Esther Williams: What A Hottie!

Esther Williams' youth was spent as a teenage swimming champion. She eventually was spotted by a MGM talent scout while working in a Los Angeles department store.

She made her film debut with MGM in a 1942 "Andy Hardy" picture called Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942). She became Mickey Rooney's love interest in the movie, and her character was called "Sheila Brooks".

Following this short movie, stardom was not far away. MGM created a special sub-genre for her known as "Aqua Musicals". Her first swimming role was in Bathing Beauty (1944). "Bathing Beauty" was a simple movie compared to her later big splashes such as Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), co-starring Victor Mature and Walter Pidgeon. Esther Williams was often called "America's Mermaid", as it appeared that she could stay underwater forever!

Following the decline of the once lucrative MGM aqua musical, she attempted dramatic roles. The Unguarded Moment (1956), is one example of this new found dramatic confidence. It co-starred George Nader and John Saxon. Also, The Big Show (1961), co-starring Cliff Robertson and Robert Vaughn was another dramatic role. Overall, Esther's acting skills were limited and, as a musical star in the audiences eyes, she was unsuccessful.

She retired from the movie industry in the 1960s, returning as a star guest in That's Entertainment! III (1994) discussing her appearance in MGM films. She certainly is recognized today for bringing enjoyment, escapism and entertainment on the big screen and has also a highly successful business in swimwear. Occasional TV work discussing her contribution to the film industry is a treat for her fans from time to time.

Excerpts from her 1999 autobiography in major American magazines revealed that her one-time lover, actor Jeff Chandler, was obsessed about dressing in women's clothing. Williams' revelations about Chandler angered many readers.The book also revealed Williams took LSD under a doctor's supervision after Cary Grant recommended it.
Sister of Stanton Williams
In the 1950s she was known as "America's Mermaid."
Filed a lawsuit against MGM for use of some footage in That's Entertainment! (1974).
Her movie career played a major role in the promotion of competitive and synchronized swimming, which she is credited with popularizing.
Co-producing Aquaria, a Las Vegas water spectacle set to open in 2003. [2002]
Measurements: 36-26-36 (as a champion swimmer), 38-27-34 (filming Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Children: Benjamin, Kimball and Susan.
Met fourth husband, Edward Bell, at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
She lent her name to a brand of swimming pools that are still sold today, Esther Williams Pools.
Son Benjamin Stanton "Ben" Gage was born August 6, 1949.
Son Kimball Austin Gage was born October 30, 1950.
Daughter Susan Tenney "Susie" Gage was born October 1, 1953.
Before her stint in MGM musicals, she had been training as a competitive swimmer, and probably would've participated in the 1940 and/or 1944 Olympics (she would've been 18 and 22 years old respectively) if World War II hadn't canceled them.
Longtime friend of June Allyson.
Her first job was at age 8 at a local Inglewood, California neighborhood school's swimming pool counting towels.
A swimming champion, she was signed for the Olympics, which were to be held in Finland in 1940; the Olympics were canceled by the eruption of WWII.
Met first husband Leonard Kovner while a student at the University of Southern California. He was a premed student.
Received her first screen kiss by Mickey Rooney in Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942).
Was inducted into the Swimming Pool Hall of Fame in 1967.
Second husband was singer/actor Ben Gage, a "Big Band" vocalist who dubbed Victor Mature, George Montgomery, Dana Andrews and Cornel Wilde in various musical films. They had three children.
Born in Los Angeles, Esther was the youngest of five children. Her family had come to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, where her older brother Stanton Williams was "discovered" by actress Marjorie Rambeau and brought to Hollywood for films. Stanton, who was born in Salt Lake City, died suddenly at the age of 16 when he developed intestinal blockage and his colon burst.
Youngest of five children. The others were Stanton, June, Maurine and David.
She was offered roles in both The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974) by Irwin Allen. She turned down both.
In Italy, all her films were dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, except Raw Wind in Eden (1958) where the talented Andreina Pagnani lent her voice to Williams.

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire's new album features artist ranging from LeAnn Rimes to Justin Timberlake. Check out the video for BECAUSE OF YOU with Kelly Clarkson then find out where they'll be playing on TV this week.

And Now, About The Performance You Just Witnessed.

