1 00:00:15,036 --> 00:00:22,036 Speaker 1: Pushkin Hey, Lost Tails listeners, it's Dana. I wanted to 2 00:00:22,076 --> 00:00:24,196 Speaker 1: let you know that you can hear the entire new 3 00:00:24,236 --> 00:00:27,596 Speaker 1: season of Lost Hill's ad free, along with other great 4 00:00:27,596 --> 00:00:31,836 Speaker 1: binge listens by becoming a Pushkin Plus subscriber. Find Pushkin 5 00:00:31,916 --> 00:00:35,156 Speaker 1: Plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts, 6 00:00:35,356 --> 00:00:46,036 Speaker 1: or at pushkin dot Fm slash Plus. The Gidget movie 7 00:00:46,076 --> 00:00:48,356 Speaker 1: came out in the spring of nineteen fifty nine. 8 00:00:48,996 --> 00:00:51,716 Speaker 2: Gidget is the story of a young, blonde teenage Gallow 9 00:00:51,716 --> 00:00:55,716 Speaker 2: spends a fabulous summer at Malibu Beach with the surfboarders. 10 00:00:56,156 --> 00:00:58,756 Speaker 2: Of course, you know, Gidget was a very big best seller, 11 00:00:59,036 --> 00:01:01,796 Speaker 2: and they made it into a tremendous motion picture in 12 00:01:01,916 --> 00:01:03,916 Speaker 2: color and in Cinema Scope. 13 00:01:04,316 --> 00:01:07,556 Speaker 1: It starred a sixteen year old Sondra d as Gidget 14 00:01:08,036 --> 00:01:12,876 Speaker 1: him it's such fun living in California and being able 15 00:01:12,916 --> 00:01:16,276 Speaker 1: to pick fresh flowers for my hair. Sondra D was 16 00:01:16,396 --> 00:01:19,916 Speaker 1: tiny and blonde, the Hollywood version of the all American 17 00:01:19,956 --> 00:01:24,636 Speaker 1: girl in the movie. Gidget's real name was Francis Lawrence, 18 00:01:24,996 --> 00:01:28,236 Speaker 1: not Kathy Khner, and she had a bland American mom 19 00:01:28,276 --> 00:01:32,116 Speaker 1: and dad right out of a fifty sitcom. But the 20 00:01:32,196 --> 00:01:34,956 Speaker 1: real Gidget had a family that was much more layered. 21 00:01:35,556 --> 00:01:39,276 Speaker 1: They were European and Jewish, and for what it's worth, 22 00:01:39,476 --> 00:01:43,796 Speaker 1: Kathy had dark hair. In the early thirties, Kathy's father, 23 00:01:44,036 --> 00:01:47,796 Speaker 1: Frederick Kohner, had been a screenwriter in Berlin. His first 24 00:01:47,836 --> 00:01:51,836 Speaker 1: film premier, Justice Hitler was declaring a boycott on Jewish businesses. 25 00:01:53,076 --> 00:01:53,756 Speaker 1: Here's Kathy. 26 00:01:54,636 --> 00:01:58,116 Speaker 3: They took his name off the screen credit for a 27 00:01:58,156 --> 00:02:03,356 Speaker 3: movie that did not show very long by Stefan Sweike, 28 00:02:04,716 --> 00:02:08,076 Speaker 3: The Burning Secret. And he had a pen name because 29 00:02:08,156 --> 00:02:11,956 Speaker 3: when he died we looked, you know, they came across 30 00:02:11,956 --> 00:02:15,356 Speaker 3: the name called Alex Bang. So he had a pseudonym. 31 00:02:16,196 --> 00:02:18,236 Speaker 1: Was that to disguise his Jewish? 32 00:02:18,356 --> 00:02:20,476 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, that was. 33 00:02:22,076 --> 00:02:23,916 Speaker 3: Difficult period in the time. 34 00:02:25,076 --> 00:02:28,236 Speaker 1: Gidget's dad, Frederick, made its way to Los Angeles and 35 00:02:28,276 --> 00:02:32,036 Speaker 1: continued writing movies. In nineteen thirty nine, he was nominated 36 00:02:32,036 --> 00:02:35,836 Speaker 1: for an Academy Award. Two years later, Kathy was born. 37 00:02:36,436 --> 00:02:39,156 Speaker 1: The family lived in La till the mid fifties, when 38 00:02:39,196 --> 00:02:41,916 Speaker 1: Frederick took a job in Berlin. When they got back, 39 00:02:42,356 --> 00:02:43,836 Speaker 1: Kathy didn't know where she fit in. 40 00:02:44,636 --> 00:02:46,516 Speaker 3: We'd lived in Berlin for a year and a half 41 00:02:47,276 --> 00:02:48,676 Speaker 3: when I was thirteen and fourteen. 