Gidget

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Gidget is the nickname (a contraction of "girl midget") of Frances 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 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.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the character Gidget was adapted for three films, all directed by Paul Wendkos:

Gidget (1959), starring Sandra Dee.
Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), starring Deborah Walley.
Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), starring Cindy Carol.

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.

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.

The names "Gidget" and "Moondoggie" were also used for two minor characters of the Japanese animation series Kōkyōshihen Eureka Seven, among many other nods to the US surf culture.

External links

[The Real Gidget], essay by Deanne Stillman.
[Review of the DVD] containing the three Gidget films.
[Synopsis] of many telemovies including Gidget Grows Up.
[IMDB] entry for Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection.

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