Why didn Esther Williams take part in the 1940 Olympics?
Williams was born in Inglewood, California to Bula Myrtle Gilpin and Louis Stanton Williams. She was enthusiastic about swimming in her youth. She was National AAU champion in the 100 meter freestyle. She planned to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics but they were cancelled to the outbreak of World War II. Williams went to Hollywood, where she quickly became a popular star of the 1940s and 1950s. Williams graduated from Glendale High School in 1939. She appeared with swimming star Johnny Weismuller in Billy Rose’s “Aquacade” during the San Francisco World’s Fair, 1939-41, where she first attracted attention from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts, as she noted in her autobiography. She appeared in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942) as Sheila Brooks, a coed with whom Andy falls in love. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
