Hollywood's Dark Mermaid 

I met her in 1980 at the old Cypress Gardens in Florida (it is now the home of Legoland). There was an Ester Williams pool shaped like the state of Florida at the edge of the big lake there. It was used in one of her movies. When we got finished touring the gardens, my mom and I were in the gift shop admiring the beautiful swimsuits they had for sale. I loved to swim but had a hard time finding a suit that fit (even at age 16, I had large “assets” and needed more support than the average swimsuit could provide). There was an older lady there touring the gift shop with a group of executives. She saw my mom and eavesdropped on our conversation. She suddenly strode over to us, said hello, and spotted the problem immediately. She looked me up and down, rifled through the suits on the rack for a second, then handed me a suit. It fit me perfectly and I wore it for the better part of a decade. I still own it, because how can you part with a swimsuit that Ester Williams chose just for you?!

Thank you for giving Esther Williams the credit she deserves as a world class swimmer and athlete. She was more than just a pretty face. She was a beast of endurance in the water.

While I'm glad that she found happiness after two duds, I personally would have taken a pass on El Fernando. To me he asked way too much, insisting that she not have a career was part of the times but forsake the kids?! Ugh, ugh. She's lucky they forgave her.

I was a young girl when I met Ester Williams. A new hotel in my hometown was having a grand opening. It had a large pool. She motioned for me to join her in taking a photo. I stood on the diving board next to her as photographers took photos. My family hoped my photo with her would be one that would be printed in our local newspaper. But it wasn’t. But I can still say I met her and had my photo taken with her.

No man is worth giving up your children.

I would never ever chose a man over my children...

Esther Williams was seated in her beautiful brown convertible Mercedes-Benz at a stoplight in Beverly Hills and she waved to me when I looked over at her. She was still a stunningly beautiful woman in the 1970s.

Son--Lana Turner's name is pronounced "Lah-nah." And regarding Esther Williams' silver Lamé swimsuit--Lamé is pronounced "lah-may."

Because of her I became interested n water ballet. I then taught my children how to swim and , as well, water ballet. Which benefitted us all as we had asthma. Had much admiration for Ms Williams, not only for her swimming and acting, but for her backbone…

One small quibble - the word Lamé (as in gold lame) is pronounced lahmay. It's a french word and the final e at the end is pronounced.

True story. I had a traffic collision with Esther Williams in Long Beach in 1985. I didn't know it was her until her insurance agent told me.

I used to swim in the Esther Williams Pool almost every day in the summer in the 60s. There was a plaque with the name of the pool. It was a basic Olympic sized pool. It was clean and had a huge building for changing. Not many amenities. But, oh, the great memories! We were 30 minutes from the ocean and Hollywood.

ESTHER was a stunning beauty AND could act too !

That really WAS fascinating! I adored Esther Williams as a teenager. Little did I know of the twists and turns, that horrific neck injury, the body cast for 6 months, the purpose built swimming pool...heavens! I found it engrossing! People are getting a little too bent out of shape about the mispronunciations, I think. Don't lose sight of the fact that there's someone out there making a show that you value watching because nobody else is doing it! Live and let live, guys, we're all on a learning journey.

She is lying. I knew and worked with Jeff he doesn’t deserve this BS. She was trying to sell her book. Jeff isn’t here to defend himself. But I am. RIP dear Jeff Chandler

i can’t count how many times i stayed up late to watch Ester Williams movies + the other Hollywood movies.. 🍿 this was in the late 50’s when TV came into our lounge rooms!

Williams went to her house every evening and cooked dinner for her children staying to help them with their homework. Then she returned to the house she shared with Lamas. Very unorthodox, but she did not completely give up her children as you imply. I don't think many people could live like that but she made it work with her selfish and domineering husband.

She was so talented she made swimming look beautiful and effortless

Thanks, my mom mentioned her a lot when I was growing up, but, I had never known much about her, so I enjoyed hearing about her!!

Damn Esther Williams and her "gold, lame swimsuit!" (Seriously, does no one check pronunciation anymore?)

How can a mother choose a man over her own children!!!!😡 I hope that she knew how BLESSED she truly was that her children let her come back into their lives!!!!

I enjoy your videos. The frequent mispronunciations are really jarring.

Lots of people gave birth at home in the 20s and 30s. My grandfather was from a wealthy family and was born at home and was delivered by a midwife.His father was Doctor.

Lah-na Turner, not Layna 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️

Met her in Atlantic City she jumped from a helicopter and was so friendly

Esther Williams was ok until she wrote her fictional autobiography. She claimed Jeff Chandler was a cross dresser to which his friends and family in droves denied the allegation. When confronted about it, Esther admitted it was made up to sell books. She damaged her career, reputation and any public appeal she may have still had and deserved to be ostracized. I only watched this video to see if this was mentioned. Seems you didn't do your homework.

How interesting. I love these mini docs so much!

Actress Deborah Kerr's name is pronounced Car.