42 00:02:48,756 --> 00:02:49,516 Speaker 4: I came home and. 43 00:02:49,476 --> 00:02:53,796 Speaker 3: I really you know, I'd missed out on the junior 44 00:02:53,876 --> 00:02:59,156 Speaker 3: high school graduation and sticking with the girls, and so 45 00:02:59,196 --> 00:03:03,036 Speaker 3: when I came back, I was a little bit where's 46 00:03:03,076 --> 00:03:07,116 Speaker 3: my place? And then the folks, you know, you got 47 00:03:07,116 --> 00:03:08,836 Speaker 3: to come to Malibu with us. You know you're not 48 00:03:08,836 --> 00:03:10,956 Speaker 3: going to go to a movie theater on a Saturday afternoon, 49 00:03:11,156 --> 00:03:13,556 Speaker 3: the Bruin Theater in Westwood Village. Yeah, you're gonna come. 50 00:03:14,436 --> 00:03:17,476 Speaker 3: So it was sort of like, okay, but I'm going 51 00:03:17,516 --> 00:03:18,876 Speaker 3: to learn how to I'm gonna do this. 52 00:03:20,156 --> 00:03:23,436 Speaker 1: Frederick saw potential in Kathy's stories of a Malibu surf 53 00:03:23,476 --> 00:03:24,476 Speaker 1: scene right away. 54 00:03:25,756 --> 00:03:27,596 Speaker 3: I don't really know what he was working on, but 55 00:03:28,116 --> 00:03:31,396 Speaker 3: he hit on when he decided, I'm going to take 56 00:03:31,516 --> 00:03:32,756 Speaker 3: what Kathy's telling me. 57 00:03:33,116 --> 00:03:35,276 Speaker 4: I'm going to write a book. And so he wrote 58 00:03:35,316 --> 00:03:39,436 Speaker 4: that book in three weeks. He wrote Gidget in three weeks. 59 00:03:40,316 --> 00:03:44,076 Speaker 1: Kathy's uncle, Frederick's older brother, Paul Kohner, was a famous 60 00:03:44,116 --> 00:03:47,196 Speaker 1: Hollywood agent, so Frederick took the manuscript to him to 61 00:03:47,196 --> 00:03:48,076 Speaker 1: see what he thought of it. 62 00:03:48,956 --> 00:03:53,476 Speaker 4: And I remember Uncle Paul like, well, I what is this? 63 00:03:53,756 --> 00:03:55,876 Speaker 3: You know, maybe this would be a good story for 64 00:03:56,036 --> 00:03:56,956 Speaker 3: reader's ditches. 65 00:03:57,156 --> 00:03:57,516 Speaker 4: See. 66 00:03:57,676 --> 00:04:01,596 Speaker 3: You know it was so different that even though Malibu 67 00:04:01,676 --> 00:04:03,636 Speaker 3: was twenty minutes from the house, it was. 68 00:04:03,596 --> 00:04:04,396 Speaker 4: A world away. 69 00:04:04,436 --> 00:04:06,156 Speaker 3: It was a world apart. 70 00:04:07,076 --> 00:04:10,196 Speaker 1: A teenage love story set among the surfing beatnicks of 71 00:04:10,236 --> 00:04:14,356 Speaker 1: Malibu didn't appeal to Uncle Paul. He encouraged Frederick to 72 00:04:14,396 --> 00:04:15,116 Speaker 1: shop it around. 73 00:04:16,236 --> 00:04:18,676 Speaker 3: I remember when a phone call came to my dad. 74 00:04:19,036 --> 00:04:21,276 Speaker 3: It was around dinnertime, and my dad got off the 75 00:04:21,276 --> 00:04:23,956 Speaker 3: phone and he said, this agent in at William Morris 76 00:04:24,036 --> 00:04:28,276 Speaker 3: just thinks he said, mister Corner, you have hit the jackpot. 