Gidget Grows Up

Last updated
Gidget Grows Up
Gidget Grows Up.jpg
Genre Comedy
Based onGidget Goes New York
by Frederick Kohner
Written by John McGreevey
Directed by James Sheldon
Starring Karen Valentine
Edward Mulhare
Paul Petersen
Guest Stars:
Warner Anderson
Bob Cummings
Paul Lynde
Nina Foch
Theme music composer Shorty Rogers
lyrics by Kelly Gordon
sung by Jean King
Composer Shorty Rogers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Harry Ackerman
Producer Jerome Courtland
Cinematography John M. Stephens
EditorAaron Nibley
Running time74 minutes
Production company Screen Gems
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseDecember 30, 1969 (1969-12-30)
Related

Gidget Grows Up is a 1969 American made-for-television comedy film directed by James Sheldon with stars Karen Valentine, Edward Mulhare and Paul Petersen as well as alphabetically listed special guest stars Warner Anderson, Bob Cummings, Nina Foch and Paul Lynde. Freely adapted from the novel Gidget Goes New York by Frederick Kohner, the film premiered on ABC on December 30, 1969, and was intended as a pilot for a possible new Gidget series, possibly a sequel to the 1960s sitcom Gidget . [1]

Contents

Plot

After two years of college abroad, Gidget returns to Santa Monica. She discovers that the letters she wrote to her boyfriend Jeff, intended to make him jealous, have backfired, and her attempts to patch things up with him are rebuffed. Inspired by a speech she hears on television made by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, she hops a bus to New York City to work for the United Nations.

She meets the ambassador, who finds her a job, but because she has only two years of college education, the best position the United Nations will offer her is tour guide. She meets and has a fling with Alex Mac Laughlin, an Australian agronomist who finds her and two of her fellow employees an inexpensive Greenwich Village apartment, managed by the eccentric Louis B. Latimer, a grown child actor has-been attempting a comeback as an independent film director.

Gidget has a number of comical and romantic adventures before being reunited with former boyfriend Jeff.

Cast

Guest stars in alphabetical order

Cast members listed only in end credits
Susan Batson Diana
Hal FrederickLee
Helen FunaiMinnie
Mario AniovAbdul
Gunilla Knudsen Katrina
Doreen LangMrs. Willard
Michael Lembeck Arnold
Davis Roberts Bukumbu Representative
Cynthia Lynn Dispatcher
Donald Symington Clerk
Harlan CarraherBen
Margot JaneRae Ellen
Leo G. MorrellTurkish Delegate
Lloyd KinoJapanese Delegate
Hugo BianquiItalian Delegate

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Lynde</span> American comedian and actor (1926–1982)

Paul Edward Lynde was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, the befuddled father Harry MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie and a regular "center square" panelist on the game show The Hollywood Squares from 1968 to 1981. He also voiced animated characters for five Hanna-Barbera productions.

<i>The Object of My Affection</i> 1998 American film

The Object of My Affection is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd alongside Alan Alda, Nigel Hawthorne, John Pankow, and Tim Daly. The film was adapted from novel of the same name by Stephen McCauley and the screenplay was written by Wendy Wasserstein. The story is centered around a pregnant New York social worker who develops romantic feelings for her gay new friend and decides to raise her child with him, and the complications that ensue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Mulhare</span> Irish American actor (1923–1997)

Edward Mulhare was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Knight Rider.

<i>Bewitched</i> American television series (1964–1972)

Bewitched is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife. The show was popular, finishing as the second-rated show in America during its debut season, staying in the top ten for its first three seasons, and ranking in eleventh place for both seasons four and five. The show continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and on recorded media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Darren</span> American actor (1936–2024)

James William Ercolani, known by his stage name James Darren, was an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in films including the youth and beach-culture film Gidget (1959) and its sequels. He also appeared in the The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Diamond Head (1962). As a teen pop singer, he sang hit singles including "Goodbye Cruel World" in 1961. He later became more active in television, starring as Dr. Anthony Newman in the science fiction series The Time Tunnel (1966–1967). He had the regular role of Officer James Corrigan in the police drama T. J. Hooker (1982–1986) and performed as Vic Fontaine, a recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–1999).

<i>The Donna Reed Show</i> American sitcom (1958–1966)

The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1958, to March 19, 1966.

