“ACCIDENTAL ICON: THE REAL GIDGET STORY,” A Documentary

Writer/Director/Producer: Brian L. Gillogly
Executive Producer: Robert Masters (Master Communication)
World Premier: 6:30 pm, October 8, 2006, Malibu Celebration of Film
Venue: Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University
Contact: Brian L. Gillogly  /  310.832.3336  /  briangillogly@cox.net
 
Oscar-winning actress Sally Field admits that Gidget was “my beginning and I loved her!”

Former Motion Picture Academy President Frank Pierson calls Gidget as “a proto-feminist figure.” 

And says former U.S. Surf Champion Jericho Poppler Bartlow, “I remember thinking, `Gidget could do it…I know I can.’”
 
“ACCIDENTAL ICON: THE REAL GIDGET STORY,” a new one-hour documentary, will world premier on October 8, 2006, at the Malibu Celebration of Film festival.  (Closing night film.)  Visit www.MCOF.org for screening information and to reserve tickets.
 
Narrated by Jorja Fox (“CSI”) and produced by Brian L. Gillogly and Master Communication, the project explores the largely untold story of the real “Gidget,” Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, and how her account of surfing Malibu in the mid-50’s became the basis for a best-selling novel by her father Frederick Kohner.  A half century later, “Gidget” is celebrated as an enduring Hollywood movie/TV franchise and a slice of Americana, with considerable impact on popular culture and the sport of surfing.
 
Surf legends and present-day “surfer girls” set the stage and take the Gidget story full circle.  Prominent actors, writers and directors, many of whom brought Gidget to the big and small screen, provide an often enlightening behind-the-scenes perspective.  Some of them include:
 
Sally Field-Oscar winning actor (TV’s “Gidget”)
Cliff Robertson-Oscar winning actor (“Kahuna”)
James Darren-Actor/Singer (“Moondoggie”)
Gregory Harrison- Actor (“Ed,” “North Shore”)
Caryn Richman-Actor (“The New Gidget” TV series)
Paul Wendkos-Prolific director ( “Gidget,” “Gidget Goes Hawaiian”)
Layne Beachly-Five-time World Surf Champion
Summer Romero-Current Women’s Longboard Surf Champion
Jericho Poppler Bartlow-Former US Surf Champion
Kassia Meador-Top Longboard Surfer/Roxy Model
Belen Kimble-Top Longboard Surfer
Carla Rowland-Malibu Surf Champion
Lance Carson-Surf Legend (”Endless Summer”)
Mike Doyle-Surf Legend/Former US Champion
Mickey Munoz-Surf Legend
 
Together with Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, a raconteur like her father, they weave an entertaining and ultimately life-affirming true account of a young girl coming of age amongst the waves at Malibu’s fabled Surfrider Beach—and how a somewhat idealized vision of that girl became a true American icon.
 
Perhaps former NBC VP Lin Bolen Wendkos says it best:  “It’s a blast from the past!  A story showcasing an eclectic group of surfers, then and now—and Kathy `Gidget’ Zuckerman, the surfer who spawned a whole movement of Surfer Girls and liberated a whole generation of young women.  The film has cross-over demographics and charms audiences of all ages.”