77 00:04:30,316 --> 00:04:33,716 Speaker 1: Soon, Hollywood scouts would show up in Malibu looking for 78 00:04:33,796 --> 00:04:37,836 Speaker 1: locations to film beach movies and actual bonafide surfers to 79 00:04:37,836 --> 00:04:41,916 Speaker 1: do the stunts. Mickey Dora would be right there, auditioning 80 00:04:41,916 --> 00:04:46,076 Speaker 1: for roles and getting paid handsomely. Friends of his told 81 00:04:46,156 --> 00:04:48,876 Speaker 1: me it was actually the only honest money he made 82 00:04:48,916 --> 00:04:51,876 Speaker 1: in his whole life, and he was still getting residual 83 00:04:51,956 --> 00:04:55,716 Speaker 1: checks into his old age. But he also claimed to 84 00:04:55,836 --> 00:04:59,236 Speaker 1: hate Hollywood and everyone who worked in the business or 85 00:04:59,276 --> 00:05:02,636 Speaker 1: had a connection to it. About his work on the 86 00:05:02,676 --> 00:05:06,796 Speaker 1: Gidget movie, he said, quote, my only regret is that 87 00:05:06,836 --> 00:05:11,236 Speaker 1: I did not torch Gidget's palm Loveshack with that phony 88 00:05:11,276 --> 00:05:14,636 Speaker 1: Fuffuni and all the rest of the cast and crew inside. 89 00:05:15,076 --> 00:05:17,916 Speaker 1: What a glorious emu oven it would have made. We 90 00:05:17,956 --> 00:05:20,956 Speaker 1: could have had a kama Aina luau with Hollywood Long 91 00:05:21,036 --> 00:05:27,436 Speaker 1: Pig as the main course. It's pretty gross, especially when 92 00:05:27,436 --> 00:05:31,236 Speaker 1: you consider Kathy was from a family of Eastern European 93 00:05:31,276 --> 00:05:35,236 Speaker 1: immigrants who helped create the film industry in Hollywood, and 94 00:05:35,316 --> 00:05:38,476 Speaker 1: Mickey Dora while he was the son of an Eastern 95 00:05:38,556 --> 00:05:42,636 Speaker 1: European immigrant who came to Hollywood to make it. The 96 00:05:42,636 --> 00:05:46,596 Speaker 1: two families, the Kohners and the Doros, had both escaped 97 00:05:46,636 --> 00:05:49,556 Speaker 1: the rise of fascism in Europe for a better life 98 00:05:49,596 --> 00:05:55,196 Speaker 1: in California. They shared roots, and as I discovered, they 99 00:05:55,236 --> 00:05:59,156 Speaker 1: shared a specific history in Los Angeles at the Dawn 100 00:05:59,356 --> 00:06:07,716 Speaker 1: of Hollywood. I'm Dana Goodyear and this is Lost Hills, 101 00:06:34,596 --> 00:06:43,996 Speaker 1: Episode four, Gidget Goes to Hollywood, Part two. You can't 102 00:06:43,996 --> 00:06:46,476 Speaker 1: tell the story of Hollywood about the story of the 103 00:06:46,516 --> 00:06:51,996 Speaker 1: Khner family, especially Gidget's uncle Paul Koner, her father Frederick's 104 00:06:52,036 --> 00:06:55,756 Speaker 1: older brother. He was a producer turned agent who helped 105 00:06:55,756 --> 00:06:59,756 Speaker 1: define the Golden Age of Hollywood. This is Gidget's cousin, 106 00:07:00,076 --> 00:07:03,076 Speaker 1: Paul's son He's a writer, director and producer. 107 00:07:04,956 --> 00:07:08,676 Speaker 5: I'm Pancho Conor. I was born here in Los Angeles 108 00:07:09,276 --> 00:07:10,036 Speaker 5: four years ago. 109 00:07:12,156 --> 00:07:16,076 Speaker 1: Paul Koner, Poncho's father, had first come to Los Angeles 110 00:07:16,116 --> 00:07:19,116 Speaker 1: in the nineteen twenties to work for Carl Lemley, the 111 00:07:19,196 --> 00:07:21,516 Speaker 1: founder of Universal Studios. 112 00:07:22,716 --> 00:07:27,356 Speaker 5: My dad was the eldest of three brothers from Czechoslovakia, 113 00:07:27,476 --> 00:07:32,276 Speaker 5: small town in Bohemia, which was German speaking Czechoslovakia. 