<i>Gidget</i> (film) 1959 American comedy film by Paul Wendkos

Gidget is a 1959 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, James Darren, Arthur O'Connell, and the Four Preps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Cummings</span> American actor (1910–1990)

Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Princess O'Rourke (1943), and in dramatic films, especially two of Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). He received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Single Performance in 1955. On February 8, 1960, he received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture and television industries, at 6816 Hollywood Boulevard and 1718 Vine Street. He used the stage name Robert Cummings from mid-1935 until the end of 1954 and was credited as Bob Cummings from 1955 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Valentine</span> American actress

Karen Valentine is an American actress. She is best known for her role as young idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the ABC comedy drama series Room 222 from 1969 to 1974, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1970, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1971. She later went to star in her own short-lived sitcom Karen (1975), and played leading roles in the Disney films Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gidget</span> Fictional character

Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner 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". Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.

<i>Gidget</i> (TV series) 1965 American TV series or program

Gidget is an American sitcom television series by Screen Gems about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as father Russell Lawrence. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965, to April 21, 1966. Reruns were aired until September 1, 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Foch</span> American actress (1924–2008)

Nina Foch was an American actress who later became an instructor. Her career spanned 6 decades, consisting of over 50 feature films and over 100 television credits. She was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. Foch established herself as a dramatic actress in the late 1940s, often playing cool, aloof sophisticates.

<i>Gidget Goes Hawaiian</i> 1961 film by Paul Wendkos

Gidget Goes Hawaiian is a 1961 American romantic comedy musical film starring James Darren, Michael Callan and Deborah Walley. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film is a sequel to the 1959 Sandra Dee beach film vehicle Gidget. Dee was under contract to Universal for the rival series film Tammy Tell Me True (1961) and would not be released to Columbia to reprise her hit role.

<i>My American Cousin</i> 1985 Canadian film

My American Cousin is a Canadian drama film, released in 1985. Written and directed by Sandy Wilson based on her own childhood, the film stars Margaret Langrick as Sandy Wilcox, a preteen girl growing up on a ranch in rural Penticton, British Columbia in the late 1950s. Sandy's longing to be treated as an adult is roused even further when her older American cousin Butch Walker comes for a visit. The cast also includes Richard Donat, Jane Mortifee, Babz Chula and Camille Henderson.

Moondoggie is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas. He appears as a principal character in five of the eight Gidget novels, but is a minor character or is only mentioned in passing in Cher Papa, The Affairs of Gidget and Gidget Goes Parisienne.

"Jealous" is a song by Filipino singer Nina from her 2002 debut studio album Heaven. It was released as the album's second commercial single in February 2003 by Warner Music Philippines. The song was written by international songwriters Shelly Peiken and Brett Laurence, and it was produced by Ferdie Marquez. The song tells a story of a girl who is in love with her ex-boyfriend that has a new girlfriend. She narrates how jealous she is with the girl, and how lucky the girl is. She also promises to wait for the boy, the moment the girl leaves him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Donnell</span> American actress (1921–1988)

Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell was an American actress.

<i>Gidget Goes to Rome</i> 1963 film by Paul Wendkos

Gidget Goes to Rome is a 1963 Columbia Pictures Eastmancolor feature film starring Cindy Carol as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally portrayed by Sandra Dee in the 1959 film Gidget. The film is the third of three Gidget films directed by Paul Wendkos and expands upon Gidget's romance with boyfriend Moondoggie. The screenplay was written by Ruth Brooks Flippen based on characters created by Frederick Kohner. Veterans of previous Gidget films making appearances include James Darren as "Moondoggie", Joby Baker, and Jean "Jeff" Donnell as Gidget's mom, Mrs. Lawrence.

<i>Gidget Gets Married</i> 1972 film by E.W. Swackhamer

Gidget Gets Married is a 1972 American made-for television comedy film produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It was written by John McGreevey, directed by E.W. Swackhamer and starred Monie Ellis as Gidget.

<i>Gidgets Summer Reunion</i> 1985 American TV series or program

Gidget's Summer Reunion is a 1985 American made-for-television adventure comedy-drama film produced by Columbia Pictures Television that aired in syndication on June 1, 1985. It was written by Robert Blees and George Zateslo, directed by Bruce Bilson and stars Caryn Richman as Gidget, Dean Butler, Allison Barron, William Schallert, Anne Lockhart and Mary Frann.

References

  1. "Gidget is Returning to the Screen--Only Now She's a Valentine". Los Angeles Times December 28, 1969: L 39 d.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (29 October 2024). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings". Filmink. Retrieved 29 October 2024.