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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox character
{{Infobox character
⚫
| full_name = Franziska Hofer ''(novels)''<br />Frances Elizabeth Lawrence ''(TV and film)''
| colour =
⚫
| full_name = Franziska Hofer ''(novels)''<br/>Frances Elizabeth Lawrence ''(TV and film)''
| image = GidgetBook.jpg
| image = GidgetBook.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
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| first = ''Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas'' (1957)
| first = ''Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas'' (1957)
| last = ''[[The New Gidget]]'': "Make Waves, Not War" (1988)
| last = ''[[The New Gidget]]'': "Make Waves, Not War" (1988)
| nickname = Franzie<br/>Gidget
| nickname = Franzie<br />Gidget
| gender = female
| gender = female
| occupation = Student. Also waitress (''Cher Papa''), teacher (''Gidget in Love'' and ''[[Gidget Gets Married]]''), fashion model (''Gidget Goes Parisienne''), tour guide (''Gidget Goes New York'' and ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]'') and travel agent (''[[Gidget's Summer Reunion]]'' and ''[[The New Gidget]]'').
| occupation = Student. Also waitress (''Cher Papa''), teacher (''Gidget in Love'' and ''[[Gidget Gets Married]]''), fashion model (''Gidget Goes Parisienne''), tour guide (''Gidget Goes New York'' and ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]'') and travel agent (''[[Gidget's Summer Reunion]]'' and ''[[The New Gidget]]'').
| family = Professor Russell Lawrence (father)<br>Anne Cooper (sister)<br>John Cooper (brother-in-law)
| family = Professor Russell Lawrence (father)<br />Anne Cooper (sister)<br />John Cooper (brother-in-law)
| spouse = Jeff "[[Moondoggie]]" Griffin (by the 1980s)
| spouse = Jeff "[[Moondoggie]]" Griffin (by the 1980s)
| relatives = Danielle "Dani" Collins-Griffin (niece)
| relatives = Danielle "Dani" Collins-Griffin (niece)
| portrayer = [[Sandra Dee]]<br>[[Deborah Walley]]<br>[[Cindy Carol]]<br>[[Sally Field]]<br>[[Karen Valentine]]<br>Monie Ellis<br>[[Caryn Richman]]<br>Sabrina Kramnich
| portrayer = [[Sandra Dee]]<br />[[Deborah Walley]]<br />[[Cindy Carol]]<br />[[Sally Field]]<br />[[Karen Valentine]]<br />Monie Ellis<br />[[Caryn Richman]]<br />Sabrina Kramnich
| voice = [[Kathy Gori]]
| voice = [[Kathy Gori]]
| creator = Frederick Kohner
| creator = Frederick Kohner
}}
}}


'''Gidget''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɪ|dʒ|ɪ|t}}) is a fictional character created by author [[Frederick Kohner]] (based on his teenaged daughter, [[Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman|Kathy]]) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing friends on the beach in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. The name Gidget is a [[portmanteau]] of "girl" and "[[midget]]".<ref name=novel>''Gidget''(2001) by Frederick Kohner, Berkley Publishing Group, New York, NY (first edition 1957)</ref> Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.
'''Gidget''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɪ|dʒ|ɪ|t}}) is a fictional character created by author [[Frederick Kohner]] (based on his teenage daughter, [[Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman|Kathy]]) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]]. The name Gidget is a [[portmanteau]] of "girl" and "[[midget]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Howard |date=April 23, 1959 |title=Screen: Sun and Surf; 'Gidget,' the Story of a Teen-Age Girl, Opens |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/04/23/archives/screen-sun-and-surf-gidget-the-story-of-a-teenage-girl-opens.html |access-date=March 29, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.


==Novels==
==Novels==
The original ''Gidget'' was created by [[Frederick Kohner]] in his 1957 novel ''Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas'' (reprinted numerous times under the shortened title ''Gidget'', by which it is more widely known), written in the first person and based on the accounts of his daughter Kathy (now [[Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman]]) of the [[surf culture]] of [[Malibu, California|Malibu Point]]. The novel was published by [[G. P. Putnam's Sons|Putnam]]. Kohner, a prolific screenwriter with one [[Academy Award]] nomination, published seven sequels to this novel, five of them original novels:
The original ''Gidget'' was created by [[Frederick Kohner]] in his 1957 novel ''Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas'' (reprinted numerous times under the shortened title ''Gidget'', by which it is more widely known), written in the first person and based on the accounts of his daughter Kathy (now [[Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman]]) of the [[surf culture]] of [[Malibu, California|Malibu Point]]. The novel was published by [[G. P. Putnam's Sons|Putnam]]. Kohner, a prolific screenwriter with one [[Academy Award]] nomination, published seven sequels to this novel, five of them original novels:
⚫
* ''Cher Papa''<ref>"Cher Papa" (1959) by Frederick Kohner, Putnam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1959)

