History
He is portrayed as a surfer who saves Gidget from drowning and later becomes romantically involved with her. In the novels, two of the television movies and The New Gidget , his real name is Geoffrey H. Griffin (the middle initial is mentioned only in the first novel), but in the three Gidget motion pictures and the 1960s sitcom Gidget his name is changed to Jeffrey Matthews, and in Gidget Gets Married his name is Jeff Stevens. In the novelization Gidget Goes Hawaiian we learn that his nickname refers to his fondness for surfing by moonlight. [5]
In the three motion pictures Gidget , Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome , Moondoggie is portrayed by James Darren, the only character to be played by the same actor in all three films. In the sitcom Gidget , he is portrayed by Stephen Mines; in Gidget Grows Up by Paul Petersen, in Gidget Gets Married by Michael Burns, and in Gidget's Summer Reunion and The New Gidget by Dean Butler.
At the end of the last Gidget novel, Gidget Goes New York, Moondoggie and Gidget are married. [6] They are also portrayed as married in Gidget Gets Married , Gidget's Summer Reunion and The New Gidget .
Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.
James William Ercolani known by his stage name James Darren, is 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 Gidget (1959) and its sequels, 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 achieved 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 appeared in the regular role of Officer III James Corrigan in the police drama T. J. Hooker (1983–1986) and in the recurring role of Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–1999).
Gidget is a 1959 American CinemaScope comedy film. The picture stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, James Darren, Arthur O'Connell, and the Four Preps in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her romance with a young surfer.
Juanita Moore was an American film, television, and stage actress.
The beach party film is an American film genre of feature films which were produced and released between 1963 and 1968, created by American International Pictures (AIP), beginning with their surprise hit, Beach Party, in July 1963. With this film, AIP is credited with creating the genre. In addition to the AIP films, several contributions to the genre were produced and released by major and independent studios alike. According to various sources, the genre comprises over 30 films, with the lower-budget AIP films being the most profitable.
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.
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.
Michael Callan, sometimes known as Mickey Collins, was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in West Side Story on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably Gidget Goes Hawaiian, The Interns and Cat Ballou.
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.
The New Gidget is an American sitcom sequel to the original 1965–66 sitcom Gidget. It aired in syndication from September 15, 1986, to May 12, 1988. The series was produced by original Gidget series producer Harry Ackerman and was launched after the made-for-television film Gidget's Summer Reunion, starring Caryn Richman as Gidget, aired in 1985.
Paul Kohner was an Austrian-American talent agent and producer who managed the careers of many stars and others—like Ingrid Bergman, Maurice Chevalier, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, John Huston, Liv Ullmann and Billy Wilder—of the golden age of Hollywood, especially those who came from Europe before World War II. He was married to the Mexican-American actress, Lupita Tovar. His brother was Frederick Kohner, a novelist and screenwriter, his daughter was the actress Susan Kohner. His grandsons are the filmmakers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz.
Larue Wilson is a fictional character introduced in the Frederick Kohner novel Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas (1957). She also appears in much of the television work involving Gidget.
Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman is the real-life inspiration for the fictional character of Franzie from the 1957 novel, Gidget: The Little Girl with Big Ideas, written by her father Frederick Kohner.
Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell was an American film and television actress.
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.
Friedrich Kohner, credited professionally as Frederick Kohner, was an Austrian-born novelist and screenwriter, both in Germany and the U.S.
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.
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.
Gidget is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas.
The Kahoona is a character created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. As "Kahuna", the character appears in the 1959 film Gidget and in some of the television work involving the Gidget character.
