Mary Wisniewski
Assistant Living Editor
According to Gidget, surfing is a total stoke.
This is no reference to the bubbly blonde Sandra Dee who starred in the film “Gidget.” Instead, it is the real Gidget who shoots the curl and occasionally serves as a hostess at Duke’s Malibu: 65-year-old Kathy Kohner Zuckerman.
The vivacious surfer wears a white blouse over stripped pants and stands near the front entrance of Duke’s Malibu. Her brunette streaked blonde hair bounces along her neck as she says hello to incoming customers and co-workers who give her hugs.
It is clear that the beach party movie got one thing right: the popularity of this woman.
Zuckerman is known for her surf adventures after her father, Frederick, turned them into a book, which is titled “Gidget.” Her published coming-of-age story revealed the surf subculture in Malibu during the 1950s and quickly caught media attention.
Malibu soon became the latest hot spot for surfers, and Gidget became an icon. In fact, in 1999, Zuckerman was named the seventh most influential surfer in SURFER magazine.
Zuckerman said she first wanted to surf as a way to belong to a group. In those days, it was not always easy being a female surfer, although Zuckerman said she never paid attention to that.
She recalls a day at the beach when she inadvertently annoyed one of the guys. Zuckerman said she told him she was not bugging him, and he replied: “Yeah. You’re still breathing.”
As a way to appease some of the guy surfers, she would bring peanut butter sandwiches to the beach.
Although those days are long gone — next summer will mark her 50th anniversary of first learning how to surf. Zuckerman still remains no stranger to the waves.
“The exercise is great,” Zuckerman said. “I could be playing bridge and not moving my body, or I could be out in the sun again.”
Zuckerman said anyone can do the sport and likes it because it is part of outdoor life and clean living.
“Yesterday, I’ve popped up like 50 years never elapsed,” Zuckerman said. “I’m not afraid. It makes me sure I’m alive.”
Zuckerman is certainly no stranger to Malibu, having caught waves here since she was a teenager.
Over the years, she said not too much has changed with the Malibu surf culture in the sense that everyone still seems to know everyone.
“There is still a surf community,” she said. However, she said these days, surfers do not have names like Moondoggie. Now, they have surf organizations.
Senior Cathy Vu is well acquainted with the story of Gidget and said she is an inspiration for any young girl.
“Gidget is my favorite classic pop culture icon,” Vu said. “Not everyone has heard of her unless they get to know Malibu, and that’s why she is special.”
Zuckerman is certainly no stranger to Pepperdine students either. She works with a few of them at Duke’s Malibu and said they are some of the nicest people who are clean cut, serious about ethics and always kind to her.
“The kids are special,” she said. Zuckerman said she also enjoys the company of the guys in the restaurant.
“Gidget was always in love and still is,” she said arching her eyebrow.
Much like her continuing interest in attractive men, Zuckerman’s tale is continually being retold.
“Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story,” a one-hour documentary based on Zuckerman’s life will be the next tale.
Zuckerman said she made a choice to have this documentary made as a means to give “aloha” back to the surf community.
She said she likes the documentary because it shows she was a real person. After all, the film shows her life as it truly was through interviews with Zuckerman, some of the actors who played her, famous surfers and many others.
“I hope this movie will stoke girls in the water,” Zuckerman said.
It seems like it would be hard too not. After all, it is a film about Malibu, a place that is inseparable from Gidget as both the icon and the person.
The documentary will air at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8 in Smothers Theatre as part of the Malibu Celebration of Film, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
09-28-2006
