The Wongettes: Dancing Debutantes

Elizabeth Jean, Kim Wong, and Helen Kim (left to right)

I don't know too much about The Wongettes besides that they were the house dancers at Andy Wong's Chinese Skyroom. According to a program reproduced in Trina Robbins' book Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs, the girls performed numbers such as "Chino Soy" (Chinese Rhumba), "La Conga", and "Kicking the Gong Around" (I'd love to see their interpretation of this Cab Calloway song).

Here's a short piece about the tantalizing trio from the March 1941 issue of The Coast:

Chinese Society Girls Become
Chinese Skyroom Dance Trio

For weeks, the sports-about-town have been gathering every afternoon at the Chinese Skyroom bar to inspire a squad of Chinatown debs in their effort to become chorus girls.

Now, three of the squad have graduated and are part of the the Chinese Skyroom show. They're the luscious Wongettes (after Boss Andy Wong), who, as you can see in pic [above], are not hard to look at; more than that, they've really learned how to dance. You can see them three times per show any of these nights.

The rest of the squad — fourteen of Chinatown's blue-bloods — are still in rehearsal, will make their dancing debut soon.

And finally, check out this cool matchbook. The striking Wongettes are just the thing to light your fire!