Clark Gable was the first to have called me a mermaid.

Traveling to swimming meets took me beyond my small-town existence, gave me a hint of the exciting world outside of my own home.

Somehow I kept my head above water. I relied on the discipline, character, and strength that I had started to develop as that little girl in her first swimming pool.

I gave my eardrums to MGM. And it's true: I really did.

We can't all win Olympic medals. Even I never won one.

The newspapers loved pinup pictures of pretty young swimmers, and as a national champion, I got more than my share of space in the sports pages.

I took my daily swim at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool despite the presence of onlookers