This video starts out with an introduction of Ester Williams…..the famous movie star and American competitive swimmer….who set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team….as Williams was unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics….cuz of the outbreak of World War II…after which, 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….cathching the attention of MGM scouts at the Aquacade….where after appearing in several small roles 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 1940’s and early 1950’s known as “aqua-musicals,” which featured elaborate performances with synchronized swimming and diving.
Great Britian’s synchronized swimming duet of Caroline Holmyard and Caroline Wilson…..featured in this video while performing their routine in the duet finals at the Olympic Swim Center on the campus of USC (University of Southern California)….as this talented pair came in fourth place overall in the 1984 Olympic Games.
