Gidget Grows Up

Gidget Grows Up
GenreComedy
Based onGidget Goes New York
by Frederick Kohner
Written byJohn McGreevey
Directed byJames Sheldon
StarringKaren Valentine
Edward Mulhare
Paul Petersen
Guest Stars:
Warner Anderson
Bob Cummings
Paul Lynde
Nina Foch
Theme music composerShorty Rogers
lyrics by Kelly Gordon
sung by Jean King
ComposerShorty Rogers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerHarry Ackerman
ProducerJerome Courtland
CinematographyJohn M. Stephens
EditorAaron Nibley
Running time74 minutes
Production companyScreen Gems
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 30, 1969 (1969-12-30)
Related

Gidget Grows Up is a 1969 American made-for-television comedy film directed by James Sheldon with stars Karen Valentine, Edward Mulhare and Paul Petersen as well as alphabetically listed special guest stars Warner Anderson, Bob Cummings, Nina Foch and Paul Lynde. Freely adapted from the novel Gidget Goes New York by Frederick Kohner, the film 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.[1]

Plot

After two years of college abroad, 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 Mac Laughlin, an Australian 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.

Cast

Guest stars in alphabetical order

Cast members listed only in end credits
Susan Batson Diana
Hal Frederick Lee
Helen Funai Minnie
Mario Aniov Abdul
Gunilla Knudsen Katrina
Doreen Lang Mrs. Willard
Michael Lembeck Arnold
Davis Roberts Bukumbu Representative
Cynthia Lynn Dispatcher
Donald Symington Clerk
Harlan Carraher Ben
Margot Jane Rae Ellen
Leo G. Morrell Turkish Delegate
Lloyd Kino Japanese Delegate
Hugo Bianqui Italian Delegate

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gidget is Returning to the Screen--Only Now She's a Valentine". Los Angeles Times December 28, 1969: L 39 d.
  2. ^ Vagg, Stephen (29 October 2024). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings". Filmink. Retrieved 29 October 2024.