952, the argument for separating the "A" and "B" styles of breaststroke was gaining momentum, and hence in 1953, breaststroke was separated into two different events. Furthermore, while traditional breaststroke required
963-765: A doctor's supervision, and it had changed his life. Grant's therapist, Mortimer Hartman, described LSD as "a psychic energizer which empties the subconscious and intensifies emotion and memory a hundred times". Grant said that, with the help of LSD, he had "found that [he] had a tough inner core of strength", and that when he was young, he "was very dependent upon older men and women. Now, people [came] to [him] for help." Williams stated that she wanted to be one of those people. As she said in Million Dollar Mermaid , "At that point, I really didn't know who I was. Was I that glamorous femme fatale? ... Was I just another broken-down divorcée whose husband left her with all
1070-642: A gold lamé swimsuit. The scenes would always end with the men giving in and kissing her after that stunt. Her hospital tours continued into the 1950s. A (forged) signed, waterproof portrait of Williams was circulated among men in the United States Navy for a "capture the Esther" competition . This competition continues to this day in the Royal Australian Navy, which holds in its archives an "original" forged signed portrait while maintaining
1177-409: A line of retro women's swimwear . Williams said, "Women worldwide are fighting a thing called gravity ... I say to women when I talk to them, 'You girls of 18 have until about 25, 30 at the most, and then you have to report to me. My suits are quality fabric. ' " She went on: "I put you in a suit that contains you and you will swim in. I don't want you to be in two Dixie cups and a fish line." She
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#17327836111831284-478: A major role in the promotion of swimming, making it attractive to the public, contributing to the growth of the sport as a public recreation for health, exercise, water safety – and just plain fun." Her stepson Lorenzo Lamas tweeted she was "The best swim teacher and soul mom." Actress Annabeth Gish tweeted a tribute, writing that Esther Williams was an "elegant, gracious movie star, legend and neighbor". Film historian Leonard Maltin called her "a major, major star,
1391-532: A man who enrolls in a women's college to win back his swimming instructor fiancée, played by Williams. This was her first Technicolor musical. The studio changed the title of the film to showcase Williams. Almost all of the film's posters featured Williams in a bathing suit, though the swimming sequences make up a small portion of the film. Her date to the premiere at the Astor Theater in New York City
1498-671: A marriage and a ring. I had come to realize all too quickly that Leonard Kovner was not a man I could ever really love." They divorced on September 12, 1944. She married singer/actor Ben Gage on November 25, 1945; they had three children, Benjamin Stanton (born August 6, 1949), Kimball Austin (October 30, 1950 – May 6, 2008) and Susan Tenney (born October 1, 1953). In her autobiography, she portrayed Gage as an alcoholic parasite who squandered $ 10 million of her earnings. Gage and Williams separated in 1952, and divorced in April 1959. During
1605-791: A nest egg and a tax deferral . She was, however, still able to collect on the $ 50,000 signing bonus from when she first signed her contract. In 1956, she moved to Universal International and appeared in a non-musical dramatic film, The Unguarded Moment (1956). After that, her film career slowly wound down. She later admitted that husband Fernando Lamas preferred her not to continue in films. She would, however, make occasional appearances on television, including mystery guest appearances for What's My Line? , The Donna Reed Show , The Ed Sullivan Show , and two aqua-specials, The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacle held in London at The Empire Pool Wembley in 1956 and Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens which
1712-535: A number of years, US movie exhibitors voted Esther Williams among the most popular film stars in the country: Los Angeles Athletic Club The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) was founded on September 8, 1880. By the end of its first month of existence the fledgling club counted 60 enlisted members and was able to rent its first facility, two halls located in Stearns Hall on Los Angeles Street in downtown Los Angeles . A 19th Century history indicates that
1819-520: A pair of evening sandals." Williams tried a more serious role in The Hoodlum Saint (1946), with William Powell and Angela Lansbury . Audiences expected Powell's Nick Charles persona and rejected the idea of a romance between Williams and Powell onscreen due to their age difference. She also appeared in Easy to Wed , a remake of 1936's Libeled Lady , with Johnson and Lucille Ball . It
1926-508: A show from the studio. It never occurred. The building remained empty until 1959/1960, when the “Steve Allen Show” was brought to the studios and televised live on Sunday evenings. It was at Aquacade that Williams first attracted attention from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts. MGM's head, Louis B. Mayer , had been looking for a female sports star for the studio to compete with Fox 's figure skating star, Sonja Henie . Williams signed her contract with MGM in 1941. In her contract were two clauses:
2033-433: A style of breaststroke in an October 1938 FINA Executive Bureau meeting where it was "supported by four votes out of seven to prohibit the butterfly arm recovery in the breaststroke event. However, since alterations to the technical rules required a two-thirds majority before adoption, the motion was declared not carried". In the 1948 London Olympics , all but one of the finalists used the butterfly-breaststroke technique, and
