During the 1950s, Malibu, Calif. was a crucible of what would become known as the “surf lifestyle.” Malibu’s long, peeling, pointbreak waves were ideal for surfing and attracted a group of regulars who were among the best surfers of the day. Miki Dora, Lance Carson, Kemp Aaberg and others were skilled and stylish test pilots for the top board designers of the day like Joe Quigg, Matt Kivlin and Dale Velzy.

It was a great time to be a surfer and Malibu was the place to ride waves, hang out and lead a free and easy way of life during summer when the smooth south swells rolled in. The ocean teemed with fish, abalone could be plucked off the rocks and clams dug from the shore.

With the new, light balsa and fiberglass Malibu Chip surfboards like this one (extensively restored, with blue pigment covering repair work) more and more women and girls were starting to surf. One of them was a nice Jewish girl from the toney west Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood named Kathy Kohner.

Terry Tracy, who was the social ringmaster of “The Pit” where the surfers hung out, said the diminutive 15-year-old looked like a girl midget, and gave her a nickname—Gidget.

Kohner went home each day from the beach and regaled her father, screenwriter Frederick Kohner, with breathless tales of how amazing it was to ride the waves and what a colorful crew the surf guys were. In 1957 Kohner spent six weeks writing up her stories into a fictionalized novella titled “Gidget—the little girl with big ideas”—and it sold a half million copies. The following year Columbia Pictures commissioned Kohner to write a screenplay from the book and in 1959 the Hollywood movie “Gidget,” starring Sandra Dee and James Darren, hit the screens and became a huge summer hit.

Surfing had been “discovered” as a teen fad and nothing about it, or Malibu, would ever be the same again.

Dick Clark Hosts a Trailer for the Film 'Gidget'