"Gidget" (1965) TV series 1965-1966

Creator:

Frederick Kohner
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

15 September 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Frances "Gidget" Lawrence lives with her widowed college professor father in California. Anne is her older sister who is married to John Cooper...

Plot Keywords:

Surfing | Beach | Sitcom | Growing Up | Teenager

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sally Field	...	Frances Elizabeth 'Gidget' Lawrence (32 episodes, 1965-1966)
Don Porter	...	Professor Russell Lawrence (32 episodes, 1965-1966)
Lynette Winter	...	Larue (26 episodes, 1965-1966)
Pete Duel	...	John Cooper (22 episodes, 1965-1966)
Betty Conner	...	Anne Cooper (21 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Directed by
E.W. Swackhamer		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
William Asher		(7 episodes, 1965-1966)
Jerrold Bernstein		(5 episodes, 1965-1966)
Bruce Bilson		(3 episodes, 1966)
Hal Cooper		(3 episodes, 1966)
Oscar Rudolph		(2 episodes, 1965)

Series Writing credits
Frederick Kohner		(29 episodes, 1965-1966)
Ruth Brooks Flippen		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
John McGreevey		(5 episodes, 1965-1966)
Barbara Avedon		(4 episodes, 1965-1966)
Stephen Kandel		(4 episodes, 1965-1966)
Austin Kalish		(3 episodes, 1965-1966)
Irma Kalish		(3 episodes, 1965-1966)
Albert Mannheimer		(3 episodes, 1965-1966)
Dorothy Cooper		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Joanna Lee		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Produced by
Harry Ackerman	....	executive producer (29 episodes, 1965-1966)
William Sackheim	....	producer / series producer (29 episodes, 1965-1966)
Stan Schwimmer	....	associate producer (29 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Original Music by
Dave Grusin		(13 episodes, 1965-1966)
Stu Phillips		(11 episodes, 1965-1966)
Charles Albertine		(4 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Cinematography by
Gert Andersen		(19 episodes, 1965-1966)
Robert Tobey		(3 episodes, 1965)
Andrew J. McIntyre		(3 episodes, 1966)
Frederick Gately		(2 episodes, 1966)
Burnett Guffey		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Film Editing by
Howard Kunin		(21 episodes, 1965-1966)
William Martin		(3 episodes, 1965)
Aaron Nibley		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Art Direction by
Ross Bellah		(29 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Set Decoration by
Louis Diage		(20 episodes, 1965-1966)
Anthony Mondell		(8 episodes, 1966)

Series Makeup Department
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor (29 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Production Management
Lawrence Werner	....	post-production supervisor (29 episodes, 1965-1966)
Seymour Friedman	....	production supervisor (25 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerrold Bernstein	....	assistant director (15 episodes, 1965-1966)
Maxwell O. Henry	....	assistant director (6 episodes, 1966)
Mark Sandrich Jr.	....	assistant director (5 episodes, 1966)
Bill Lukather	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Sound Department
Fred J. Brown	....	sound effects (28 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Music Department
Johnny Tillotson	....	singer: theme song (32 episodes, 1965-1966)
Ed Forsyth	....	music supervisor (29 episodes, 1965-1966)
Howard Greenfield	....	composer: title song / composer: theme music (20 episodes, 1965-1966)
Jack Keller	....	composer: title song / composer: theme music (20 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Transportation Department
Frank Khoury	....	driver (1 episode, 1965)

Series Other crew
Frederick Kohner	....	script consultant (29 episodes, 1965-1966)
Phil Sauers	....	technical consultant: surfing (20 episodes, 1965-1966)

Production Companies

• Screen Gems Television

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965-1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Screen Gems (1965-1974) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia Pictures Television (1974-1994) (USA) (TV)
• Colex Enterprises Inc. (1983-1987) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001-2002) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Television (1994-2001) (USA) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Television (2002-)

Runtime:

30 min | USA:30 min (32 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Blondie Street, Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Screen Gems Television

Trivia:

The edifice used for Lawrence house is on the back lot known as the "Columbia Ranch". Gidget's home is situated next door to the principal residence on Bewitched, which was in production at the same time. In select episodes, Samantha and Darrin Stephens' house is visible in exterior shots from Gidget's front yard.

Quotes:

Frances "Gidget" Lawrence:Wait just a dingy minute.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Designing Women: Nowhere to Run To (#5.8)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Wait 'Til You See My Gidget

"Ohh, Daddy!!"

Sally Field as a TV-version of Frances Lawrence, aka 'Gidget', that feisty teenager from a Los Angeles suburb in the 1960s, protesting injustices, standing up for the underdog, surfing on the weekends, and meddling in everyone's lives. This half-hour filmed sitcom with laugh-track only lasted one season before ABC unwisely gave it the heave-ho (due to low ratings, though they suddenly picked up during the '66 rerun season). Still, "Gidget" lives on due to canny, clever writing, rich photo stock (with colors that just POP!), a fun supporting cast, a hummable theme song (warbled by Johnny Tillotson), and of course Field, the quintessential little sister/best friend/project manager. Field was an inexperienced young actress who somehow knew the magical trick of connecting honestly with the TV viewing audience (whether addressing the camera directly or not). Her abilities were part instinct and part God's gift. She's indefatigable but never exhausting, and she makes everyone on-screen her pal as well. As widower father Professor Russell Lawrence, Don Porter (carried over from 1963's theatrical "Gidget Goes to Rome") is attractively bemused and never embarrassed, while Lynette Winter is the perfect embodiment of the misfit best friend (doggedly devoted, sometimes against her will). As Gidget's married sister and brother-in-law, Betty Conner and Peter Deuel seldom get their share of bright lines or stories, though Deuel's starchy skepticism is nearly funny on its own. Despite the product plugs, Gidget's rather under-populated high school, and a few slapstick detours, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. It's nostalgic and upbeat, and Field looks great on a surfboard.