2140-480: A synchronous leg kick. Good technique is crucial to swim this style effectively. The wave-like body movement is also very significant in creating propulsion, as this is the key to easy synchronous over-water recovery and breathing. The swimmer is face down at the start, arms out front, and legs extended behind. The butterfly stroke has three major parts, the pull, the push, and the recovery. These can also be further subdivided. The arm movement starts very similarly to
2247-596: A tremendous box office attraction." For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. She left her hand and footprints in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on August 1, 1944. Williams was mentioned in the "Court Charades" sketch in the 1970 Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "The Spanish Inquisition" where Eric Idle mentions her to which Graham Chapman responds "How can you find
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#17327836111832354-859: A venue for gymnastics , athletic training, and team sports, including organization of a civic football team which played the inaugural intercity match with San Francisco in January 1892. During its first two decades of existence the club also established an outdoors athletic park, which included a running track and path for bicycling, a baseball diamond , tennis courts , and facilities for croquet . It also provided rooms designed for socialization, including an expansive reading room, as well as designated areas for billiards and cards . In 1912 it moved into its own new Los Angeles Athletic Club Building at 431 West Seventh Street in Downtown Los Angeles . The twelve-story Beaux-Arts style clubhouse
2461-411: A wave-like fashion, controlled by the core, and as the chest is pressed down, the hips go up, and the posterior breaks the water surface and transfers into a fluid kick. During the push phase, the chest goes up, and the hips are at their lowest position. In this style, the second pulse in the cycle is stronger than the first one, as the second one is more in flow with the body movement. Although butterfly
2568-480: Is a small minority of swimmers who prefer the breaststroke kick for recreational swimming and even for competition. There is only a short window for breathing in the butterfly. If this window is missed, swimming becomes very difficult. Optimally, a butterfly swimmer synchronizes the taking of breaths with the undulation of the body to simplify the breathing process; doing this well requires some attention to butterfly stroke technique. The breathing process begins during
2675-453: Is very compatible with diving, the resulting reduction in wave drag does not lead to an overall drag reduction. In the modern style of the butterfly stroke, one does only a little vertical movement of the body. Butterfly uses the regular start for swimming, if in a competition the swimmer would start off a diving block. After the start, a gliding phase follows underwater, followed by dolphin kicks swimming underwater. Swimming underwater reduces
2782-723: The Henrietta Award at the 1952 Golden Globes , for World Film Favorite – Female. Easy to Love (1953), also with Van Johnson, was filmed on location in Cypress Gardens , where a swimming pool in the shape of the state of Florida had been built specifically for the film. Williams was pregnant during shooting, but still performed all her own waterskiing stunts. In Dangerous When Wet (also 1953), Williams worked with three important male co-stars – Tom and Jerry and her future husband Fernando Lamas . During casting, Lamas told Williams he did not want to star in
2889-686: The WAVES program received thin, cotton, shapeless swimsuits as part of their uniforms. Williams modeled a Cole swimsuit for the Secretary of the Navy and explained that the new swimsuits helped support women's figures. The United States Navy ordered 50,000 suits immediately. Filming Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) was, according to Williams in her autobiography, an experience of "pure misery." A period musical starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra ,
2996-475: The Workman Block , next door to the previous Stowell Block location. Membership in this latter location soon topped the 400 mark, prompting the construction of the club's own permanent building, a four-story structure with a cavernous gymnasium located on an enlarged third floor. It was located on the east side of Spring Street between 5th and 6th, architects were McCarthy & Mendel. The club provided
3103-477: The breaststroke . The butterfly stroke boasts a higher peak velocity than the front crawl , owing to the synchronous propulsion generated by the simultaneous pull/push of both arms and legs. However, due to the pronounced drop in speed during the recovery phase, it is marginally slower than the front crawl, especially over extended distances. Furthermore, the butterfly stroke demands a different level of physical exertion, contributing to its slower overall pace than
3210-416: The drag from breaking the surface and is very economical. Rules allow for 15 m underwater swimming before the head breaks the surface and regular swimming begins. The turn and finish requires the swimmer to touch the wall "with both hands separated and simultaneously". Both hands must simultaneously touch the wall during turns and finish while the swimmer remains swimming face down. The swimmer touches
3317-400: The "two up, one down" approach. They breathe for two successive strokes, then keep their head in the water on the next stroke for easier breathing. Swimmers with good lung capacity might also breathe every 3rd stroke during sprints for the finish. Some swimmers can even hold their breaths for an entire race (assuming it is short). To swim with the best results, keeping one's head down when taking
