Gidget Grows Up
Encyclopedia
Gidget Grows Up is a 1969 television film directed by James Sheldon and starring Karen Valentine
, Paul Lynde
and Edward Mulhare
, freely adapted from the novel Gidget Goes New York by Frederick Kohner
. It 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
.
returns to Santa Monica
. She discovers that the letters she wrote to her boyfriend Jeff, intended to make him jealous, have backfired, and her attempts to patch things up with him are rebuffed. Inspired by a speech she hears on television
made by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations
, she hops a bus to New York City
to work for the United Nations
.
She meets the Ambassador, who finds her a job, but because she has only two years of college education, the best position the United Nations
will offer her is tour guide. She meets and has a fling with Alex MacLaughlin, an Australia
n Agronomist
who finds her and two of her fellow employees an inexpensive Greenwich Village
apartment, managed by the eccentric Louis B. Latimer, a grown child actor has-been attempting a comeback as an independent film
director.
Gidget has a number of comical and romantic adventures before being reunited with former boyfriend Jeff.
Karen Valentine
Karen Valentine is an American actress best-known for her role as the idealistic schoolteacher "Alice Johnson" in the television series Room 222.-Early life:...
, Paul Lynde
Paul Lynde
Paul Edward Lynde was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry MacAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie...
and Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare was a popular television actor whose career spanned four decades.Born at 22 Quaker Road, Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Mulhare intended to study medicine, but was sidetracked by a growing interest in acting...
, freely adapted from the novel Gidget Goes New York by Frederick Kohner
Frederick Kohner
Frederick Kohner was an Austrian-born writer....
. It premiered on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on December 30, 1969, and was intended as a pilot for a possible new Gidget
Gidget
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 at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
series, possibly a sequel to the 1960s sitcom Gidget
Gidget (TV series)
Gidget is an American sitcom 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 her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966...
.
Plot
After two years of college abroad, GidgetGidget
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 at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
returns to Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
. She discovers that the letters she wrote to her boyfriend Jeff, intended to make him jealous, have backfired, and her attempts to patch things up with him are rebuffed. Inspired by a speech she hears on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
made by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
, she hops a bus to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to work for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
She meets the Ambassador, who finds her a job, but because she has only two years of college education, the best position the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
will offer her is tour guide. She meets and has a fling with Alex MacLaughlin, an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Agronomist
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
who finds her and two of her fellow employees an inexpensive Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
apartment, managed by the eccentric Louis B. Latimer, a grown child actor has-been attempting a comeback as an independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
director.
Gidget has a number of comical and romantic adventures before being reunited with former boyfriend Jeff.
Cast
- Karen ValentineKaren ValentineKaren Valentine is an American actress best-known for her role as the idealistic schoolteacher "Alice Johnson" in the television series Room 222.-Early life:...
as GidgetGidgetGidget 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 at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"... - Edward MulhareEdward MulhareEdward Mulhare was a popular television actor whose career spanned four decades.Born at 22 Quaker Road, Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Mulhare intended to study medicine, but was sidetracked by a growing interest in acting...
as Alex MacLaughlin - Paul PetersenPaul PetersenWilliam Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
as Jeff "MoondoggieMoondoggieMoondoggie is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas. He appears as a principal character in five of the eight Gidget novels, but is a minor character or is only mentioned in passing in Cher Papa, The Affairs of Gidget and Gidget Goes...
" Griffin - Warner Anderson as Ambassador Post
- Robert CummingsRobert CummingsCharles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor....
as Russell Lawrence - Nina FochNina FochNina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...
as Bibi Crosby - Paul LyndePaul LyndePaul Edward Lynde was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry MacAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie...
as Louis B. Latimer - Susan BatsonSusan BatsonSusan Batson is an American producer, actress, author, and acting coach. Susan's mother, Ruth Batson, was a noted civil rights activist.-As an actress:* Running Out of Time in Hollywood * Everyone's Depressed .... Annette...
as Diana - Hal Frederick as Lee
- Helen Funai as Minnie
- Mario Aniov as Abdul
- Gunilla Knudson as Katrina
- Doreen Lang as Mrs. Willard
- Michael LembeckMichael LembeckMichael Lembeck is an actor, television and film director.Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline and Harvey Lembeck, an actor and comedian. He began acting in the late-1960s and directing in the 1970s. His most notable acting role was as Julie Cooper's husband, Max Horvath, on...
as Arnold - Davis Roberts as Bukumbu Representative
See also
- Gidget (film)Gidget (film)Gidget is a 1959 Columbia Pictures CinemaScope feature film. It stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her affiliated romance with a young surfer. The screenplay was written by Gabrielle Upton, a nom de plume...
- Gidget Goes HawaiianGidget Goes HawaiianGidget Goes Hawaiian is a 1961 musical romantic comedy film starring Deborah Walley and James Darren. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film is a sequel to the 1959 Sandra Dee "beach movie" vehicle Gidget....
- Gidget Goes to RomeGidget Goes to RomeGidget Goes to Rome is a 1963 Columbia Pictures feature film starring Cindy Carol as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally created 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...
- Gidget's Summer ReunionGidget's Summer ReunionGidget's Summer Reunion is a 1985 television film produced by Columbia Pictures Television for television syndication. It was written by Robert Blees and George Zateslo and directed by Bruce Bilson and starred Caryn Richman as Gidget.-Plot:...
- The New GidgetThe New GidgetThe New Gidget is an American television sitcom that aired in syndication from 1986 to 1988. The series was produced by original Gidget series producer Harry Ackerman and was launched after the television movie Gidget's Summer Reunion starring Caryn Richman as Gidget aired in 1985...
- List of television films produced for American Broadcasting Company
External links
- Gidget Grows Up at OVGuideOVGuideOVGuide is a website aggregator which allows users to find online video content. The name of the site stands for Online Video Guide. Created in 2006, it is considered to be the world's first popular guide to video content and sites that for the first time allowed users to go beyond exploring video...
, eight video clips comprising the entire film, more or less