Announcing the Esther Williams Blogathon!



First of all, if you subscribe to my blog (thank you!) or check in regularly, you might have noticed that this post was accidentally published yesterday before I had finished it and I didn't realize it until a full day had gone by. *face palm* Obviously my brain is still a bit scattered, even though -- drum roll, please -- I'm finally finished with my master's! I can't tell you how relieved and relaxed I've felt the past few weeks. It just further confirms for me that grad school is not something I'll be doing again, although I am really proud of one result from it: my thesis on Esther Williams.

As many of you are aware, Esther is very dear to me, and writing about her in such an extensive way was a dream, albeit a very stressful, anxiety-ridden dream. Despite that, it made me appreciate Esther even more and so I've decided to do something a few people have encouraged me to do in the past: host a blogathon dedicated to Hollywood's favorite mermaid!

Because Esther's filmography isn't very large, I'll allow any topic to be claimed a maximum of two (2) times. That being said, you can cover more than her films, such as her autobiography, her history with swimsuits, an overview of her teamings with people like Busby Berkeley, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban, etc. You can even find some of her TV work on Amazon Prime! I will say that if any of her work with Van Johnson is taken the maximum number of times, I'll still be holding my annual Van blogathon in August, so you'd have another chance to cover it.

Again, because the topics are a bit more limited than my usual blogathons, there will be a max limit of three (3) posts per person. Also, please submit new material.

This probably goes without saying, but I won't accept any posts that are disrespectful to Esther.

I've decided to host this event on August 7-9 since the 8th would have been Esther's 99th birthday. You can post on any of the three days of the blogathon, or you can post early! I only ask that you be sure to send me your link and I'll try to post it as soon as possible.

Now grab a banner, spread the word, and I'll see you in August!

Topics No Longer Available:
Take Me Out to the Ball Game

List of Participants:
The Classic Movie Muse | favorite Esther swim routines
Pure Entertainment Preservation Society | The Hoodlum Saint (1946) and Jupiter's Darling (1955)
Critica Retro | Fiesta (1947)
18 Cinema Lane | places where Esther left an impact, frequented, or visited
Taking Up Room | Bathing Beauty (1944)
Movies Meet Their Match | Esther's appearances on What's My Line?
Whimsically Classic | Neptune's Daughter (1949)
KN Winiarski Writes | Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
Poppity Talks Classic Film | The Unguarded Moment (1956)






Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 9, 2020 at 12:28 AM

    Hi Michaela, The Notification was on on Caftan Woman the other day and I got excited and then saw it on your blog today and got real excited. Congratulations on finishing your masters! Good Luck in the future. Looking forward to August!! Ros from Down Under.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 9, 2020 at 12:47 AM

      Thank you, Ros! I felt like a total idiot when I realized this had published early, so it's nice to hear you're looking forward to it. I hope you've been doing well!

      Delete
  2. Caftan WomanJune 10, 2020 at 7:51 AM

    A hearty congratulations on your wonderful accomplishment!

    I'll be glad to take a peek at Dangerous When Wet for the blogathon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Classic Movie MuseJune 10, 2020 at 11:36 AM

    Hi Michaela, Woo hoo! Congrats on finishing your masters! I'm SO excited to celebrate our girl in August. I'd like to write about my favorite Esther swim routines. Would that be ok?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 10, 2020 at 4:37 PM

      Thanks!

      You can definitely do that topic! I did a post like that a few years ago and it was a lot of fun to put together. Looking forward to seeing what your picks are!

      Delete
  4. J-DubJune 11, 2020 at 12:21 PM

    I would also like to congratulate you on the completion of grad school. I too can say the best thing about it was I'll never do that again! It was made worse for me considering I did it after having served in the Marine Corps, so my world view was not commensurate with most academic types. You can only imagine how that went...

    But this isn't about me. This is about how I would like to contribute "Take Me Out to The Ball Game" you your Esther Williams blog-a-thon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 11, 2020 at 9:17 PM

      Thank you! It's funny, I've always been great at school and I was ready to try and become a professor, but grad school was just a whole other level that I wasn't prepared for and I seemed to be constantly running behind everyone else.