*''Cher Papa''<ref>"Cher Papa" (1959) by Frederick Kohner, Putnam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1959)
* ''The Affairs of Gidget''<ref>"The Affairs of Gidget" (1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1963)
*''The Affairs of Gidget''<ref>"The Affairs of Gidget" (1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1963)
* ''Gidget in Love''<ref>''Gidget in Love'' (1965) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref> (1965)
*''Gidget in Love''<ref>''Gidget in Love'' (1965) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref> (1965)
* ''Gidget Goes Parisienne''<ref>''Gidget Goes Parisienne''(1966) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref> (1966)
*''Gidget Goes Parisienne''<ref>''Gidget Goes Parisienne''(1966) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref> (1966)
* ''Gidget Goes New York''<ref>''Gidget Goes New York''(1968) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref>(1968)
⚫
*''Gidget Goes New York''<ref>''Gidget Goes New York''(1968) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY</ref>(1968)


Kohner also wrote two [[novelization]]s adapted from films of the same titles, based on original stories by [[Ruth Brooks Flippen]].
Kohner also wrote two [[novelization]]s adapted from films of the same titles, based on original stories by [[Ruth Brooks Flippen]].
*''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]''<ref><br> ''Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' (1961) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1961)
* ''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]''<ref><br /> ''Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' (1961) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1961)
*''[[Gidget Goes to Rome]]''<ref>''Gidget Goes To Rome''(1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1963)
* ''[[Gidget Goes to Rome]]''<ref>''Gidget Goes To Rome''(1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY</ref> (1963)


==Frederick Kohner==
==Frederick Kohner==
Kohner, a Czechoslovakian Jew, worked in the German film industry as a screenwriter until 1933 when he emigrated to Hollywood after the Nazis started removing Jewish credits from films. Over the coming decades, Kohner and his wife Franzie raised their two daughters by the beach, while he toiled as a screenwriter for Columbia Pictures. As his children grew into American teenagers, he noticed that his daughter Kathy in particular was drawn into a very specific, regional, contemporary slice of American teenaged culture – the surf culture.
Kohner, a Czechoslovak Jew, worked in the German film industry as a screenwriter until 1933 when he emigrated to Hollywood after the Nazis started removing Jewish credits from films. Over the coming decades, Kohner and his wife Franzie raised their two daughters by the beach, while he toiled as a screenwriter for Columbia Pictures. As his children grew into American teenagers, he noticed that his daughter Kathy in particular was drawn into a very specific, regional, contemporary slice of American teenaged culture – the surf culture.


Surfing was a then-minor youth movement that built its foundation around a sport, love of the beach, and jargon that must have proved a challenge to an Eastern European immigrant. The details fascinated Kohner, who was empathetic with his daughter's feminist intention to participate in a "boys-only" sport. A book was conceived and Kathy became her father's muse as he delved into the surfing world with his daughter as his guide. Over a six-week period, Kohner wove the stories she told into a novel, which he titled upon completion with her nickname, Gidget.
Surfing was a then-minor youth movement that built its foundation around a sport, love of the beach, and jargon that must have proved a challenge to an Eastern European immigrant. The details fascinated Kohner, who was empathetic with his daughter's feminist intention to participate in a "boys-only" sport. A book was conceived and Kathy became her father's muse as he delved into the surfing world with his daughter as his guide. Over a six-week period, Kohner wove the stories she told into a novel, which he titled upon completion with her nickname, Gidget.


