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The Million Dollar Mermaid (Biography) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Esther Williams, Digby Diehl
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
Used (10) from $1.69
Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 1731075
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Largeprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 717
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.5
ISBN: 078622360X
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43028092
EAN: 9780786223602
ASIN: 078622360X
Publication Date: April 2000
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Amazon.com Review
Her big movies are hard to find these days, and her name doesn't evoke the fan recognition awarded fellow MGM grads Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, yet for more than a decade during Hollywood's age d'or Esther Williams was one of the studio's most bankable leading ladies. An American beauty and swimming champ, she was hired at MGM in 1941 at age 18, and from then on starred in two or three thinly plotted "swimming musicals" a year--movies with titles like Neptune's Daughter, Million Dollar Mermaid, Easy to Love, and Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Her inevitable role was the pinup you could pin up at home, and it seems to have reflected her offstage personality too. Her long (400 pages) memoir is not always a miracle of narrative, but it includes a wealth of juicy gossip: Louis B. Mayer's rolling-on-the-floor tantrums; Gene Kelly's verbal cruelty on the set of Take Me Out to the Ball Game; her three failed marriages, including a long, draining one to Fernando Lamas; Lana Turner's name for Mayer ("Daddy"); Johnny Weismuller's backstage pursuit of her (naked); her own heat for Victor Mature ("unleashed"); and the LSD she tried in 1959 on Cary Grant's recommendation. Like so many other as-told-to books, the memories often feel self-serving, and there are plywood sentences even Lana Turner would choke on delivering. Disappointingly, Williams rarely shares what went on behind her lowered eyes and those buoyant cheekbones. --Lyall Bush
Product Description
During Hollywood's heyday, big studios battled over the next box-office attraction. While Gene Kelly danced and Judy Garland sang, Esther Williams swam into the heart of America with her dazzling smile, stunning aquabatics, and whole-some appeal. Hand-picked for stardom by movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, Esther shed her wide-eyed innocence at what she affectionately calls University MGM, a unique educational institution where sex appeal and glamour were taught, a school where idols were born. Once a national swimming champion and struggling salesgirl, overnight she became one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. And though fame came quickly, Esther's personal life was often less than joyous. Through troubled marriages, cross-dressing lovers, financial bankruptcy, she shares the ups and downs of her extraordinary career in The Million Dollar Mermaid, a wildly entertaining behind-the-scenes account of one of Tinseltown's classic dream factories.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID September 21, 2008
FABULOUS BOOK - ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE VINTAGE MOVIE INDUSTRY WOULD FIND IT DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN.
Surprisingly Enthralling June 30, 2008
I bought this on sale and was very pleasantly surprised. The stories are fascinating and there are even some profound insights about the mistakes people make. I highly recommend this book.
Who knew? April 5, 2008
For more than a decade the splashy, aquatic escapist entertainment of MGM's Esther Williams' films delighted devoted fans, and kept MGM "afloat." This wonderfully gossipy autobiography proves that Williams was just as sassy, smart and independent off-screen as on. Her memoirs of romances with Jeff Chandler, Victor Mature and Fernando Lamas keep the pages turning and the night lights on! And, wait until she pulls back the loin-cloth of Johnny Weissmuller's to reveal a whole news aspect of filmdom's "Tarzan!"
A Fun Read. March 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was looking for something to read while traveling, and remembered hearing some positive comments about this book. It was a really great to read about Hollywood back in it's golden age, with it's "larger than life" productions and actors.
A Good Read September 9, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book fascinating from cover to cover. The glimpse into the world of MGM at its grandest is wonderful, and Esther herself is never dull. A page turner for movie fans. I agree with other reviews that Esther can come off badly in her "Do you know who I am?" attitude--it reads like she got really full of herself somewhere down the road. Plus, what kind of person stays married to a man who won't allow you to have a relationship with your own children? Sorry--there's no excuse. But this is a review of the book itself, not of the person, and it's a good read.
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