Esther Williams - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-541: The 100 meter freestyle, with a record-breaking time of 1 minute 9.0 seconds. By age 16, Williams had won three US national championships in breaststroke and freestyle swimming. Williams graduated from Washington High School (now known as Washington Preparatory High School) in Los Angeles in 1939, where she served as class vice president, and later president. However, Williams never trained in swimming while there. During her senior year of high school, Williams received
3531-754: The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Esther Jane Williams was born on August 8, 1921, in Inglewood, California , the fifth and youngest child of Louis Stanton Williams (January 19, 1886 – June 10, 1968) and Bula Myrtle (née Gilpin; October 8, 1885 – December 29, 1971). The two lived on neighboring farms in Kansas and carried on a nine-year courtship until June 1, 1908, when they eloped and set off for California. However, they ran out of money in Salt Lake City, Utah , and settled there. Esther's brother, Stanton (September 4, 1912 – March 3, 1929)
3638-461: The 1st January 2023, the FINA rules for the butterfly stroke state the following rules: SW 8.1 From the beginning of the first arm stroke after the start and each turn, the body shall be kept on the breast. It is not permitted to roll onto the back at any time, except at the turn after the touch of the wall where it is permissible to turn in any manner as long as the body is on the breast when leaving
3745-532: The 20 highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid , which went on to become her nickname while she was at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed network television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida . Williams
3852-640: The LAAC founded a number of other institutions, including the California Yacht Club (1922) and Riviera Country Club (1926). They are now separate entities. The club faced significant financial burdens due to World War II and the subsequent growth of suburbs . Athletes from the LAAC have earned numerous medals in the Summer Olympics , with a particularly high number during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympiad . The total Olympic medal tally for
3959-418: The LAAC is 97 medals, including 47 gold. Butterfly stroke The butterfly (shortened to fly ) is a swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the " dolphin kick ") along with the movement of the hips and chest. It is the newest swimming style swum in competition, first swum in the early 1930s and originating out of
4066-619: The Swedish book Esther Williams — Skenbiografin ( Esther Williams: The Fake Biography ) written by Jane Magnusson, in which the author shares with readers her own fascination for art swimming as a genre and, here, in particular, Williams as—to the author—both a bewildering and mesmerizing front figure and icon in this field. Williams was a registered Republican . Williams married four times. She met her first husband, Leonard Kovner, while attending Los Angeles City College . She later wrote in her autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid that "he
4173-553: The bills and three kids?" Shortly after reading the article, she contacted Grant. He called his doctor and made an appointment for her. Williams said LSD seemed like instant psychoanalysis . Esther Williams died in her sleep on June 6, 2013, from natural causes , in her Los Angeles home. She was 91. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. On her death, CNN quoted her International Swimming Hall of Fame biography, saying, "Her movie career played
4280-453: The body back to the surface and prepare a dolphin kick. Pull both arms downward while executing the dolphin kick. After this sequence, immediately push the water backward. In this style, a turning point from drowning to floating is at the time of the waist bend. Two additional styles of butterfly stroke are similar to the two styles above but without a "second" dolphin kick. This allows the swimmer to conserve energy and be more relaxed. As of
4387-436: The breaststroke from the initial position. In the beginning, the hands sink a little bit with the palms facing outwards, and slightly down at shoulder width, then the hands move out to create a Y. This is called catching the water. The pull movement follows a semicircle with the elbow higher than the hand and the hand pointing towards the center of the body and downward to form the traditionally taught "keyhole". The push propels
Esther Williams - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-529: The butterfly kick in breaststroke and had excellent results. Presumably to reflect this, he also began referring to the previously named "fishtail kick" as the "dolphin breaststroke kick". He published his results in 1935 in an article called "The Dolphin Breast Stroke" in The Journal of Health and Physical Education where, due to its potential to be faster than the traditional whip kick, Armbruster
4601-490: The butterfly stroke. Two main styles of butterfly stroke seen today are: "arm pull up simultaneous with dolphin kick" and "arm pull down simultaneous with dolphin kick". "Arm pull up simultaneous with dolphin kick": After the head goes underwater, both arms go underwater but are still higher than the head. After the first dolphin kick, pull both arms immediately with downward motion . While pulling, arms and legs are relaxed, and both knees and waist are slightly bent to prepare
4708-545: The ceiling of a tank. The walls and ceiling were painted black and the trapdoor blended in. Williams was pulled out only because a member of the crew realized the door was not opening. After 15 years of appearing in films, Williams was threatened with contract suspension from MGM after refusing the lead role in The Opposite Sex (eventually released in 1956), a musical remake of 1939's The Women . The role of Mary would have been rewritten to be an aquacade star (and