In the original novel, Gidget gives her name as follows:
In the original novel, Gidget gives her name as follows:
<blockquote>"It's Franzie," I said. "From Franziska. It's a German name. After my grandmother."<ref name="novel"/></blockquote>
<blockquote>"It's Franzie," I said. "From Franziska. It's a German name. After my grandmother."<ref name="novel">''Gidget''(2001) by Frederick Kohner, Berkley Publishing Group, New York, NY (first edition 1957)</ref></blockquote>
She does not give us her last name. In subsequent novels, her name is Franzie Hofer. In the films in which she appears, following World War II, her name is changed to a more English-sounding Frances Lawrence, and the names of some other characters are changed, as well. In the 1960s television series (episode 16, "Now There's a Face"), Gidget gives her full name as Frances Elizabeth Lawrence.<ref name=gidget />
She does not give us her last name. In subsequent novels, her name is Franzie Hofer. In the films in which she appears, following World War II, her name is changed to a more English-sounding Frances Lawrence, and the names of some other characters are changed, as well. In the 1960s television series (episode 16, "Now There's a Face"), Gidget gives her full name as Frances Elizabeth Lawrence.<ref name=gidget />


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In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the character Gidget (the prototypical [[Beach bunny (surf culture)|beach bunny]]) was adapted for three films, all directed by [[Paul Wendkos]] and released by [[Columbia Pictures]]:
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the character Gidget (the prototypical [[Beach bunny (surf culture)|beach bunny]]) was adapted for three films, all directed by [[Paul Wendkos]] and released by [[Columbia Pictures]]:
⚫
* ''[[Gidget (film)|Gidget]]'' (1959), starring [[Sandra Dee]] (screenplay by [[Gabrielle Upton (screenwriter)|Gabrielle Upton]])

⚫
* ''[[Gidget (film)|Gidget]]'' (1959), starring [[Sandra Dee]] (screenplay by [[Gabrielle Upton]])
* ''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]'' (1961), starring [[Deborah Walley]]
* ''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]'' (1961), starring [[Deborah Walley]]
* ''[[Gidget Goes to Rome]]'' (1963), starring [[Cindy Carol]]
* ''[[Gidget Goes to Rome]]'' (1963), starring [[Cindy Carol]]


The first film also featured a young [[Yvonne Craig]] and [[Tom Laughlin]], long before Laughlin became known as [[Billy Jack]] and Craig as [[Batgirl]] and her alter-ego [[Barbara Gordon]] in the final season of ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''. Although the later two films were billed as sequels to the first, there was little attempt at [[continuity (fiction)|continuity]] other than in the plot. Only [[James Darren]], playing Gidget's boyfriend [[Moondoggie]], has the same major role in all three films. For ''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]'', some scenes from the first film were reshot with the new cast, to be used as [[flashback (literary technique)|flashbacks]].
The first film also featured a young [[Yvonne Craig]] and [[Tom Laughlin]], long before Laughlin became known as [[Billy Jack]] and Craig as [[Batgirl]] and her alter-ego [[Barbara Gordon]] in the final season of ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''. The later two films were billed as sequels to the first, and an attempt was made at [[continuity (fiction)|continuity]] other than in with most of the cast. Only [[James Darren]], playing Gidget's boyfriend [[Moondoggie]], has the same major role in all three films. For ''[[Gidget Goes Hawaiian]]'', some scenes from the first film were reshot with the new cast, to be used as [[flashback (literary technique)|flashbacks]].


==Television==
==Television==
In 1965, the character was adapted for television in the Screen Gems sitcom series ''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]'', starring [[Sally Field]].<ref name=gidget>''Gidget: The Complete Series'' [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E3L7DM] (2006). [DVD set]. New York: Sony Pictures.</ref> Don Porter, who had played Gidget's father in "Gidget Goes to Rome", reprised the role for the show. The series reintroduced [[Larue Wilson|Larue]], a timid, awkward girl who often accompanied Gidget on her zany escapades, and an older married sister Anne Cooper ("Ann Cooper" in the novels), both of whom had appeared in the original 1957 novel but were absent from the motion pictures.
In 1965, the character was adapted for television in the Screen Gems sitcom series ''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]'', starring [[Sally Field]].<ref name="gidget">''Gidget: The Complete Series'' [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E3L7DM] (2006). [DVD set]. New York: Sony Pictures.</ref> Don Porter, who had played Gidget's father in ''Gidget Goes to Rome'', reprised the role for the show. The series reintroduced [[Larue Wilson|Larue]], a timid, awkward girl who often accompanied Gidget on her zany escapades, and an older married sister Anne Cooper (Ann Cooper in the novels), both of whom had appeared in the original 1957 novel, but were absent from the motion pictures.


