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Moondoggie
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Moondoggie is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas. He appears as a principal character in five of the eight Gidget novels, but is a minor character or is only mentioned in passing in Cher Papa, The Affairs of Gidget and Gidget Goes Parisienne. He is portrayed as a surfer who saves Gidget from drowning and later becomes romantically involved with her. In the novels, two of the television movies and The New Gidget, his real name is Geoffrey H. Griffin (the middle initial is mentioned only in the first novel), but in the three Gidget motion pictures and the 1960s sitcom Gidget his name is changed to Jeffrey Matthews, and in Gidget Gets Married his name is Jeff Stevens. In the novelization Gidget Goes Hawaiian we learn that his nickname refers to his fondness for surfing by moonlight.In the three motion pictures Gidget, Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome, Moondoggie is portrayed by James Darren, the only character to be played by the same actor in all three films. In the sitcom Gidget, he is portrayed by Stephen Mines; in Gidget Grows Up by Paul Petersen, in Gidget Gets Married by Michael Burns, and in Gidget's Summer Reunion and The New Gidget by Dean Butler.
At the end of the last Gidget novel, Gidget Goes New York, Moondoggie and Gidget are married. They are also portrayed as married in Gidget Gets Married, Gidget's Summer Reunion and The New Gidget.
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Filmography of Moondoggie (5 films)
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Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985)
, 1h38Directed by Bruce Bilson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Sports films, Surfing films
Actors Dean Butler, Don Stroud, Anne Lockhart, Vincent Van Patten, Johnny Yune, Ben Murphy
Rating61%
Now in their late twenties and married, Gidget and Jeff live in Santa Monica, Jeff working as an architect and Gidget as a travel agent. They have no children of their own, but are looking after Gidget's niece Kim while Anne and John (Kim's parents) are in Europe.
Gidget Gets Married (1972)
, 1h13Directed by E.W. Swackhamer
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Sports films, Surfing films
Actors Paul Lynde, Michael Burns, Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Macdonald Carey, Elinor Donahue
Rating47%
Now that Jeff has completed his military service and landed a lucrative job as an engineer, he and Gidget marry and move to Glossop, Maryland, where his new job is. Gidget finds that Jeff's company exerts far too much control over their lives, deciding where they will live and even choosing their friends for them. Gidget's rebellion against this lands Jeff in hot water, and their marriage is sorely tested.
Gidget Grows Up (1969)
, 1h15Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Sports films, Surfing films
Actors Karen Valentine, Paul Lynde, Edward Mulhare, Paul Petersen, Warner Anderson, Robert Cummings
Rating64%
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.
Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)
, 1h44Directed by Paul Wendkos
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Sports films, Surfing films, Musical films
Actors Cindy Carol, James Darren, Don Porter, Jeff Donnell, Jessie Royce Landis, Cesare Danova
Rating51%
College-bound Gidget (Cindy Carol) is vacationing in Rome for the summer with faithful boyfriend Jeff, aka Moondoggie (James Darren) and their friends. Chaperoning the pair is Aunt Albertina (Jessie Royce Landis). However, Gidget's father Russell, worried about his daughter being abroad, asks an old friend of his, named Paolo Cellini, to keep an eye on Gidget to see that she stays out of trouble. Complications set in when Gidget begins to fall for the much older Paolo.
Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)
, 1h41Directed by Paul Wendkos
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Sports films, Transport films, Surfing films, Musical films
Actors Deborah Walley, James Darren, Carl Reiner, Michael Callan, Jeff Donnell, Peggy Cass
Rating56%
The film opens with Francie "Gidget" Lawrence (Deborah Walley) and Jeff "Moondoggie" Matthews (James Darren) getting pinned. Later, Gidget's father Russ (Carl Reiner) announces that they are going to Hawaii for a vacation. Gidget refuses to go and leave Jeff alone; Gidget's mother Dorothy (Jean Donnell) explains to Russ that Jeff is all that matters to Gidget. Russ decides to cancel Gidget's room reservation and make arrangements for her to stay with a relative so that she can be with Jeff. However, when Jeff tells Gidget that he thinks it's great and that she should go to Hawaii, Gidget gives him back his pin, runs home and tells her folks she has changed her mind.