
Esther Williams
Actor · 1921 – 2013 · Inglewood, California, USA
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 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 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 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 the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Esther Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Movies23
Movie5.9MusicComedyAfter breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students.
Bathing Beauty
1944 · 33 votes
Movie7.4DocumentaryFamilyVarious MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
That's Entertainment!
1974 · 73 votes
Movie6.6ComedyMusicA soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.
Thrill of a Romance
1945 · 7 votes
Movie5.8MusicLight bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.
Till the Clouds Roll By
1946 · 30 votes
Movie7.5DocumentaryWith exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
Listen to Me Marlon
2015 · 171 votes
Movie6.7DramaRomanceA cocky U.S. Army Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female flier. After he's killed on a mission, he's sent back to Earth by a heavenly General with a new assignment.
A Guy Named Joe
1944 · 55 votes
Movie7.1DocumentaryMusicSome of MGM's musical stars review the studio's history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
That's Entertainment! III
1994 · 42 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryMusicGene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · 45 votes
Movie5.9ComedyRomanceA young navy lieutenant is brought in as technical adviser on a song-dance-and-swim film being made by screen star Rosalind Reynolds. Having once done a number with her at a Forces show, the young lad somehow believes she should be his girl. Her boyfriend is just one of those disagreeing.
On an Island with You
1948 · 17 votes
Movie6.8ComedyMusicThis special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
Night of 100 Stars II
1985 · 5 votes
Movie6.7ComedyRomanceThe Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. turns outs to be a beautiful woman who really knows her baseball. Second baseman Dennis Ryan promptly falls in love. But his playboy roommate Eddie O'Brien has his own notions about how to treat the new lady owner and some unsavory gamblers have their own ideas about how to handle Eddie.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
1949 · 52 votes
Movie6.2DramaMusicWhen a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the bullfighting ring.
Fiesta
1947 · 5 votes
Movie7.4DocumentaryHistoryA documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system.
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972 · 5 votes
Movie6.0MusicComedyThe late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
Ziegfeld Follies
1945 · 59 votes
Movie6.9DocumentaryMusicA documentary film about dancing on the screen, from its origins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, up to the break dance and music videos from the 80s.
That's Dancing!
1985 · 22 votes
Movie6.9DocumentaryTV MovieThe history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.
Glorious Technicolor
1998 · 14 votes
Movie10.0DocumentaryThis short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the public on a specific facet of the motion picture industry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
The Costume Designer
1950 · 1 votes
Movie6.1ComedyRomanceScatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the South American polo team. Spratt goes along with the charade, but the situation becomes more complicated when they fall in love. Meanwhile, Betty's sensible older sister Eve fears Betty's heart will be broken when Jose returns to South America. She arranges to meet with the real O'Rourke and love soon blossoms between them as well.
Neptune's Daughter
1949 · 34 votes
Movie6.5DramaAfter overcoming polio, Annette Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.
Million Dollar Mermaid
1952 · 27 votes
Movie5.0DocumentaryArmed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega-hit musical film "Grease," until it all came crashing down after he produced the 1989 Academy Awards, a notorious debacle.
The Fabulous Allan Carr
2017 · 7 votes
Movie6.0ComedyRomanceThe health conscious, dairy-farming Higgins family begin each day with an invigorating swim. One day, traveling health-tonic salesman, Windy Weebe, comes to town and suggests they could swim the English Channel. Sponsored by "Liquapep" and coached by Windy, the family arrive in Europe. There it is decided that daughter Katie is the only one strong enough to enter the contest. But while she should be focused on the difficult and risky task ahead, Katie is pursed by dashing Frenchman, André Lanet... This comedic musical is well remembered for the scene when Katie dreams she is swimming with cartoon characters Tom & Jerry!
Dangerous When Wet
1953 · 25 votes
Movie6.0FamilyDocumentaryA TV special on the 100th anniversary of the birth of film.
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987 · 7 votes
Movie4.9RomanceComedyEllen Hallit is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but is too timid to do anything about it. To help her, her roommate Chris decides to step in, and devises a plan. Chris follows Morrison on his trip to Sun Valley, Idaho and plays the overattentive female, hoping that he will send for Ellen (who often played his "fiancée" when he had a female he couldn't discourage otherwise.) Complications arise when Chris catches the eye of band leader Dick Layne, and finds herself caught in a triangle between the two men.
Duchess of Idaho
1950 · 8 votes
Series18
TV7.0FamilyComedyFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
What's My Line?
1950 · 29 votes
TV6.5ComedyFamilyRevolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a retirement bash for a colleague, and finding quality time away from the children.
The Donna Reed Show
1958 · 19 votes
TV6.2WesternDramaDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956 · 10 votes
TV6.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · 23 votes
TVTalk ShowMichael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.
Parkinson
1998
TV6.2ComedyThe Steve Allen Show
1956 · 6 votes
TV7.0Talk ShowOmnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.
Omnibus
1952 · 4 votes
- TV4.1Talk Show
Pebble Mill was a re-launched version of the 1970s daily chat show Pebble Mill (also known as Pebble Mill At One for a while) which aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The series premiered on October 14, 1991. The show was a mixture of celebrity guests and music. Alan Titchmarsh was a presenter on the show throughout it's complete run. Other presenters included Judi Spiers, Gloria Hunniford and Ross King.
Pebble Mill
1991 · 5 votes
TV6.4RealityThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · 5 votes
TV7.1An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
The Oscars
1953 · 85 votes
- TV6.7DramaComedy
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · 7 votes
TV7.5The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films.
MGM Parade
1955 · 2 votes
TV4.1Talk ShowFamilyThe Rosie O'Donnell Show was an American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It aired for six seasons from 1996 to 2002. Topics often discussed on the show include Broadway, children, extended families and charitable works, people and organizations. The show was based out of Studio 8G at NBC's Rockefeller Center studios in New York City, NY, USA and was produced and syndicated by KidRo Productions, Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996 · 19 votes
TV5.0DocumentaryReflets de Cannes
1954 · 2 votes
- TV10.0Comedy
The Jimmy Durante Show is a 51-episode half-hour comedy/variety television program presented live on NBC from October 2, 1954 to June 23, 1956.
The Jimmy Durante Show
1954 · 1 votes
TV8.5Talk ShowTurner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne interviews noted personalities from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Private Screenings
1996 · 4 votes
TV7.9DocumentaryOn April 24, 1924, the movies changed forever: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon assembled “more stars than there are in the heavens.” Patrick Stewart hosts this enthralling Emmy® winner as Outstanding Informational Series, a three-part story of M-G-M’s reign as Hollywood’s class act and legendary entertainment empire. Bursting with memorable film clips, rare interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and insider info, this is a mother lode for film fans, profiling perfectionist moguls, glamorous and charismatic actors, innovative filmmakers and landmark movies.
MGM: When the Lion Roars
1992 · 11 votes
- TV7.0Talk Show
Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
1991 · 2 votes