In 1969, [[Karen Valentine]] starred as Gidget in the [[television film|telemovie]] ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]'', freely adapted from the 1968 novel ''Gidget Goes New York'', but also functioning as a sequel to the 1965 sitcom series.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065778/ IMDb credits] for ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]''</ref>
In 1969, [[Karen Valentine]] starred as Gidget in the [[television film|telemovie]] ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]'', freely adapted from the 1968 novel ''Gidget Goes New York'', but also functioning as a sequel to the 1965 sitcom series.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065778/ IMDb credits] for ''[[Gidget Grows Up]]''</ref>


In 1972, another telemovie was made titled ''[[Gidget Gets Married]]'', in which Gidget finally married longtime boyfriend Moondoggie. Monie Ellis played the title role.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068639/ IMDb credits for ''Gidget Gets Married'']</ref> This incarnation of Gidget is unique in that it gives Moondoggie's real name as "Jeff Stevens." In the novels, the other telemovies and ''The New Gidget'' he is "Geoffrey H. Griffin" (the middle initial is mentioned ''only'' in the first novel); in the Hollywood films and the sitcom ''Gidget'' he is "Jeffrey Matthews." Later that year, [[Hanna-Barbera]] produced a 60-minute animated feature for television, ''Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection'', with [[Kathy Gori]] as the voice of Gidget.<ref>[http://www.toontracker.com/satsup/ssm2.htm Saturday Superstar Movies 2: Hanna-Barbera Productions, ''Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102225030/http://www.toontracker.com/satsup/ssm2.htm |date=January 2, 2011 }}</ref> It was broadcast as part of the Saturday morning series ''[[The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |page=55}}</ref>
In 1972, another telemovie was made, titled ''[[Gidget Gets Married]]'', in which Gidget finally married longtime boyfriend Moondoggie. Monie Ellis played the title role.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068639/|title=Gidget Gets Married|date=January 4, 1972|via=IMDb}}</ref> This incarnation of Gidget is unique in that it gives Moondoggie's real name as Jeff Stevens. In the novels, the other telemovies and ''The New Gidget'', he is Geoffrey H. Griffin (the middle initial is mentioned ''only'' in the first novel); in the Hollywood films and the sitcom ''Gidget'', he is Jeffrey Matthews. Later that year, [[Hanna-Barbera]] produced a 60-minute animated feature for television, ''Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection'', with [[Kathy Gori]] as the voice of Gidget.<ref>[http://www.toontracker.com/satsup/ssm2.htm Saturday Superstar Movies 2: Hanna-Barbera Productions, ''Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102225030/http://www.toontracker.com/satsup/ssm2.htm |date=January 2, 2011 }}</ref> It was broadcast as part of the Saturday-morning series ''[[The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |page=55}}</ref>


In 1985, a follow-up of the 1965 sitcom series was launched with the [[television film|telemovie]] ''[[Gidget's Summer Reunion]]'', starring [[Caryn Richman]] as a grown version of the character played by [[Sally Field]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089202/ IMDb credits for ''Gidget's Summer Reunion'']</ref> This was followed by a sitcom series ''[[The New Gidget]]'', which ran for two seasons, 1986–1988.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090488/ IMDb credits for ''The New Gidget'']</ref>
In 1985, a follow-up of the 1965 sitcom series was launched with the telemovie ''[[Gidget's Summer Reunion]]'', starring [[Caryn Richman]] as a grown version of the character played by Sally Field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089202/|title=Gidget's Summer Reunion|date=June 1, 1985|via=IMDb}}</ref> This was followed by a sitcom series ''[[The New Gidget]]'', which ran for two seasons, 1986–1988.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090488/|title=The New Gidget|date=September 13, 1986|via=IMDb}}</ref>