      Anyway, so glad you're able to join! I should've known you'd go for the film about baseball, haha.

      Delete
    2. J-DubJune 12, 2020 at 5:29 PM

      Oddly enough, it's harder to do "Hidden Sports Analogies" in sports-related movies :) I've updated my blog-a-thon page to include this!
      https://dubsism.com/2020-movie-blog-a-thons/
      Thanks again for letting me participate!

      Delete
    3. MichaelaJune 13, 2020 at 12:50 AM

      My pleasure!

      Delete
  5. JessJune 13, 2020 at 6:07 PM

    I had so much fun participating in the Doris Day blogathon, and I'd love to take part in this as well!

    I'd love to write about Thrill of a Romance!

    Jess at Box Office Poison

    https://boxofficepoisons.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tiffany BrannanJune 15, 2020 at 6:47 PM

    Dear Michaela,

    Congratulations on finishing your masters! This blogathon is a great way to celebrate. I would love to join with an article about "A Guy Named Joe" and another article about "The Hoodlum Saint." Thank you!

    Yours Hopefully,

    Tiffany Brannan

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tiffany BrannanJune 15, 2020 at 6:49 PM

    Dear Michaela,

    This is a follow-up to my previous comment. Instead of "A Guy Named Joe," could the topic for my second film be "Jupiter's Darling?" Thank you!

    Yours Hopefully,

    Tiffany Brannan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 15, 2020 at 7:08 PM

      Thanks, Tiffany! And I love that you went with less well-known choices! :)

      Delete
  8. LêJune 15, 2020 at 8:04 PM

    Oh, can I write about Fiesta (1947)?
    Kisses!
    Le from Critica Retro

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 16, 2020 at 11:23 PM

      Definitely! Very interested in reading your thoughts on that one!

      Delete
  9. Realweegiemidget ReviewsJune 16, 2020 at 3:11 PM

    Hi Michaela, A huge congrats for getting through your Masters! I'm so impressed. So I've been looking for a review topic the last few days and was wondering if I could write about some of her advertisements.?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 16, 2020 at 4:10 PM

      Thanks, Gill!

      Oooh, that's a cool idea! It'd be awesome to have you write about that. :)

      Delete
  10. SimoaJune 24, 2020 at 9:32 AM

    CONGRATULATIONS!! I'll write about Duchess of Idaho :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJune 24, 2020 at 3:09 PM

      Thank you, Simoa! Fabulous topic choice!

      Delete
    2. SimoaAugust 2, 2020 at 9:51 PM

      Hi Michaela! Unfortunately, I won't be able to join the Esther blogathon this year :-( I am really looking forward to reading everyone's posts, especially yours! and maybe your thesis someday, I actually would LOVE that

      Delete
    3. MichaelaAugust 3, 2020 at 2:19 AM

      I'm sorry to hear that! I hope everything is alright.

      That's sweet of you to say! I'm actually including some pieces from my thesis into my ABCs of Esther post. If you do want to read the whole thing, though, I believe you can by going to this link: http://hdl.handle.net/2022/25497

      Feel free to email me at owensmia106@gmail.com if that doesn't work! :)

      Delete
    4. SimoaAugust 5, 2020 at 9:08 PM

      thank you!

      Delete
  11. Realweegiemidget ReviewsJune 30, 2020 at 5:06 AM

    Hi Michaela, hope all good where you are... can I change my post to my favourite moments with Esther Williams... thanks from Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sally SilverscreenJune 30, 2020 at 11:04 PM

    Great job completing your master's! For this blogathon, I'd like to create a list of places where Esther left an impact, frequented, or visited. I think this would a great addition to the event!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rebecca DenistonJuly 3, 2020 at 12:18 PM

    Congrats on your Master's, Michaela--that's awesome! This is a great way to celebrate. May I please write about "Bathing Beauty"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJuly 4, 2020 at 3:42 PM

      Certainly! That's one of my favorites. Thanks for joining!

      Delete
  14. Chloe the MovieCriticJuly 8, 2020 at 3:37 PM

    Congrats about your Master's degree! That's a ton of hard work and dedication!