4815-646: The city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold-medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller . Williams caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe , Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals", which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving. Every year from 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film among
4922-526: The club had the dual purposes of "providing its members with the means of physical development" along with "the advantages of a gentlemen's club . The club relocated for the first time in 1881, moving to more commodious accommodations in the Downey Block , before moving again a few years later to a still-larger home in the Stowell Block . A fire in 1893 required moving to temporary quarters in
5029-532: The defendant 'Not Esther Williams'?" Scarlett Johansson 's character DeeAnna Moran in the 2016 Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar! shares several similarities with Williams, most notably being an aquamusical star who becomes pregnant during production. Esther Williams donated her personal film archive, including twenty home movies, to the Academy Film Archive . The Academy Film Archive has subsequently preserved several of these home movies. For
5136-457: The dolphin kick. After the arms push the water backwards, pull the arms up simultaneously with a dolphin kick. In this style, the turning point from drowning to floating is at the time of downward arm motion. "Arm pull down simultaneous with dolphin kick": After the head goes underwater, both arms go underwater until lower than the head. After the first dolphin kick, raise both arms with relax . While rising arms, bend both knees and waist to send
5243-428: The entire West Coast. She disclosed in her autobiography that she had an affair with actor Victor Mature while they were working on Million Dollar Mermaid , citing that at the time her marriage was in trouble and, feeling lonely, she turned to Mature for love and affection, and he gave her all she wanted. The affair stopped while Williams was recovering from her fall during the shooting of Million Dollar Mermaid. She
5350-461: The feet, and press down the head. There is no stipulation in competitive butterfly rules that a swimmer makes a fixed number of pulses in butterfly–the swimmer may kick as little or as much as they wish. While competitive rules allow such a choice, the typical method of swimming butterfly is with two kicks. As butterfly originated as a variant of breaststroke, it would be performed with a breaststroke or whip kick by some swimmers. While breaststroke
5457-432: The film Callaway Went Thataway (1951). In Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), Williams portrayed Annette Kellermann , a real-life Australian swimming and diving star. Williams co-starred with Victor Mature , who played Kellermann's husband and manager, James Sullivan. The two engaged in a passionate affair during filming. Williams often called this her favorite film and named her autobiography after it. Williams also won
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#17327836111835564-419: The film with her because he only wanted to be involved in "important pictures". His part had to be rewritten to persuade him to take part in the film. In 1953, Williams had been on maternity leave for three months while pregnant with her daughter Susan, and assumed she would go straight to work on the film Athena when she returned. However, production started without her, and the studio cast Jane Powell in
5671-499: The film's stuntmen were sent to the hospital after being gored by bulls. Director Dick Thorpe hadn't wanted the bulls killed (as they usually were at the end of a bullfight) because he believed them to be too expensive to replace. After filming was completed on Fiesta , Williams appeared in the romance This Time for Keeps (1947) with singer Johnnie Johnston . In 1948, Williams signed a contract with swimwear company Cole of California to appear as their spokesperson, and Williams and
5778-492: The film. Following several short subject films, Williams appeared as Sheila Brooks in Andy Hardy's Double Life . Sheila was a student with whom Andy falls in love. Next was a small part in the film A Guy Named Joe , starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne . It was here she first worked with Van Johnson , with whom she would partner in five films. Bathing Beauty , previously titled Mr. Coed , starred Red Skelton as
5885-524: The filming of Pagan Love Song in Hawaii, Williams learned she was pregnant with her third child, and notified the studio in California. Gage had met a man at the hotel who owned a ham radio and persuaded the man to let them use it to call California . What they failed to realize at the time, though, was that anyone could be listening in on their conversation, and news of her pregnancy was broadcast to
5992-444: The finish of the race, the touch shall be made with both hands separated and simultaneously, at, above or below the water surface. SW 8.5 At the start and at turns, a swimmer is permitted one or more leg kicks and one arm pull under the water, which must bring him to the surface. It shall be permissible for a swimmer to be completely submerged for a distance of not more than 15 metres after the start and after each turn. By that point,
6099-402: The first being that she receive a guest pass to The Beverly Hills Hotel where she could swim in the pool every day, and the second that she would not appear on camera for nine months to allow for acting, singing, dancing, and diction lessons. Williams wrote in her autobiography, "If it took nine months for a baby to be born, I figured my 'birth' from Esther Williams the swimmer to Esther Williams