==Stage==
==Stage==
In 2000, [[Francis Ford Coppola]] staged a musical adaptation of ''Gidget'' with a cast of students from the Orange County High School for the Arts, calling it "sort of a ''[[Catcher in the Rye]]'' for girls". Coppola wrote the book and cowrote the score with [[John Farrar]], and [[Krysta Rodriguez]] played Gidget.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/aug/05/entertainment/ca-64843|title=Gidget Grows Up, Into a Coppola Musical|first=MARK CHALON|last=SMITH|date=August 5, 2000|via=LA Times}}</ref>
In 2000, [[Francis Ford Coppola]] staged a musical adaptation of ''Gidget'' with a cast of students from the Orange County High School for the Arts, calling it "sort of a ''[[Catcher in the Rye]]'' for girls". Coppola wrote the book and cowrote the score with [[John Farrar]], and [[Krysta Rodriguez]] played Gidget.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-05-ca-64843-story.html|title=Gidget Grows Up, Into a Coppola Musical|first=MARK CHALON|last=SMITH|date=August 5, 2000|via=LA Times}}</ref>


In 2007, Terry McCabe and Marissa McKown adapted a stage play ''Gidget'' from Kohner's 1957 novel. It was performed at City Lit Theater in Chicago in May and June 2007, directed by Marissa McKown and starred Sabrina Kramnich as Gidget.<ref>[http://www.chicagocritic.com/html/gidget.html Review of stage play ''Gidget''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511213542/http://www.chicagocritic.com/html/gidget.html |date=May 11, 2008 }}</ref>
In 2007, Terry McCabe and Marissa McKown adapted a stage play ''Gidget'' from Kohner's 1957 novel. It was performed at City Lit Theater in Chicago in May and June 2007, directed by Marissa McKown and starred Sabrina Kramnich as Gidget.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chicagocritic.com/html/gidget.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511213542/http://www.chicagocritic.com/html/gidget.html|url-status=dead|title=Review of stage play ''Gidget''|archivedate=May 11, 2008}}</ref>


==Gidget timeline==
==Gidget timeline==
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==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
* [[The Brunettes]] have a song titled "Too Big for Gidget".<ref>[http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/discography2.html/ discography from Brunettes home page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509065903/http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/discography2.html |date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref>
* [[The Brunettes]] have a song titled "Too Big for Gidget".<ref>[http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/discography2.html/ Discography from Brunettes' home page]</ref>
* [[Suburban Lawns]] have a song titled "Gidget Goes to Hell".<ref>
{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509065903/http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/brunettes/discography2.html |date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref>
* In season 3 of the 2008 TV series ''[[90210_(TV_series)|90210]]'', surfer girl [[List_of_90210_characters#Ivy_Sullivan|Ivy Sullivan]] is affectionately called 'Gidget' by her housemate Oscar


==See also==
==See also==
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== Notes ==
== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
*[https://archive.today/20030810014108/http://www.californiaauthors.com/essay_stillman.shtml The Real Gidget], essay by Deanne Stillman about Kathy Kohner Zuckerman
* [https://archive.today/20030810014108/http://www.californiaauthors.com/essay_stillman.shtml "The Real Gidget"], essay by Deanne Stillman about Kathy Kohner Zuckerman
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091600693.html In Malibu, Gidget's Up] (interview with Zuckerman, ''[[Washington Post]]'', September 16, 2005
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091600693.html "In Malibu, Gidget's Up"] (interview with Zuckerman, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 16, 2005
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061111014837/http://www.jwmag.org/articles/03summer/p38.asp Successful Women] (interview with Zuckerman), ''Jewish Woman'', Summer 2003
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061111014837/http://www.jwmag.org/articles/03summer/p38.asp "Successful Women"] (interview with Zuckerman), ''Jewish Woman'', Summer 2003
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050411093638/http://dvdverdict.com/reviews/gidgetcollection.php Review of the DVD] containing the three Gidget films.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050411093638/http://dvdverdict.com/reviews/gidgetcollection.php Review of the DVD] containing the three Gidget films.
*[http://www.videorarities.net/tvmovies.html Synopsis] of many telemovies including ''Gidget Grows Up''.
* [http://www.videorarities.net/tvmovies.html Synopsis] of many telemovies including ''Gidget Grows Up''.
*[https://www.imdb.com/character/ch0027566/ Gidget (character)] at IMDb
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160308103512/https://www.imdb.com/character/ch0027566/ Gidget (character)] at IMDb


{{Gidget}}
{{Gidget}}
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[[Category:Gidget| ]]
[[Category:Gidget| ]]
[[Category:Characters in American novels of the 20th century]]
[[Category:Characters in American novels of the 20th century]]
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[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1957]]
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[[Category:Fictional surfers]]
[[Category:Comedy film characters]]
[[Category:Comedy film characters]]
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[[Category:Sitcom characters]]
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[[Category:Female characters in literature]]
[[Category:Female characters in film]]
[[Category:Female characters in film]]
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[[Category:Female characters in literature]]
[[Category:Female characters in television]]
[[Category:Female characters in television]]
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[[Category:Fictional surfers]]
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[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1957]]
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[[Category:Sitcom characters]]

Latest revision as of 23:33, 4 September 2024

For other uses, see Gidget (disambiguation).

