KATHY TROUTT

Featured

Above: Ben Cropp adventures on magazine covers with Van Laman, Eva Papp, Kathy Troutt, including Wally Gibbins (who found the SS Yongala ships bell during documentary film work with Ben)

SS Yongala bell recovered by Wally Gibbins while working with Ben Cropp

Kathy’s first documentary ‘Mermaids in Paradise’ when aged 19 (National Screen and Sound Archives)

Featured

LONDON DOLPHINARIUM – A PANTOMIME

Double click to enlarge collage

Screenplay writer Buck Henry (The Day of the Dolphin) spotted Kathy working in this London UK pantomime and made the offer for her to work in USA on this major film production. Details elsewhere.

Featured

KATHY WORKING AT MARINELAND, SYDNEY

Kathy in the Marineland tank 1969 — Kathy in the Marineland tank

Vic Ley caught this sunfish for Marineland off the northern entrance to Sydney Harbour. — Sunfish captured off the northern entrance to Sydney Harbour.

(Top) Sunfish was captured off Sydney Harbour’s North Head by Australian spearfishing champion Vic Ley. who was paid well for it, equal to about $4000 today.

Sunfish have a huge dorsal fin that is regularly mistaken as belonging to a shark. A fisherman raced over to Vic’s boat to warn him of the giant shark, before he raced away in his own boat. Vic double-checked ‘the shark’ and speared it through a fin and then towed it to nearby Marineland, much to the delight of public relations manager Helen Verstak.

Much of Marineland’s early stock of sea creatures were speared by divers, especially Wally Gibbins

Helen Verstak PR at Marineland 1968 — Helen Verstak (sister of Tania Verstak – international beauty queen) of Marineland PR purchased the sunfish.

Dr Hans Hass visited Marineland and met Kathy - who he later had lunch with. "O was about equally excited with meeting Dr Hass as I was when meeting The Beatles" (1964) said Kathy in 2013 — Dr Hans Hass visited Marineland and met Kathy – who he later had lunch with. “I was about equally excited with meeting Dr Hass as I was when meeting The Beatles” (1964)
Photo by the late Irvin Rockman

Mike Perry interviewed Kathy regarding her deep dive. His story as published in Sydney tabloid evening newspaper The Sun is included elsewhere within this blog.

(Above) Kathy worked at the original Marineland, in Sydney, since closed as OceanWorld, even more, popular today by offering for a fee, dives with the toothy but not deadly sharks. (Since closed completely).

A potentially dangerous (in the open ocean but not so much in captivity), a Silky (whaler) shark, also captured by Vic Ley and displayed in Marineland when Kathy was employed as a diver.

The one-piece swimsuit featured in YouTube’s video has a nice cut – would be well received on the beach today. Lotte (Charlotte) aged about 20. Born in 1928 puts the film at 1948 approx. It appears to have been a ‘screen test’ possibly the first film story featuring Lotte, perhaps before they were married? Lotte dives well and looks good with a trim figure and blonde flowing hair.

Queensland groper "Butch"ran the tank. — Queensland groper “Butch” boss of the tank.

Divers wore black as much as possible. — Divers wore black as much as possible, taking care when feeding turtles – powerful jaws.

Shovel nose shark — A shovel nose ray resembles a shark.

Collage of 1975 pictures, at the time Grey nurse sharks were rare ‘in the wild’ due possibly to a severe drought combined with hunting pressures. By 1986 their numbers dramatically and suddenly increased almost overnight.

Glen Campbell AND Olivia Newton-John 1976 CBS Special “Down Home Down Under” w Sherbet BEST QUALITY! (YouTube).

Featured

320 FOOT DEEP DIVE ON COMPRESSED AIR (KATHY, AGE 16)

Kathy Troutt used a Tarzan Espadon face mask (Made in France).

Kathy Troutt’s dive was recognized by the strict guidelines of Guinness Book of Records as a world record deep dive by a woman.

Back on the surface after a very dangerous dive.

Back from the brink of certain death

Ron Taylor contributed a monthly column “Flipper Talk” for OUTDOORS magazine and later a weekly column in The Sunday Telegraph

Wally Reynolds – supervised the deep dive (his own story below).

Featured

AUSTRALIA’S TEEN MERMAID

Featured

KATHY TROUTT, ‘The Blue Lagoon’

Kathy Troutt was hired to search Fijian waters for dolphin that might be trained to appear in a major feature film. At Dunk Island, Kathy was hired to do nude stand-in for the leading female actor. At the last moment this plan was changed and the actor performed her own nude underwater sequence – however, Kathy received enormous advance publicity.

Kathy – the stand-in model The Blue Lagoon

Kathy underwater photo by Valerie Taylor for Peer Productions(postcards)

Kathy did nude stand-in scenes and especially all the diving for a main teen actor, Brooke Shields.

Some film crew members later estimated that Kathy is in much of the finished movie!

Ron and Val Taylor (below) also worked on underwater scenes for Blue Lagoon, in Fiji with Kathy. Photo © by JH Harding (1967)

Featured

KAT – FEATURE FILMS

Kathy Troutt – center, top row

The Blue Lagoon script had the boy star of the film riding a pair of dolphin as per this example. That plan was dropped when finding and then training dolphin in Fiji was not going to be practical. Kathy Troutt was ‘body double’ for the young actress who starred in the movie. The Blue Lagoon link (below) is to You Tube (9 December 2013)