Who Are the Children In Skirts Ahoy? Tragic Death of Kathy Tongay
Who are the children in Skirts Ahoy?
The Aquatots appear in Skirts Ahoy in a sequence where Whitney, played by Esther Williams, swims with a young brother and sister.
The Aquatots were real-life siblings Russell “Bubba” Tongay and Kathy Tongay. They were both accomplished swimmers by the time the appeared in the film. Kathy was born in 1947 and Bubba was born in 1945, meaning they would have been around 5 and 7 respectively when Skirts Ahoy was released.
Unfortunately, Kathy Tongay passed away the following year in 1953. She had attempted a dive at the Macfadden-Deauville Pool in Miami but ended up doing a bellyflop. This apparently hurt her back, but her father reportedly told her to go back into the pool.
Later that day, she went into convulsions and passed away.
The lifeguard had reported that she was badly bruised and unwell. Reports state that she died due to a traumatic rupture of the small intestine.
Kathy’s father Russell G. Tongay was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years.