6206-475: The flying fish. This technique of continuous flying fish would come to be known as "butterfly-breaststroke". Later at the 1936 US Olympic Trials , Higgins set a new 200 metre American Record of 2:44.1. In the 1936 Berlin Olympic 200m breaststroke finals, Higgins finished fourth while using the butterfly-breaststroke technique. Though the butterfly-breaststroke was gaining traction, it was almost prohibited as
6313-426: The front crawl recovery, the arm recovery is a ballistic shot, letting gravity and momentum do most of the work. The only way to lift the arms and the shoulders out of the water would be by dropping one's hips. Therefore, the recovery, at least the acceleration of the arms, is in no way relaxed . It is important not to enter the water too early because this would generate extra resistance as the arms move forward against
6420-500: The front crawl. The earliest mention of the butterfly kick can be attributed to George Corsan , who, according to the International Swimming Hall of Fame introduced it by demonstration to David Armbruster in 1911. Corsan called it a "fishtail kick". A perhaps independent discovery of the fishtail kick was made by Volney Wilson some time before 1938, Wilson was a young physicist and swimmer who had analyzed
6527-458: The funniest jokes while at the hospitals. Williams also invited GIs to dance with her on stage and take part in mock screen tests. The men would receive a card telling them their lines, and they would act out the scene in front of the other soldiers. These tests were always romantic scenes to which the men were required to refuse multiple times. When the men said the final, "No", Williams would pull at her tear-away skirt and sweater leaving nothing but
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#17327836111836634-612: The hosts of the retrospective That's Entertainment! III . In a 2007 interview with Diane Sawyer , Williams admitted that she had recently suffered a stroke. "I opened my eyes and I could see, but I couldn't remember anything from the past", she said. In June 2008, Williams was able to attend Cyd Charisse 's funeral, albeit in a wheelchair. In April 2010, Williams appeared at the first Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival in Hollywood , California, alongside two-time co-star Betty Garrett . Their film, Neptune's Daughter (1949),
6741-472: The human body make such a move unlikely. The hands should enter the water with a narrow V shape (at 11 and 1 o'clock, if viewed like a clock) with thumbs entering first and pinkies last. The arms enter the water with the thumbs first at shoulder width. A wider entry loses movement in the next pull phase, and if the hands touch, it will waste energy. The cycle repeats with the pull phase. However, some swimmers prefer to touch in front as it assists them in grasping
6848-507: The lead role, rewriting much of the premise that Williams and writers Leo Pogostin and Chuck Walters had come up with. The studio moved her to Jupiter's Darling. Two more films were planned, Bermuda Encounter and Olympic Venus , about the first Olympic swimmers; however, these were never made. Many of her MGM films, such as Million Dollar Mermaid and Jupiter's Darling , contained elaborately staged synchronized swimming scenes, with considerable risk to Williams. She broke her neck filming
6955-495: The local pool. She took a job counting towels at the pool to pay the five-cent entry fee, and while there, had swimming lessons from the male lifeguards. From them, she learned the "male only" swimming strokes, including the butterfly , with which she would later break records. Her medley team set the record for the 300-yard relay at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1939, and was also national AAU champion in
7062-447: The motions of swimming fish. Another discovery of the butterfly kick was made by Jack Sieg , who, while being watched by David Armbruster, went underwater, lay on his side and performed the butterfly kick in imitation of a fish. Armbruster was reminded of the time in 1911 when George Corsan had previously demonstrated it to him, and noticed the speed that Sieg was able to achieve. Armbruster got Sieg to demonstrate it on his front, and Sieg
7169-463: The movie actress would not be much different." While top stars at the studios such as Judy Garland , Betty Grable , and Shirley Temple took part in bond tours during the war, Williams was asked to take in hospital tours. At this point, Williams had achieved pin-up status because of the number of photographs of her in bathing suits. To prepare, Williams and her publicity assistant would listen to Bob Hope and Jack Benny 's radio programs, retelling
7276-572: The only finalist who did not use it ( Bob Bonte of the Netherlands ) finished last. This dominant display of butterfly-breaststroke led to the idea of separating breaststroke into two breaststroke events, consisting of traditional breaststroke and butterfly-breaststroke. However, the IOC president Sigfrid Edstrom decided not to add any events to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics , due to the chaotic situation after World War II . Despite this, FINA did add
7383-540: The other swimmers in her films wore Cole swimsuits. Since the aqua-musicals were an entirely new genre, the studio's costume designers had little experience creating practical swimsuits. William's plaid flannel swimsuit for This Time for Keeps was so heavy that she was dragged to the bottom of the pool, and had to unzip the suit, swimming naked to the edge of the pool to avoid drowning. Cole swimsuits used latex, which meant zippers were no longer necessary. While filming Skirts Ahoy! (1952), Williams discovered that members of
