Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman

Kathy Kohner Zuckerman is the real life inspiration for the fictional character of Franzie (nicknamed Gidget) from the 1957 novel, "Gidget: the LITTLE girl with BIG ideas", written by her father Frederick Kohner.

Early life

Kathy Kohner was born in 1941 and spent much of her childhood on the beaches at Malibu. She started surfing at the age of 15, sometimes trading her peanut butter and radish sandwiches for chances to ride. She hung out with such influential surfers as Miki Dora, Mickey Munoz, Dewey Weber, Tom Morey, Nat Young, Terry "Tubesteak" Tracy and Bill "Moondoggie" Jensen, who became the inspiration for the eponymous character in her father's novel.

Gidget Phenomenon

Based on Kathy's journal of her trips to Malibu, which her father discovered and read, "Gidget: the LITTLE girl with BIG ideas" sold over 500,000 copies and was translated into Japanese, Spanish and Yiddish, among other languages. In 1959, Columbia Pictures, where Frederick Kohner had been a screen writer, adapted the novel into a film starring Sandra Dee. Two other "Gidget" films were made, as well as a 1965 television series starring Sally Field and several television movies.

Adult life

Kathy attended Oregon State University and then returned to Los Angeles to teach. She did not marry Moondoggie, but rather Marvin Zuckerman, a professor of Yiddish who had never heard of "Gidget." They have two children and live in Pacific Palisades.

Kathy still surfs annually to benefit a cancer charity. She was named No. 7 in "Surfer Magazine"'s 25 Most Influential People in Surfing [http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2007/01/23/news/community/6aaa03_gidget.txt] .

Quotes

"You know, it's overwhelming, and I'm really touched. All I did was surf a little and tell my story."

"I don't have the confidence I had when I was 15, I'm 64. I'm afraid of the other surfers. There weren't as many surfers in Malibu when I was a teenager."

"Some people have Alcoholic Anonymous, Starbucks, church, I was retreating, trying to get away from high school and boys and movies on Saturday night ... I had Malibu."

"Nobody knows I'm a real person -- they think 'Gidget' is Sandra Dee or Sally Field."

"I guess someone would have come along and done it eventually, had I not been there. I don't get it. All this talk of the 'Gidget' myth, and the legend of 'Gidget' ... all I know is now there are a million little 'Gidgets' in the water, and I think it's fantastic."

Sources

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091600693.html Washington Post Article]
* [http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/SPORTS01/703240326/1014/sports01 Florida Today 'Surfing']