Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The Original Surfer-Girl

In the late 1950s, America was swept up by a wave and Gidget was surfing on it. Based off the story of his own daughter, author Frederick Kohner wrote Gidget, a story about a 15 year girl year old girl who breaks gender boundaries when she learns to surf one summer at a time when female surfers were unheard of. The main character is nicknamed Gidget by her surfer buddies who combined the words "girl" and "midget" in reference to her gender and petite stature. The book spawned a whole series of Gidget novels as well as a hit movie starring Sandra Dee and two sequels, Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome. There was also a short-lived t.v. series starring the then unknown Sally Field.
Sandra Dee as Gidget
(from left to right) Moondoggie (a.k.a Jeff), Gidget's boyfriend, Gidget, and the Big Kahuna.
Gidget and Moondoggie falling in love

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