Cliff Robertson’s “Big Kahuna” Beach Style in Gidget

Cliff Robertson and Sandra Dee in Gidget (1959) Vitals Cliff Robertson as Burt “The Big Kahuna” Vail, beach bum and Korean War Veteran Malibu, California, Summer 1959 Film: Gidget Release Date: April 10, 1959 Director: Paul Wendkos WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Background Now that it’s summer, let’s flash back to the beach party movie that started it all. Before Frankie and Annette and before we ever followed Elvis to Hawaii, there was Gidget. Czech-born writer Frederick Kohner was inspired to pen a novel by his daughter Kathy, who was nicknamed “Gidget” (a portmanteau for “girl” and “midget”) while learning to surf on the beaches at Malibu. Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas became a top seller after it was published in 1957, so Kohner sold the rights to Columbia Pictures—awarding five percent of the $5,000 sale to Kathy—where screenwriter Gabrielle Upton adapted it for the screen. With journeyman director Paul Wendkos at the helm, Gidget was shot in just 26 days through the early…

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