6.30.2010

guess who?

At age 8, her first job was at a local Inglewood, California neighborhood school's swimming pool counting towels.

During her senior year of high school, she received a D in her algebra course, preventing her from getting a scholarship from the University of Southern California so she enrolled in Los Angeles Community College.

To earn money to pay tuition, she took a job as a stock girl at I. Magnin department store, where she also modeled clothing for customers and appeared in newspaper advertisements.

She 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.

She received her first screen kiss by Mickey Rooney in Andy Hardy's Double Life(1942).

She and June Allyson were longtime friends.

She co-starred with Van Johnson in 5 films.

In the 1950s she was known as "America's Mermaid."

3 comments:

Erika said...

What would her Olympic event have been? Synchronized swimming?

Laney said...

She would've been a competitive swimmer I believe, if I remember correctly from a biography I saw of her on TV a few years ago. Neptune's Daughter is one of my favorites!

Erika said...

I guess we never stated it, so--Esther Williams--the inspiration behind many a waterless (and watered) synchronized swimming. :)