7490-459: The overarm recovery. Kaplan and Friesel went on to set new personal bests in breaststroke by over 3 seconds using it. As the overarm recovery caught on more, a swimmer called John Herbert Higgins , in February 1936 at the 1936 National AAU Indoor Swimming Championships swam a time of 1:10.8 for the 100 metre breaststroke event, and became the first swimmer to set a world record using exclusively
7597-402: The palm backwards through the water, starting beneath and ending at the side of the body. The swimmer only pushes the arms 1/3 of the way to the hips, making it easier to enter into the recovery and making the recovery shorter and making the breathing window shorter. The movement increases speed throughout the pull-push phase until the hand is the fastest at the end of the push. This step is called
7704-414: The recovery is hindered. Normally, swimmers take a breath every other stroke, which can be maintained over long distances. Often, breathing every stroke slows the swimmer down. (At a certain level, a breathing stroke becomes just as fast as a nonbreathing stroke; therefore, highly experienced competitors, such as Michael Phelps , may breathe every stroke.) Elite swimmers practice breathing intervals such as
7811-441: The release and is crucial for recovery. The speed at the end of the push is used to help with the recovery. In the recovery, the arms are swung sideways across the water surface to the front, with the elbows straight. The arms should be swung forward from the end of the underwater movement; the extension of the triceps in combination with the butterfly kick will allow the arm to be brought forward quickly and relaxedly. In contrast to
7918-529: The rules, and continued to use it in the late 1920s and early 1930s in the US. Sources conflict as to whether he used it in the 1928 Olympics , with the International Swimming Hall of Fame saying he did but Francois Oppenheim's book "The History of Swimming" saying he didn't. In 1935, presumably for the removal of ambiguity, the NCAA changed the rule regarding the breaststroke recovery to use
8025-545: The same time with co-stars Ricardo Montalbán, Red Skelton and Betty Garrett , who had also been in Take Me Out to the Ball Game . In the film, Williams sings " Baby, It's Cold Outside " with Montalbán. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 22nd Academy Awards . Williams and Montalbán were originally slated to sing " (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China ", but studio censors thought
8132-457: The show until it closed on September 29, 1940. Williams had planned to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics , which were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. Sometime in the mid to late 1950s, NBC built a large studio with a huge swimming pool on Avenue M between E 14th and E 15th St. in Brooklyn, New York. The intent was, according to local rumors, that Esther Williams was going to have
8239-539: The song was too sexual (interpreting the word "get" as "have") and instead gave them "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Neptune's Daughter became the 10th highest-grossing film of 1949. Williams made Duchess of Idaho (1950), shot on location in Sun Valley, Idaho , co-starring Van Johnson and John Lund . MGM paired her with Howard Keel for three films, Pagan Love Song (also 1950), Texas Carnival (1951 ) and later Jupiter's Darling (1955). They both had cameos in
8346-407: The stroke's underwater "press" portion. The body naturally rises toward the water's surface as the hands and forearms move underneath the chest. The swimmer can lift the head to fully break the surface with minimum effort. The swimmer breathes in through the mouth. The head goes back in the water after the arms come out of the water as they swing forward over the surface. If the head stays out too long,
8453-406: The swimming direction. However, during longer distances, this is not easy to avoid, and it is more important to avoid dropping one's hips. A high elbow recovery, akin to that observed in the front crawl, would prove detrimental to the efficiency of the butterfly stroke due to the resultant undulations and the diminution of momentum generated by the triceps extension. Limitations of shoulder movement in
8560-503: The truth to her parents. Williams' mother seemed unsure about her story, claiming McClure was "sensitive" and felt sympathetic toward him when he admitted his guilt. However, Bula Williams then banished him from her home. McClure joined the United States Coast Guard , and Williams never saw him again. Williams was enthusiastic about swimming in her youth. Her older sister, Maurine, took her to Manhattan Beach and to
8667-460: The two male leads' characters were players in a baseball team owned by K.C. Higgins, Williams's role. She claimed that Kelly and co-writer Stanley Donen treated her with contempt and went out of their way to make jokes at her expense. The film was well-received critically and became a major commercial success, raking in $ 3.4 million in rentals and becoming the 11th highest-earning film of the year. Williams made Neptune's Daughter (also 1949) around
8774-461: The wall with both hands while bending the elbows slightly. The bent elbows allow the swimmer to push themself away from the wall and turn sideways. One hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front underwater. At the same time, the legs are pulled closer and moved underneath the body towards the wall. The second hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front over water. It is commonly referred to as an " over/under turn " or an " open turn ". The legs touch
8881-401: The wall, and the hands are at the front. The swimmer sinks underwater and lies on the breast, or nearly so. Then the swimmer pushes off the wall, keeping a streamlined position with the hands to the front. Like the start, the swimmer is allowed to swim 15 metres underwater before the head breaks the surface. Most swimmers dolphin kick after an initial gliding phase. There are four styles of
