Big screen star Esther Williams died yesterday at the age of 91. She had an unusual career in films, most of them built around elaborate water scenes where she swam for the camera.

Like a scuba diver caught in a dolphin net, Esther Williams became enmeshed in a Hollywood formula. There was little hope that filmgoers or movie moguls would accept her as anything other than a cheerful waterborne sprite. She suffered injuries and endured typecasting to hang on to her distinctive version of success.

I think it was a lot harder than it looks for Williams to “swim pretty”. Maintaining a graceful form, keeping your face turned towards the camera, remembering to smile and having bright, open eyes are all challenges that would defeat an ordinary cinematic swimmer.

I know when I’m in a pool, I squint. And that’s just where the aesthetic challenges begin. Once I get a little chlorinated water up my nose, the flailing starts and there is nothing going on in my area that a poolside observer would want to see.

Esther Williams was a star, and she earned it.

How do you fare in the water?