'America's Mermaid' Esther Williams died in her sleep yesterday, the 6th of June 2013, at age 91. The teenage swimming champion was snapped up by MGM in the early '40s, and made her feature film debut as Mickey Rooney's love interest in Andy Hardy's Double Life at 20 years of age. She retired from acting in the 60s, having fallen out of favour with audiences unimpressed by her acting skills, though she had proven extremely popular in the 'Aqua Musicals' of her heyday, a sub-genre of film created by MGM entirely for Williams. She capitalised on her fame as a swimmer in lending her name to women's swimwear and also a company that manufactures pools. She is succeeded by children Benjamin, Kimball and Susan, from her second husband, and by her fourth husband and widower, Edward Bell.
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