Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman (born January 19, 1941) is the real-life inspiration for the fictional character of Franzie (nicknamed

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing frie ...

) from the 1957 novel, ''Gidget: The Little Girl with Big Ideas'', written by her father

Frederick Kohner Friedrich Kohner (September 25, 1905 – July 7, 1986), credited professionally as Frederick Kohner, was an Austrian-born novelist and screenwriter, both in Germany and the U.S.. He is best known for having created the "Gidget" novels, which ins ...

Early life

Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman was born Katherine Klara Kohner in 1941, the daughter of

European Jewish The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Some Jews, a Judaean tribe from the Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. migrated to Europe just before the rise of the Roman Empire. A notable e ...

immigrants Franzie and Frederick Kohner, a Czechoslovakian Jew who worked as a screenwriter for the

German film industry The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...

until 1933. She grew up in

Brentwood, Los Angeles Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Los Angeles Westside, Westside region of Los Angeles. History General Modern development began after the establishment of the Sawtelle Veterans Home, Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disab ...

, and spent much of her childhood on the beaches at Malibu. From age 13 to 15, Kohner lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with her parents where the family had moved so that Frederick could work with film producer

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

. She started

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 suitabl ...

at the age of 15, sometimes trading her peanut butter and radish sandwiches for chances to ride. She associated with such influential surfers as

Miki Dora Miklos Sandor Dora III (August 11, 1934 – January 3, 2002), known professionally as Miki Dora was a noted surfer of the 1950s and 1960s in Malibu, California. Dora received numerous nicknames and aliases during his life, including "Mickey Dora ...

Mickey Munoz Mickey Munoz, nicknamed "The Mongoose", is an early surfing pioneer and surfboard shaper. He was featured in the 2004 surfing documentary '' Riding Giants''. He currently resides in Capistrano Beach, California and designs boards for Surftech, ...

, Dewey Weber, and

Tom Morey Tom Hugh Morey (15 August 1935 – 14 October 2021), also known by the moniker "Y", was a musician, engineer, surfboard shaper, and surfer responsible for several technological innovations that have heavily influenced modern developments in surfi ...

. At the age of 17, Kathy appeared on the television and radio quiz program ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

'' with

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

. During her conversation with Marx, she revealed herself to be the inspiration for her father creating the character of Gidget. She won $500 and chose not to contest the major prize.

Gidget phenomenon

Based on what Kohner told her father about her exploits in Malibu and the journal of her trips there, which her father discovered, he wrote ''Gidget: The Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The book sold over 500,000 copies and was translated into

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, among other languages. In 1959,

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, where Frederick Kohner had been a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, adapted the novel into a film 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 ingénue ...

. Two other ''Gidget'' films and several television movies were made, as well as a 1965 television series starring

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

and a 1986 series starring

Caryn Richman Caryn Richman is an American actress and singer who is best known for her role as Gidget in the TV series, ''The New Gidget'', which evolved out of her lead role in the 1985 television movie ''Gidget's Summer Reunion''. She played Elena Dekker ...

Adult life

Kohner-Zuckerman attended

Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District. The college is adjacent to Grant High School in the neighborhood of Valley Glen. Often call ...

, San Fernando Valley State College (now

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

), and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

and then returned to Los Angeles to teach. She married Marvin Zuckerman, a professor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

who had never heard of "Gidget". They have two children and live in Pacific Palisades. Kohner-Zuckerman still surfs annually to benefit a cancer charity. She was named No. 7 in ''Surfer Magazines 25 Most Influential People in Surfing. In 2008 she was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

. In 2011, Kohner-Zuckerman was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

in the Woman of the Year category.

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."

References

External links

*
''Washington Post'' article

''Florida Today'' 'Surfing'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohner-Zuckerman, Kathy University High School (Los Angeles) alumni Oregon State University alumni People from Los Angeles Surf culture American surfers 1941 births Living people American female surfers American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Sportspeople from California 21st-century American women