Everything about Gidget totally explained
Gidget is the nickname (a contraction of "girl
midget") of
Franzie Lawrence, a teenage character adapted for
film and television from a novel by Frederick Kohner.
The original Gidget was created by Kohner in his 1957 novel
Gidget, The Little Girl With the Big Ideas, 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. Kohner, a prolific screenwriter with one
Academy Award nomination, published at least two other novels about the experiences of different teenaged girls,
Kiki of Montparnasse and
Cher Papa.
Films
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:
Although the later two were billed as sequels to the first, there was little attempt at
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 re-shot with the new cast, to be used as
flashbacks.
Television
In
1965, the character was adapted for television in the
sitcom series
Gidget, starring
Sally Field. It ran for only one season, but continues to have a cult following. Written as a sequel to the films, it occasionally refers to events in them. Sally Field's
brown hair completed the
hat trick for Gidget's natural hair colour: Both Sandra Dee and Cindy Carol were
blonde, however Deborah Walley was a
redhead.
In
1969,
Karen Valentine starred as Gidget in the
telemovie Gidget Grows Up, written as a sequel to the 1965 sitcom series.
In
1972, another telemovie was made titled
Gidget Gets Married, in which Gidget finally married longtime boyfriend, Moondoggie. Monie Ellis played the title role. 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.
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. This was followed by a sitcom series
The New Gidget, which ran for two seasons
1986-
1988.
In popular culture
The names "Gidget" and "Moondoggie" were also used for two characters of the anime series Eureka Seven, among many other nods to surf culture.
In 1979, the Southern Californian punk rock group Suburban Lawns had a small cult hit with the parody single "Gidget Goes To Hell".
Ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Bradley Stewart took the first part of his stage name, Gidget Gein, from Gidget, and the second half from serial killer Ed Gein.
She is mentioned on the song "Mama I'm a Big Girl Now" from the musical Hairspray on the lines: "But now I'm just like Gidget and I gotta get to Rome!"Further Information
Get more info on 'Gidget'.
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