The consensus is clear: Britney Spears performed like she was sloshing blindfolded through mud at MTV's Video Music Awards. No one disputes that the troubled pop princess royally mangled her much-heralded comeback.

But what about the nastiest comments of all — those about her body? "Lard and Clear," read Monday's headline in the New York Post. "The bulging belly she was flaunting was SO not hot," wrote E! Online. And so on.

Was it fair? Did Spears, lest we forget a mother of two, deserve to be held up against the standard of her once fantastically toned abs, sculpted by sessions of 1,000 tummy crunches? Or was she asking for it by choosing that unforgiving black-sequined bikini?

More profoundly, in an age where skinny models and skeletal actresses are under scrutiny for the message they're sending young girls, what does it say that we're excoriating a young woman for a little thickness in her middle?

On the morning after what the VH1 channel called Spears' "already historic" performance, the blogosphere was buzzing with opinions. For every "fat" comment there was an impassioned retort. "Give her a break," wrote one blogger on Aboutthink.com. "The girl's had two kids — I hope I'm a size 10 after having kids!"

"OK, she isn't fat," wrote another. "But she isn't fit enough to be wearing (or not wearing) what she is."

For many observers, the issue was not so much the body, but the body in THAT outfit.

"In that ensemble, you just can't have an ounce of anything extra," said Janice Min, editor of the celebrity magazine US Weekly. "Many women wouldn't eat for days if they were wearing that."

"Did she look better than 99 percent of women? Yes," added Min. "But compared to her earlier form, she probably didn't look as good."

Besides, said Min, "Britney Spears has always been about the whole package. It's never been 100 percent about the talent. Is it sexist? Probably, but she's built a career on an image of sexiness."

Talk of Spears' physique comes amid an increasingly critical focus on overly skinny actresses in Hollywood, who've largely replaced supermodels as the world's fashion plates. It's hard to pick up a celebrity magazine without a critical photo of, say, Angelina Jolie's birdlike arms. And curvy actresses are getting positive attention, from Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson of "Dreamgirls" to Golden Globe-winner America Ferrara of TV's "Ugly Betty."

In the fashion industry, there's been an effort to promote healthier-looking models. "Girls aren't looking as skinny this season as they did," said Suze Yalof Scwhartz, executive editor-at-large for Glamour Magazine. "There's food backstage. They're looking sexier." At Glamour, she noted, a model won't be featured "if she shows too much clavicle."

The nastier headlines about Spears are uncalled for, Schwartz said, but at the same time, "when you walk around the stage in a black bikini in front of millions of viewers, people are going to notice." She added that though Spears doesn't have the perfect body she once did, "Most women would die for the body she has now."

An obvious question is whether a male performer would have been subjected to the same standards. Many would say no; Dave Zinczenko, editor of Men's Health magazine, says yes.

"Listen, any time you go on national television and dance in barely any clothing, you're going to be facing a lot of scrutiny," Zinczenko says. "Anybody would be asking for it." Not that many people weren't pulling for Spears, he notes: "If she had come back, she would have been the toast of the country."

And certainly she had a lot to come back from over the past few years: Well-documented parenting mishaps — remember the baby on her lap in the driver's seat? A messy divorce from husband Kevin Federline. The famous crotch photos. The bizarre head-shaving incident. Rehab.

And now this.

"I kind of feel bad for her," said Shelley Wade, a DJ at New York City pop station Z100. "She looked really nervous. And then now, I'm looking at all these blogs this morning about how everybody thinks she's fat and I'm like, `What! Fat?' She wasn't fat."

How all this will impact Spears' career, and sales of her new album, has yet to be seen. "I just felt like that performance was make or break for her comeback," says Wade. "Now with last night's performance, she's just kind of put herself back in the same boat ... everybody thinks she's a train wreck."

But the single of "Gimme More," the song she destroyed onstage, is off to a great start in the Top 40, says Sean Ross of Edison Research, which tracks radio play. "A great VMA performance would have probably closed the deal for her, but she's still got until Thanksgiving to do other good performances and to release a strong album with other hits on it," he said.

In any case, it seems it would never be wise to write an obituary of Spears' career.

"With everything Britney, we think this is the last chance," says Min. "The fact is, it never is.

"At least this puts attention back on her as a performer. My sense is she'd rather be judged on that than on the rehab, the drinking and the partying."

Source: Google

Britney Spears - Gimme more

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