    Could you put me as to be decided? I definitely want to join in someway or another!

    MovieCritic | Movies Meet Their Match
    https://moviesmeetmatch.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJuly 8, 2020 at 4:58 PM

      Thank you! It was... definitely intense.

      Sure thing, glad you want to join! :)

      Delete
    2. Chloe the MovieCriticAugust 6, 2020 at 11:58 PM

      Sorry about the late follow up, but can I claim the other spot of Fiesta (1947)?

      Delete
    3. MichaelaAugust 7, 2020 at 12:32 AM

      No worries! I'm thrilled you still want to join!

      Delete
    4. Chloe the MovieCriticAugust 9, 2020 at 10:38 AM

      This is as last minute as it gets, but can I change my entry? It turns out that the copy of Fiesta that I have is the 1941 version, even though it says it is 1947. Man, I had to do some digging to figure out what was going on. I've been meaning to start a series on my blog about celebrity appearances on the TV show What's My Line, so it won't be a long post, but it's something. Would that be an acceptable entry? If not I can definitely try to find something else!

      Delete
    5. MichaelaAugust 9, 2020 at 12:28 PM

      That's great! I actually haven't seen any of her appearances on that show, so I'd love that.

      Delete
  15. Realweegiemidget ReviewsJuly 17, 2020 at 1:06 PM

    Soory but I'm going to have to withdraw from the blogathon, but will still be there for your Van Johnson celebration. Hope all good with you.

    ReplyDelete
  16. KaylaJuly 22, 2020 at 8:29 PM

    Can I do "Neptune's Daughter" ?

    Whimsically Classic (Kayla)

    https://whimsicallyclassic.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJuly 22, 2020 at 8:39 PM

      Absolutely! I love that one so much. Thanks for joining!

      Delete
  17. knwiniarski.comJuly 23, 2020 at 2:11 PM

    Hi! Can I still jump in on this? I love Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I used to watch it all the time. I even walked down the aisle to one of the songs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJuly 23, 2020 at 2:31 PM

      Yes, you can still join! Can't wait to read your thoughts on that one.

      I know I said this in my reply to your comment on my Van blogathon announcement, but just in case you didn't see that, what's the name of your blog?

      Delete
    2. knwiniarski.comJuly 25, 2020 at 3:29 PM

      I wonder why I didn't get notified when you replied! Weird! My website is KN Winiarski Writes and it's at knwiniarski.com Thanks so much!

      Delete
    3. MichaelaJuly 25, 2020 at 6:02 PM

      Awesome, thank you!

      Delete
    4. knwiniarski.comAugust 7, 2020 at 1:49 PM

      Hello Michaela!
      Just put my post up!
      https://knwiniarski.com/esther-williams-blogathon/

      Delete
    5. MichaelaAugust 7, 2020 at 3:27 PM

      Great, thank you!

      Delete
  18. Erica D.July 30, 2020 at 3:36 PM

    Hello Michaela!
    I join everyone else in congratulating you on completing your studies! You must feel very relieved and proud! :-)
    Like yourself, I really love Esther a great deal and she is one of my absolute favourites. Your thesis must have been so interesting to read.

    I would love to write about THE UNGUARDED MOMENT (1956). (You bet I'll be signing up for the Van one too!!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MichaelaJuly 30, 2020 at 5:55 PM

      Thank you, Erica! I'm thrilled to hear you're also an Esther fan.

      I LOVE that you want to cover that film. I watched it for the first time for my thesis and, although it isn't perfect, I think it's pretty underrated.

      Delete
  19. Caftan WomanAugust 7, 2020 at 7:26 AM

    Here's my look at Dangerous When Wet: https://www.caftanwoman.com/2020/08/the-esther-williams-blogathon-dangerous.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. KaylaAugust 9, 2020 at 2:17 PM

    Here is my entry on "Neptune's Daughter."

    https://whimsicallyclassic.wordpress.com/2020/08/09/esther-williams-blogathon-neptunes-daughter-1949/

    Kayla- Whimsically Classic

    ReplyDelete

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