I was on her side right up until she chose a man over her own children

Wow the hydraulic lift and the deep deep pool sounds scary as scary can be. 😱

Yikes. Japan is not a city but a country. Williams wore a gold lame' (pronounced la-may) swimming suit, not a lame one. She competed with Lah-nah Turner, not Lay-nah Turner. It's the little things that are jarring ... .

Looking behind the curtain on celebrities can create appreciation or disgust - I feel that way about Esther Williams and Barbara Stanwyck in the negative, and very positive about Myna Loy and Lucille Ball in the + I have seen documentaries and read books written by them, and in Lucille Ball's case, read books about her and Desilu. Myra Loy, while at the top of her career when WWII broke out, devoted everything to the war effort - did not worry about her career or what she was losing out on by turning her back on the glamorous life and $. My appreciation goes very deep - of course I loved her in her movies with William Powell in the Thin Man series and I Love Lucy and always will.

Dear Narrators of Factinate - please research how to pronounce names and basic words before recording .... Thank you, Your Audience

My Dad adored her and we always watched her movies together. I love your videos.

Gamal Abdel Nasser president of Egypt was an Esther Williams fan. He would go to the US Embassy and enjoy her films while eating hotdogs.

Brings back memories of watching the movies with Mama and Daddy🥰 so interesting to hear stories of the actresses and actors lives! Enjoy your stories thank you ✌❤🙏

I remember Esther Williams because Brandon brought her back to life! “Hey Esther!”

I enjoyed this video greatly. Her movies were shown on TV in the fifties and sixties. I loved them but had no idea how exciting and dangerous they were. That being said, the names of several actors were not pronounced correctly, and it was a lamé (pronounced lah-may) bathing suit. It's French, complete with an acute accent. *Who took care of her children when she was no longer in the picture? So sad.*

Why in the world wouldn’t they test the costumes before using them during filming? I question the accuracy of that story.

what kind of woman chooses a man over her children......that's a hard pass on respect from me

I do not respect women who give up their kids for anyone, let alone a man. period. I am sure her kids did not get over it even if they saw her after he died and it was then "okay" to see her kids. what kind of "mother" does that? not a loving good one, for sure.

Damn, she was beautiful!

Perhaps the mispronunciations are because it is an AI narration?!

I only saw Esther Williams in one movie which i enjoyed - it wasn't even mentioned. "Easy to Wed" with Lucille Ball, Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn.

Gosh … separating from your children for a man? I loved Esther Williams’ films and she was incredibly beautiful, She struck me as being a very strong woman as well, but leaving your children?

I'm so impressed with these old times features, so interesting.

I loved watching her movies. I wanted to swim just like her. That passion started my adventures at the YWCA. Her Memory is A Blessing.

What happened to her affair with Billy Rose? The one that broke up his marriage to Fanny Brice??

“…confessed, to her mother, what had happened”

Love the content. Love the info. Love the narrative .HATE the numerous mispronouncing of words, especially the stars' names, etc. This flaw really hurts the otherwise very polished product. As a professional, please check on the correct descriptors, pronunciations, etc. Thank you

Actress Deborah Kerr's nane is pronounced Car.

In my entire 72 years, I've always heard it pronounced 'LAH-na Turner like the short 'a' in 'lawn.'

Jeff was crying about his dead wife and her room was his sanctuary, he would cry while smelling her perfume... A very much younger throphy wife of a buddy came forth, to expose any lie Esther wanted to say about jeff Chandler. Besides he was Jewish and she wasnt.

Artificial intelligence... not as intelligent as it would like us to believe.

Well nevertheless....we all have things in our family ....some negetive...my precious Mom loved loved Esther Williams !!.i do too...love Her movies ....watch them in summertime ..makes me so happy to think of mt precious Mom .....

You mean the Olympics in the city of Tokyo, Japan 😉

Hey, ashes aren’t tossed, they are scattered.

Thank you for making these videos. Very interesting. Just for future reference, Ricardo Montalban's last name is pronounced Mun-tail-bon. He was big on TV in the 70s and 80s when I was growing up. So I heard his name spoken aloud a lot. Fantasy Island was popular and he also played Khan in Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn. He actually also played the character on OG Star Trek in the 60s too.

In her autobio Williams alleges that Jeff Chandler was a cross-dresser. His friends deny this. Who knows? Read MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID for a fascinating glimpse into a fascinating, and often disappointing, life.

Lol, ai always reveals itself with its weird mispronunciations: Lane-uh Turner, Ricardo Mont-owl-ban, and a Gold Lamé bathing suit becomes lame

Her children, born in 1949, '50 and '53, were late teens early 20s when she married Lamas in 1969. So they weren't babes. And his request was that they could not live with them.

Mother of the year all time Hollywood winner Joan Crawford .

Not exactly mother of the year.

A friend of mine complained that crossword puzzles weren't making sense anymore. "It thinks gold material is lame! What is so lame about cloth?"

Lana is pronounced "Lahna" not "Layna".

💐 Thanks for ur gr8 presentation. Before my time so I vaguely recall her name but wow... what a beautiful, talented women, SMART too! 👏 👍

Is this a real person narrating or a computer voice? Because some of the words said are just wrong. Sounds like someone who knows English but then doesn't say some words correctly.

