AllMovie

Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story tells the story behind the world famous book and film franchise that brought surfing to the masses. In the summer of '56, Los Angeles teenager Kathy Kohner discovered Malibu, boys and surfing. She had so much fun with Malibu surfing locals who sported handles likes Kahuna, Moondoggie and Tubesteak that she wrote it all down in her diary and showed it to her father, screenwriter Frederick Kohner. The rest is history, with the book becoming a bestseller and inspiring a string of movies and TV series that spanned more than 30 years.