8988-437: The wall. SW 8.2 Both arms shall be brought forward simultaneously over the water and brought backward simultaneously under the water throughout the race, subject to SW 8.5. SW 8.3 All up and down movements of the legs must be simultaneous. The legs or the feet need not be on the same level, but they shall not alternate in relation to each other. A breaststroke kicking movement is not permitted. SW 8.4 At each turn and at
9095-422: The water. As long as they can perform this action efficiently, they do not incur any disadvantage. The legs move together using different muscles. The shoulders rise with a strong up and medium down kick, then lower with a strong down and up kick. A fluid undulation connects the motion. The feet are pressed together to avoid loss of water pressure. The feet naturally point downwards, give thrust downwards, move up
9202-591: The whip kick, the new butterfly stroke allowed the use of butterfly kick. Now the butterfly stroke was its own separate event. The butterfly stroke was first seen in the Olympics at the 1956 games , where the Men's 200 metre butterfly event was won by William Yorzyk , and the Women's 100 metre Butterfly event was won by Shelley Mann . The butterfly technique with the dolphin kick consists of synchronous arm movement with
9309-496: The word "moved", rather than "pushed". Other early adoptees of the "flying breaststroke turn" were Walter Spence and then Wallace Spence , who went on to dominate the breaststroke events using it. The next notable swimmer to further innovate on the butterfly arms was Henry Myers , who in early December 1933 used the flying fish for the whole of the breaststroke leg of a three-stroke medley head, winning against Wallace Spence in spectacular fashion. The reaction to this performance
9416-501: Was 16 years old. In 1935, Bula Myrtle Williams invited 16-year-old Buddy McClure to live with her family. McClure had recently lost his mother and Bula was still grieving over the death of her son, Stanton. Esther recounted in her autobiography that one night, when the rest of the family was visiting relatives in Alhambra , McClure raped her. She was terrified to tell anyone about the incident and waited two years before finally revealing
9523-400: Was also a successful businesswoman. Before retiring from acting, she invested in a "service station, a metal products plant, a manufacturer of bathing suits, various properties and a successful restaurant chain known as Trails." She lent her name to a line of swimming pools, retro swimwear , and instructional swimming videos for children, and served as a commentator for synchronized swimming at
9630-621: Was also the namesake of a company that manufactures swimming pools and swimming pool accessories. She came out with a line of Swim, Baby, Swim videos, which helped parents teach their children how to swim. She also appeared as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Williams met her fourth husband as a result of his calling her to coordinate her appearance. She co-wrote her autobiography, The Million Dollar Mermaid (New York: Simon & Schuster , 1999), with popular media critic and author Digby Diehl. In 1994 she made her first new big-screen appearance in 31 years as one of
9737-586: Was born in Mexico and was a native Spanish speaker while Williams had a mid-western accent picked up from her Kansas-born parents. Production was difficult with a multitude of problems. By 1947, Gage and Williams were married. Gage had traveled to Mexico for the making of the film. He got into a fight with an employee of the cast's hotel, was arrested, and subsequently thrown out of the country. The director of photography, Sidney Wagner, and one other crew member died of cholera from eating contaminated street food. Many of
9844-559: Was designed for the LAAC by John Parkinson and George Bergstrom , and is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument . The building was notable for being the first in Southern California to have an interior swimming pool built on an upper floor. Due to its position in the growth and development of Los Angeles, the LAAC had significant success during its first 60 years, with membership reflecting its position in Los Angeles society and early Hollywood culture. During its heyday,
9951-470: Was discovered by actress Marjorie Rambeau , which led to the family (including sisters Maurine and June, and brother David) moving to the Los Angeles area to be near the studios. Louis Williams purchased a small piece of land in the southwest area of town and had a small house built there. Esther was born in the living room, which was also where the family slept until Louis Williams was able to add bedrooms. In 1929, Stanton Williams died after his colon burst. He
10058-464: Was enthusiastic to have it legalized within the breaststroke rules, to "offer this new type of stroke for exploitation as a competitive racing-speed stroke". Armbruster followed this appeal with another longer article in the 1937 NCAA Swimming and Diving Guide called "The New Dolphin Breast Stroke on Trial", which further urged the NCAA to allow the kick in the rules for the extra speed. Unfortunately for Armbruster, this would not come to fruition, as in
10165-405: Was even faster. Sieg was even able to beat the best flutter kickers at the University of Iowa using the fishtail kick. Initially, Corsan and Armbruster thought that the "fishtail kick" could be a possible alternative to the flutter kick in freestyle, but in 1933 it began to dawn on Armbruster that it would perhaps be more effective in breaststroke. Armbruster began to experiment with Sieg on using
