Throwback Thursday-My mother the movie star...kinda

Ok, my throwback is not only a photo...but a movie trailer as well from the early 50's.

My mother was briefly in a (1953) movie, "Easy to Love".

My family is originally from Winter Haven, FL, and I grew up near Cypress Gardens. Spent a lot of time there as a child because the president of Cypress Gardens (back in the 70's) was a neighbor of ours. He would take us to work with him a lot so that we could keep an eye on his children. Free passes, and fun!

The movie was filmed at Cypress Gardens. When my mother was a teenager, she got to be in the pool scene of the movie "Easy to Love" starring Van Johnson, and Esther Williams. When you view the movie trailer for Easy to Love, there is a quick pool scene of women kicking there feet in the Florida shaped pool..she is one of them. Ok, so don't blink...or you will miss the pool scene clip in the trailer...hehe. She is really there...somewhere...ha!

Here is a photo that was used for advertising of the movie. She wasn't in this particular photo, but she was in the actual moving kicking her feet in the water. =)


The Esther Williams Swimming Pool was built in the shape of the map of Florida, projecting out in Lake Eloise as a set for MGM technicolor movie filmed at Cypress Gardens.

Mom always had star quality, even though she was never actually a movie star. To this day my mother gets confused with Elizabeth Taylor. Once when mom flew here to visit Jordan as a baby, the airline pilot came out from the cockpit to meet who he thought was Elizabeth Taylor. People used to flag her down in town or in the car, to get a glimpse of who they thought was Liz.

My mom is a big fan of Liz, and even named my sister after her, "Elizabeth". =) Even when she was younger, she looked like the young Elizabeth Taylor. I need to get some photos to post of her when she was much younger. But she is in Florida..and I am here now in NC. :)


This was taken in 1968 in front of Inman Park Baptist Church, Winter Haven, FL. My grandfather (dad's father) helped build this church.

My parents divorced in the mid 80's. My mother remarried shortly thereafter. My father is deceased as of Sept 24th, 1997,