Gidget
Gidget, first edition dustjacket
First appearanceGidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas (1957)
Last appearanceThe New Gidget: "Make Waves, Not War" (1988)
Created byFrederick Kohner
Portrayed bySandra Dee
Deborah Walley
Cindy Carol
Sally Field
Karen Valentine
Monie Ellis
Caryn Richman
Sabrina Kramnich
Voiced byKathy Gori
In-universe information
Full nameFranziska Hofer (novels)
Frances Elizabeth Lawrence (TV and film)
NicknameFranzie
Gidget
Genderfemale
OccupationStudent. Also waitress (Cher Papa), teacher (Gidget in Love and Gidget Gets Married), fashion model (Gidget Goes Parisienne), tour guide (Gidget Goes New York and Gidget Grows Up) and travel agent (Gidget's Summer Reunion and The New Gidget).
FamilyProfessor Russell Lawrence (father)
Anne Cooper (sister)
John Cooper (brother-in-law)
SpouseJeff "Moondoggie" Griffin (by the 1980s)
RelativesDanielle "Dani" Collins-Griffin (niece)

Gidget (/ˈɡɪdʒɪt/) is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenage daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach in Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl" and "midget".[1] Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.

Novels

[edit]

The original Gidget was created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas (reprinted numerous times under the shortened title Gidget, by which it is more widely known), written in the first person and based on the accounts of his daughter Kathy (now Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman) of the surf culture of Malibu Point. The novel was published by Putnam. Kohner, a prolific screenwriter with one Academy Award nomination, published seven sequels to this novel, five of them original novels:

  • Cher Papa[2] (1959)
  • The Affairs of Gidget[3] (1963)
  • Gidget in Love[4] (1965)
  • Gidget Goes Parisienne[5] (1966)
  • Gidget Goes New York[6](1968)

Kohner also wrote two novelizations adapted from films of the same titles, based on original stories by Ruth Brooks Flippen.

Frederick Kohner

[edit]

Kohner, a Czechoslovak Jew, worked in the German film industry as a screenwriter until 1933 when he emigrated to Hollywood after the Nazis started removing Jewish credits from films. Over the coming decades, Kohner and his wife Franzie raised their two daughters by the beach, while he toiled as a screenwriter for Columbia Pictures. As his children grew into American teenagers, he noticed that his daughter Kathy in particular was drawn into a very specific, regional, contemporary slice of American teenaged culture – the surf culture.

Surfing was a then-minor youth movement that built its foundation around a sport, love of the beach, and jargon that must have proved a challenge to an Eastern European immigrant. The details fascinated Kohner, who was empathetic with his daughter's feminist intention to participate in a "boys-only" sport. A book was conceived and Kathy became her father's muse as he delved into the surfing world with his daughter as his guide. Over a six-week period, Kohner wove the stories she told into a novel, which he titled upon completion with her nickname, Gidget.

In the original novel, Gidget gives her name as follows:

"It's Franzie," I said. "From Franziska. It's a German name. After my grandmother."[9]

She does not give us her last name. In subsequent novels, her name is Franzie Hofer. In the films in which she appears, following World War II, her name is changed to a more English-sounding Frances Lawrence, and the names of some other characters are changed, as well. In the 1960s television series (episode 16, "Now There's a Face"), Gidget gives her full name as Frances Elizabeth Lawrence.[10]

Kohner also wrote other novels about the experiences of different teenaged girls, including The Continental Kick, Mister Will You Marry Me?, and The Gremmie, as well as nonfiction books such as the biographies Kiki of Montparnasse and The Magician of Sunset Boulevard.