10272-416: Was eventually filled by June Allyson as "Kay", a nightclub singer). Williams redecorated her dressing room to accommodate returning star Grace Kelly , packed her terry cloth robes and swimsuits and drove off the studio lot. As a result of leaving her contract, Williams lost almost $ 3 million in deferred contract payments, which had been taken from her paychecks over the previous 14 years and put aside as both
10379-432: Was future husband Ben Gage . For the event, MGM publicity set up a six-story-tall billboard of Williams diving into Times Square with a large sign that said "Come on in! The story's fine!" Williams appeared in the film Ziegfeld Follies as herself. This was followed by the musical Thrill of a Romance . Van Johnson co-starred as a decorated war veteran who falls in love with Williams while on her honeymoon. Thrill of
10486-463: Was initially called the "flying fish". The International Swimming Hall of Fame credits Sydney Cavill with creating the overarm recovery, but it is also possible that Erich Rademacher independently discovered it in 1927 Germany . Rademacher generally used the flying fish coming out of the turns, which was dubbed the "flying breaststroke turn" and at the end of the race, which was dubbed the "flying finish". Rademacher insisted that this did not break
10593-524: Was mixed. Though the officials did not disqualify him, the Brooklyn Central YMCA 's magazine wrote a "vitriolic article" that made disparaging remarks about "the sportsmanship of young Myers who observed the letter but not the spirit of the breaststroke rules". Furthermore, Wallace Spence withdrew from the finals of the event alleging that Myers was swimming freestyle and he should "learn how to swim breaststroke properly". Despite this, Myers
10700-1131: Was romantically linked with Jeff Chandler . She claims in her autobiography that Chandler was a cross-dresser and that she broke off the relationship. According to the Los Angeles Times , many friends and colleagues of Chandler's rebutted Williams' claims. Jane Russell commented, "I've never heard of such a thing. Cross-dressing is the last thing I would expect of Jeff. He was a sweet guy, definitely all man." She married her former lover, Argentine actor/director, Fernando Lamas on December 31, 1969. She later claimed that for 13 years she lived in total submission to him. She had to stop being "Esther Williams" and could not have her children live with her. In return, he would be faithful. Nonetheless, they remained married until Lamas's death from pancreatic cancer on October 8, 1982. She resided in Beverly Hills with actor husband Edward Bell, whom she married on October 24, 1994. In September 1959, Cary Grant told Look magazine that he had taken LSD under
10807-531: Was screened at the pool of the Roosevelt Hotel , along with a performance of the Williams-inspired synchronized swimming troupe, The Waterlilies. South Beach Miami's 2010 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim, a showcase of designer swimwear, included a Williams suit, complete with a beach summer theme and sand palette with aqua accents. In 2000, an account of Williams's life and career appeared in
10914-475: Was separated from butterfly in 1953, the breaststroke kick in butterfly was not officially outlawed until 2001. However several Masters swimmers were upset with the change since they came from a time when butterfly was usually swum with a breaststroke kick. FINA was then convinced to allow a breaststroke kick in Masters swimming. Given the option, most swimmers use a dolphin-kicking action. However, there still
11021-498: Was smart, handsome, dependable ... and dull. I respected his intelligence, and his dedication to a future career in medicine . He loved me, or so he said, and even asked me to marry him." They were married in the San Francisco suburb of Los Altos on June 27, 1940. On their split she said "I found, much to my relief, that all I needed for my emotional and personal security was my own resolve and determination. I didn't need
11128-620: Was telecast on August 8, 1960. More than half of all television sets in use in the United States were tuned in to watch the Cypress Gardens special. In 1966, Williams was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Williams retired from acting in the early 1960s and later turned down the role of Belle Rosen, a character with a crucial swimming scene, in The Poseidon Adventure . (The role eventually went to Shelley Winters .) She continued to lend her name to
11235-407: Was the first singing part in a film for Williams, who had Harriet Lee as her singing teacher . Fiesta (originally called Fiesta Brava ) starred Williams as Ricardo Montalbán 's twin sister, Maria, who pretends to be her bullfighting brother in hopes of luring him back home. Audiences, and Williams, thought the film was silly, as Williams and Montalbán had vastly different accents. Montalbán
11342-498: Was very proud of his creation, saying: "It [is] uninteresting to watch a breaststroke race, in time, the old breaststroke would have become as passe as the English sidestroke , as far as racing is concerned. A butterfly-breaststroke race is a very exciting race to watch. The splashing and violent arm-motion seems to be quite conducive to spectator enthusiasm." Myers interested two teammates of his: Lester Kaplan and Paul Friesel , in
11449-561: Was working at I. Magnin, she was contacted by Billy Rose 's assistant and asked to audition as a replacement for Eleanor Holm in his Aquacade show. Williams impressed Rose and she got the role. The Aquacade was part of the Golden Gate International Exposition , and Williams was partnered with Olympic swimmer and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller , who, Williams wrote in her autobiography, repeatedly tried to seduce her. Despite this, Williams remained with
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