So, A Man Meant MORE To Her Than Her Own Children? Was She THAT Insecure (As A Woman)? Or That Terrible As A Mother? Either Way, She Should've Been Ashamed Of Her Choice.

I absolutely loved Ester Williams. My favorite movie of hers was 'Pagan Love Song'. She had the technicolor and stunts in those movies that were considered out of this world!

While we are on the subject of Esther Williams, she also disclosed that she was browned off with her husband to Ben Gage and his pipe smoking. She found fruition in the arms of another man, the very handsome, Victor Mature, while shooting "Million Dollar Mermaid". Like she once said in an interview: "I didn't think much of any of my male co-stars and then Victor Mature came along. Yes, he eventually gave me what I needed" Guys, you can draw your own conclusions, without me spelling it out for you.

Really interesting, thank-you for your research.

Lame Swimsuit 🤣💀. Call the Fashion Police,and what not to wear.

Wow!🎉🎉🎉great video! Thanks! Saw all her movies as a kid! She was beautiful and a fantastic swimmer! What a life she had!

"It was psychedelics which Williams later called instant psychoanalysis" that made me giggle. Esther Williams was intelligent, beautiful, a gifted swimmer, an actress and a legend. Thank you for the great video. If you are using an AI program as the voice of your videos.....please don't because the mispronunciation of well known names and words takes away from the perfection of the hard work and research that is put into making great videos like this. ☮

At 7:38, gold “lame” should read “lamé” (two syllables). Also, elsewhere “Layna” Turner should be pronounced “Lana” (short A in the first syllable) or “Lahna.”

"Japan was the host city."???? Ummm, you do know that it's not a city, don't you?

Two discrepancies. You mentioned Mexico but I saw a shot of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The second you mentioned Australian military officers but showed a USMC colonel sometime after the 1970s. I recognized the insignia and BDU.

Love your videos. Could you do one on Remedios Varo, the painter?

Yes, I have always loved Esther Williams. When we were kids, the family during Xmas, New Year and Easter would always choose an Esther Williams film to heighten our enjoyment. Many of her 40's films that we weren't fortunate to see were reissued during the 50's, and screenings of these films were regular. Some weeks cinemas would have an Esther Williams marathon - that is, one film of Esther for different days in the week. My top fave of Esther's films will always be Easy to love, followed by The Duchess of Idaho and Million Dollar Mermaid. Yes, being an Esther fan, I did read about her torrid affair with Jeff Chandler. They starred in one film together: Raw wind in Eden, that also co-starred Rosanna Podesta. Esther broke with Jeff Chandler when she accidentally discovered that he was a cross-dresser. From gowns, to swimsuits to lingerie, he wore them all and always got sexually excited, resulting in you know what. I too am a great fan of Jeff Chandler and, while it is hard to digest this fact about him, I keep asking myself, why would Esther invent such a story otherwise.

Fascinating Story of the great Wsther Williams ❤😊

Good grief was she a very beautiful looking woman, but as always there was a sad tale to all of it! ❤

I love Esther Williams. Beautiful. I guess we all have our secrets huh? 😮. Still adore her

I always really enjoy your videos and your voice and tenor is very engaging but please, for the love of God, take the time to learn the pronunciation of any words that are unfamiliar to you, especially names. As an older person, it's like nails on a chalkboard, and it really is important to be correct when telling these stories. Beyond that, your videos are fun, informative and informational. I love the variety of pictures as well. Keep up the good work.

I liked Jupiters Darling. Have watched it several times.

Those poor bulls! Bullfighting, etc Disgusting animal abuse! Shameful!

Good god what a life

This AI needs to learn how to pronounce certain words.

You need to look up pronunciations on very common words. Lame fabric is pronounced Lah-may. Lana Tuner is pronounced Lah-nah. Ricardo Montlaban is pronounced Mon-ta-bon. Deborah Kerr is pronounced Car. It is hard to watch these when you mess up names and words.

How cool is that. I am a fan and envious

I love watching her movies 😍 they always make me happy ❤️💙

I always enjoyed her swim movies, she was so graceful....🌹🇺🇸

Sticking up for urself against Mayer, doesn't make u rageful

This video would have been so much more enjoyable if only the narrator had not repeatedly slaughtered the names of everything from fabric to actual movie stars whose names were common in many American households! If the narration was made by an AI voice, as I strongly suspect, the program should be educated in French pronunciation and the names of Hollywood's golden era stars. If the narration was read by an actual human being, the narrator should receive elocution lessons, PRONTO!

Is this a robot reading? Mispronounciations are so glaring !

I am distracted by all the mispronounced words and incorrect facts. Nonetheless interesting video clips.

She gave up her kids for a man? Wow!

Wow the stars of the past who acted like butter wouldnt melt in their mouths did a lot bed hopping . Bloody hell🙄

I loved her movies

Ester Williams was so pretty!

BAFFLING??? It's a beautiful art form, and it's now in the olympics, buddy!!! I'd like to see you do it😂😂😂😂😂