Gidget's Summer Reunion
Encyclopedia
Gidget'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
.
and Jeff live in Santa Monica
, Jeff working as an architect
and Gidget as a travel agent. They have no children of their own, but are looking after Gidget's niece Kim while Anne and John (Kim's parents) are in Europe
.
Their marriage is troubled, in part because they are becoming workaholics
, leaving themselves too little quality time
.
Gidget decides to throw Jeff a surprise thirtieth birthday party including a reunion of their old surfing
fiends, but this is threatened when the illness of her employee Johnny Soon means that she must fill in, coordinating a tour in Hawaii
. Meanwhile, Jeff is fending off romantic advances from Anne Bedford, his beautiful and libidinous
boss.
Kim at fifteen and a half years old is much as Gidget was at that age. She wants to learn how to surf and gets in over her head when she sneaks out of the house to see Mickey, a suave, self serving beach bum behind the back of Albert, her nerdy
boyfriend.
In the end, Johnny Soon's quick recovery brings Gidget home in the nick of time to save her marriage and rescue Kim from the tight spot she has gotten herself into.
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
for television syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. It was written by Robert Blees and George Zateslo and directed by Bruce Bilson
Bruce Bilson
Bruce Bilson is an American film and television director. He is the grandfather of the actress Rachel Bilson.Bilson was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Jewish parents. His mother, Hattie Bilson , was an American screenwriter, and his father, George Bilson, was an English-born...
and starred Caryn Richman
Caryn Richman
Caryn Richman is an actress who primarily appeared in television series in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her roles include Elena Dekker on the soap opera Texas, Gidget on the television series The New Gidget, and Nora Brady in A Very Brady Christmas and The Bradys.-External links:...
as 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"...
.
Plot
Now in their late twenties and married, 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"...
and Jeff live in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, Jeff working as an architect
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and Gidget as a travel agent. They have no children of their own, but are looking after Gidget's niece Kim while Anne and John (Kim's parents) are in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Their marriage is troubled, in part because they are becoming workaholics
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
, leaving themselves too little quality time
Quality time
Quality time is an informal reference to time spent with loved ones which is in some way important, special, productive or profitable. It is time that is set aside for paying full and undivided attention to the person or matter at hand...
.
Gidget decides to throw Jeff a surprise thirtieth birthday party including a reunion of their old surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
fiends, but this is threatened when the illness of her employee Johnny Soon means that she must fill in, coordinating a tour in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Meanwhile, Jeff is fending off romantic advances from Anne Bedford, his beautiful and libidinous
Libido
Libido refers to a person's sex drive or desire for sexual activity. The desire for sex is an aspect of a person's sexuality, but varies enormously from one person to another, and it also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time. A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly...
boss.
Kim at fifteen and a half years old is much as Gidget was at that age. She wants to learn how to surf and gets in over her head when she sneaks out of the house to see Mickey, a suave, self serving beach bum behind the back of Albert, her nerdy
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
boyfriend.
In the end, Johnny Soon's quick recovery brings Gidget home in the nick of time to save her marriage and rescue Kim from the tight spot she has gotten herself into.
Cast
- Caryn RichmanCaryn RichmanCaryn Richman is an actress who primarily appeared in television series in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her roles include Elena Dekker on the soap opera Texas, Gidget on the television series The New Gidget, and Nora Brady in A Very Brady Christmas and The Bradys.-External links:...
as Francine "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"...
" Griffin - Dean ButlerDean Butler (actor)Dean Butler was born May 20, 1956, in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, is an American movie and television actor and producer of documentaries....
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 - Allison Barron as Kim
- Don StroudDon StroudDonald Lee Stroud is an American actor and surfer who appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.-Early life:...
as The Great KahoonaKahoonaThe Kahoona is a character created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas... - Anne Lockhart as Larue PowellLarue WilsonLarue Wilson is a fictional character introduced in Frederick Kohner's 1957 novel Gidget, the Litte Girl with Big Ideas. She also appears in much of the television work involving Gidget.-The Novel:...
- Vincent Van PattenVincent Van PattenVincent Van Patten is an American actor and former tour professional tennis player.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York. He is the youngest son of actor Dick Van Patten and his wife, Pat, née Poole, a former June Taylor dancer. He is of Dutch and Italian descent...
as Mickey - Johnny YuneJohnny YuneJohnny Yune is a Korean-American actor and comedian.He played the lead in the 1980s films They Call Me Bruce? and They Still Call Me Bruce. Yune's big break came at Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show". Yune stated that due to "Charlton Heston" not showing up on time, he was given over twenty minutes of...
as Johnny Soon - David Knell as Albert Winslow
- Ben MurphyBen MurphyBenjamin E. Murphy is an American actor. He is known for his role in the ABC television series Alias Smith and Jones, co-starring as Kid Curry, first with Pete Duel and later with Roger Davis.-Early life:...
as Ron Levering - Mary FrannMary FrannMary Frann was an American actress best known for her role as Bob Newhart's wife, Joanna Loudon, on the television series Newhart.-Early life and career:...
as Anne Bedford - William SchallertWilliam SchallertWilliam Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...
as Russ Lawrence - Will Nye as Slim
- Steven Kavner as Malibu Mac
- Michael Pniewski as Scooter Boy (as Michael Pniewski)
- Peter AckermanPeter AckermanPeter Ackerman is the founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and the managing director of Rockport Capital Incorporated. He chaired the board of trustees of Freedom House from September 2005 until January 2009. He is a member of the Board of the Council on Foreign...
as Darryl - Brad Zutaut as Kirk
- Buck YoungBuck YoungBuck Young was an American actor who played the role as "Sergeant Whipple" on the Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. TV series.In 1944, during World War II, Young was drafted into the US Army Air Corps...
as Bob - Gillian Dobb as Mary Jane
- George Zateslo as Hot Dog
- Bill EdwardsBill Edwards (actor)Bill Edwards was an American film/television actor, championship rodeo rider and a multi talented artist....
as Harry Schaffer - Danny Kamekona as George the Chauffeur
- Florence Schauffler as Neighbor
- Peter Youngblood as Worker
- Richard Lee as Korean Man
- Moe KealeMoe KealeWilfred Nalani "Moe" Keale was a musician of Hawaiian music, ukulele virtuoso, and an American actor. He was uncle to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.-Career:...
as Bob the Driver
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 (TV series)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...
- Gidget Grows UpGidget Grows UpGidget 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...
- List of television films produced for American Broadcasting Company