Films

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Sandra Dee as Gidget in the 1959 film (VHS cover)

Kohner sold the movie rights to Columbia Pictures (through the William Morris Agency) for $50,000, then giving five percent of this to his daughter Kathy.[11]

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the character Gidget (the prototypical beach bunny) was adapted for three films, all directed by Paul Wendkos and released by Columbia Pictures:

The first film also featured a young Yvonne Craig and Tom Laughlin, long before Laughlin became known as Billy Jack and Craig as Batgirl and her alter-ego Barbara Gordon in the final season of Batman. The later two films were billed as sequels to the first, and an attempt was made at continuity other than in with most of the cast. Only James Darren, playing Gidget's boyfriend Moondoggie, has the same major role in all three films. For Gidget Goes Hawaiian, some scenes from the first film were reshot with the new cast, to be used as flashbacks.

Television

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In 1965, the character was adapted for television in the Screen Gems sitcom series Gidget, starring Sally Field.[10] Don Porter, who had played Gidget's father in Gidget Goes to Rome, reprised the role for the show. The series reintroduced Larue, a timid, awkward girl who often accompanied Gidget on her zany escapades, and an older married sister Anne Cooper (Ann Cooper in the novels), both of whom had appeared in the original 1957 novel, but were absent from the motion pictures.

In 1969, Karen Valentine starred as Gidget in the telemovie Gidget Grows Up, freely adapted from the 1968 novel Gidget Goes New York, but also functioning as a sequel to the 1965 sitcom series.[12]

In 1972, another telemovie was made, titled Gidget Gets Married, in which Gidget finally married longtime boyfriend Moondoggie. Monie Ellis played the title role.[13] This incarnation of Gidget is unique in that it gives Moondoggie's real name as Jeff Stevens. In the novels, the other telemovies and The New Gidget, he is Geoffrey H. Griffin (the middle initial is mentioned only in the first novel); in the Hollywood films and the sitcom Gidget, he is Jeffrey Matthews. Later that year, Hanna-Barbera produced a 60-minute animated feature for television, Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection, with Kathy Gori as the voice of Gidget.[14] It was broadcast as part of the Saturday-morning series The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.[15]

In 1985, a follow-up of the 1965 sitcom series was launched with the telemovie Gidget's Summer Reunion, starring Caryn Richman as a grown version of the character played by Sally Field.[16] This was followed by a sitcom series The New Gidget, which ran for two seasons, 1986–1988.[17]

Stage

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In 2000, Francis Ford Coppola staged a musical adaptation of Gidget with a cast of students from the Orange County High School for the Arts, calling it "sort of a Catcher in the Rye for girls". Coppola wrote the book and cowrote the score with John Farrar, and Krysta Rodriguez played Gidget.[18]

In 2007, Terry McCabe and Marissa McKown adapted a stage play Gidget from Kohner's 1957 novel. It was performed at City Lit Theater in Chicago in May and June 2007, directed by Marissa McKown and starred Sabrina Kramnich as Gidget.[19]

Gidget timeline

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Thompson, Howard (April 23, 1959). "Screen: Sun and Surf; 'Gidget,' the Story of a Teen-Age Girl, Opens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "Cher Papa" (1959) by Frederick Kohner, Putnam Books, New York, NY
  3. ^ "The Affairs of Gidget" (1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY
  4. ^ Gidget in Love (1965) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY
  5. ^ Gidget Goes Parisienne(1966) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY
  6. ^ Gidget Goes New York(1968) by Frederick Kohner, Dell Books, New York, NY
  7. ^
    Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY
  8. ^ Gidget Goes To Rome(1963) by Frederick Kohner, Bantam Books, New York, NY
  9. ^ Gidget(2001) by Frederick Kohner, Berkley Publishing Group, New York, NY (first edition 1957)
  10. ^ a b Gidget: The Complete Series [1] (2006). [DVD set]. New York: Sony Pictures.
  11. ^ info on the film deal Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ IMDb credits for Gidget Grows Up
  13. ^ "Gidget Gets Married". January 4, 1972 – via IMDb.
  14. ^ Saturday Superstar Movies 2: Hanna-Barbera Productions, Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection Archived January 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 55. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  16. ^ "Gidget's Summer Reunion". June 1, 1985 – via IMDb.
  17. ^ "The New Gidget". September 13, 1986 – via IMDb.
  18. ^ SMITH, MARK CHALON (August 5, 2000). "Gidget Grows Up, Into a Coppola Musical" – via LA Times.
  19. ^ "Review of stage play Gidget". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008.
  20. ^ Discography from Brunettes' home page
  21. ^ Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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