Gidget (TV Series)
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''Gidget'' is an American
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series by
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
about a
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
, boy-crazy teenager called " Gidget" and her
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
ed father Russ Lawrence, a
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
professor.
Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...
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. ''Gidget'' was among the first regularly scheduled color programs on ABC. With a Wednesday-night time slot that put it in direct competition with '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' and '' The Virginian'', it did poorly in the
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
and was cancelled at the end of its first season.


Background

The television series was based upon concepts and characters created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel '' Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas'',''Gidget'' by Frederick Kohne

(2001) Berkley Publishing Group.
which Kohner based upon the adventures of Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, his teenaged daughter Kathy. The novel was adapted into a 1959 movie, '' Gidget'', starring
Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...
, James Darren, and
Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film ''PT 109 (film), PT 109'', a ...
. The 1965 weekly half-hour television series is seen by some as a sequel to the 1959 film, despite numerous discontinuities in plot, time-frame, and other details. It can also be seen as an independent incarnation, related to, but distinct from either the novels or the films. Kohner served as a script consultant on the show. The series reintroduced Gidget's friend Larue and married sister Anne Cooper, both of whom appear in Kohner's original novel, but are absent from the motion-picture series. Gidget's brother-in-law, who appears in the novels as the intelligent but condescending child psychiatrist Larry Cooper, is reinvented in the television series as John Cooper, an obtuse but lovable psychology student.


Plot

''Gidget'' centers on the father-daughter relationship between Frances "Gidget" Lawrence and her widowed father Russell Lawrence. Episodes follow Gidget's adventures in school, at home, and at nearby beaches. Russell Lawrence guides his 15-year-old daughter, while married sister Anne and husband John offer often unsolicited child-rearing tips. Gidget's friend Larue sometimes takes part in her escapades. More often than not, Gidget receives moral instruction from her father and gains wisdom from her experiences. Each episode is narrated by Gidget; on occasion, she breaks the "
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
" and directly addresses her audience, usually reflecting on what she has learned from the evening's story, and sometimes ending with "Toodles!" (an expression Field improvised during production). The pilot explained that her boyfriend called her Gidget because of her demure, petite build and short stature: "Girl midget, Gidget!"


Characters


Main characters

* Frances Elizabeth " Gidget" Lawrence (portrayed by
Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...
) is the prototypical southern California beach bunny free spirited and frequently barefoot at home and at the beach. * Russell Lawrence (portrayed by Don Porter) is Gidget's widowed father and an English professor at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
.


Recurring characters

* Anne Cooper (portrayed by Betty Conner) is Gidget's older, married sister. * John Cooper (portrayed by Pete Duel) is Anne's husband, a psychology student. * Larue Wilson (portrayed by Lynette Winter) is Gidget's best friend. * Jeff " Moondoggie" Matthews (portrayed by Stephen Mines) is Gidget's boyfriend, who is away at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. * Siddo (portrayed by Michael Nader) is Gidget's schoolmate. * Randy (portrayed by Rickie Sorensen) is Gidget's schoolmate.


Gidget's brief love interests

While Jeff was Gidget's true love (she regularly wore his high-school ring around her neck), she regularly dated — or more accurately, pursued — other boys while he was away at college. * Kahuna (portrayed by
Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and '' Adam-12'', which ...
) - "The Great Kahuna" * Jack Collins (portrayed by James Davidson) - "A Hearse, a Hearse, My Kingdom for a Hearse" * Roger Haimes (portrayed by James M. Crawford) - "Image Scrimmage" * Mark (portrayed by Robert Random) - "Chivalry Isn't Dead", "Gidget's Foreign Policy" * Bret (portrayed by Randy Kirby) - "The War Between Men, Women and Gidget" * Tom Brighton (portrayed by Daniel J. Travanti) - "Now There's a Face" * Corky Cook (portrayed by Peter Brooks), Tate Cook (Larry Merrill) - "Too Many Cooks" * Baxter Stevenson (portrayed by Tom Gilleran) - "I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Think" * Durf the Drag (portrayed by
Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
) - "Ego-a-Go-Go" * Scott (Carl Reindel), Richie Ryan (David Macklin) - "Love and the Single Gidget" * Toby (Robert Beach) - "I Have This Friend Who..."


Production

The show launched the career of 18-year-old Sally Field, who defeated 75 other teenaged girls for the title role. Field exaggerated her surfing experience to the show's casting directors during her audition (she had none); she later took lessons from Phil Sauers just to be able to pretend to surf for the cameras. Sauers served as the series' "surfing technical consultant" and provided the surfboards used during filming of the series. Don Porter had portrayed Gidget's father, Russell Lawrence, two years prior in the film '' Gidget Goes to Rome'' and was asked to reprise the role for the series. While the Gidget of the novel and the original film are both blondes, the Gidget of the television series is a brunette. The lyrics of the theme song "(Wait 'Til You See) My Gidget" were written by Howard Greenfield, with music by Jack Keller. The song was performed in the
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
by The Four Freshmen, and in the series by Johnny Tillotson. In the credits for the pilot episode, John Cooper is listed as "Larry". The show ranked 68th out of 108 shows airing that season with a 26.8% audience share.


Episodes


Home media

On March 21, 2006,
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
released ''Gidget: The Complete Series'' featuring all 32 episodes of the series, on DVD in Region 1. The release included the original pilot episode and a short interview with Field. On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library, including ''Gidget''. They subsequently re-released the complete series on DVD on May 20, 2014.


Reception

''Gidget'' faced stiff competition during its initial run. The show originally aired on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm, opposite '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' ( CBS) and '' The Virginian'' ( NBC), two established shows with strong ratings. The series was moved to Thursdays at 8:00 pm starting with episode 18 ("Like Voodoo"), where it performed poorly opposite CBS's ''
Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...
'', despite airing after the top-five rated ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''. ABC cancelled ''Gidget'' in April 1966, just as the show began to find a large teen audience. Summer reruns launched the show into the top 10 as viewers looked for programs they had not seen during their original fall/winter broadcasts. ABC had a belated hit on its hands, but refused to renew the show because it would have to admit its cancellation was premature. In addition, industry practice at the time rarely allowed for cancelled shows to be resurrected. Rather than squander the newly found audience for which ABC was hurting at the time, the network scrambled to find a new starring vehicle for Field. The result was ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'' (1967–70), where Field reluctantly portrayed Sister Bertrille for three seasons. Field later commented that she has great affection for her young persona and was proud of her work on ''Gidget'', but was embarrassed with ''The Flying Nun''.


Merchandise

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
published two issues of a comic book based on the series. Two board games were made from the show. A self-titled game published by Standard Toykraft in 1965, and "Gidget Fortune Teller" game published by
Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production o ...
in 1966.Board Games of the 50s, 60s, and 70s: With Prices by David Dilley (October 1994) L-W Promotions A single example of a test issue Gidget trading card by Topps has surfaced.Test issues
/ref>


See also

*
Surf culture Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish ...
* '' Psycho Beach Party'', a film by Charles Busch parodying the teen beach-party movies of the 1960s


References


External links

*
The Real Gidget
essay by Deanne Stillman about Kathy Kohner Zuckerman

Interview with Zuckerman, ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', September 16, 2005 {{Gidget 1965 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings 1960s American single-camera sitcoms 1960s American teen sitcoms American Broadcasting Company sitcoms American English-language television shows Gidget American television series about teenagers Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Santa Monica, California Television shows based on American novels Television series by Screen Gems