114 00:07:33,436 --> 00:07:37,556 Speaker 1: After Paul, there was Frederick Gidget's father. Their youngest brother 115 00:07:37,916 --> 00:07:38,356 Speaker 1: was Walter. 116 00:07:39,596 --> 00:07:45,356 Speaker 5: My grandfather Julius Khoner and templets. He had a cinema 117 00:07:45,476 --> 00:07:51,236 Speaker 5: theater and he also published monthly Film Journal magazine. 118 00:07:51,956 --> 00:07:54,756 Speaker 1: When Paul was eighteen, Julius asked him to do an 119 00:07:54,796 --> 00:07:57,636 Speaker 1: interview with Carl Lemley, who was visiting. 120 00:07:57,276 --> 00:08:01,196 Speaker 5: The area, and Lemley took a liking to him and 121 00:08:01,636 --> 00:08:03,276 Speaker 5: hired him to come to America. 122 00:08:03,556 --> 00:08:08,036 Speaker 1: Your Coner grandfather had a nickname. That is it Kainokoner. 123 00:08:08,556 --> 00:08:13,076 Speaker 5: Corner Quino is a movie theater. People were nicknamed by 124 00:08:13,116 --> 00:08:18,436 Speaker 5: what their profession was. My father here was nicknamed Phoner 125 00:08:18,676 --> 00:08:22,876 Speaker 5: Coner because he was always on the phone. 126 00:08:23,036 --> 00:08:26,676 Speaker 1: In Los Angeles, Paul met the Mexican actress Lupeita Tavar. 127 00:08:27,956 --> 00:08:33,036 Speaker 5: My mother was Mexican. She was born in Wahaca, in 128 00:08:33,076 --> 00:08:36,996 Speaker 5: the southern part of the state, outdoor plumbing dirt floores. 129 00:08:37,916 --> 00:08:39,796 Speaker 5: The eldest of nine children. 130 00:08:40,756 --> 00:08:44,876 Speaker 1: Lupita was discovered in Mexico by an American director, Robert Flaherty, 131 00:08:45,076 --> 00:08:49,076 Speaker 1: the inventor of the feature length documentary film. Lupita was 132 00:08:49,116 --> 00:08:52,156 Speaker 1: given a contract at Fox Studios in Hollywood and became 133 00:08:52,196 --> 00:08:56,476 Speaker 1: a silent movie star. But soon the silent era was over, 134 00:08:57,396 --> 00:09:01,796 Speaker 1: and that was problematic for a Spanish speaking actress, and. 135 00:09:01,756 --> 00:09:05,956 Speaker 5: They weren't going to renew her contract. But the people 136 00:09:05,996 --> 00:09:08,836 Speaker 5: at Fox sent her over to Universal where they were 137 00:09:09,356 --> 00:09:12,996 Speaker 5: pictures into Spanish, and that's where she met my father, 138 00:09:14,276 --> 00:09:17,236 Speaker 5: and it was sort of love at first sight. She 139 00:09:17,356 --> 00:09:19,916 Speaker 5: did three nights dubbing and didn't know what to do 140 00:09:19,996 --> 00:09:24,156 Speaker 5: and was going to go back to Mexico, but first 141 00:09:24,196 --> 00:09:27,596 Speaker 5: she wisely went back to say goodbye to that nice man, 142 00:09:27,676 --> 00:09:31,436 Speaker 5: Paul Corner, who said, give me twenty four hours. And 143 00:09:31,476 --> 00:09:34,876 Speaker 5: he went to Lemley and said, we're wasting half the 144 00:09:34,916 --> 00:09:37,636 Speaker 5: studio here. At six o'clock he turned off the lights 145 00:09:37,676 --> 00:09:40,676 Speaker 5: till six in the morning. We should bring in another crew. 146 00:09:41,236 --> 00:09:45,036 Speaker 5: Spanish speaking actors and shoot the same film in Spanish. 147 00:09:45,676 --> 00:09:48,396 Speaker 5: It'll cost peanuts because we use all the same everything, 148 00:09:49,196 --> 00:09:52,876 Speaker 5: And Lemley said, fantastic, do it. And my father said, 149 00:09:53,156 --> 00:09:56,196 Speaker 5: there's an actress here thinking of going back to Mexico, 150 00:09:56,276 --> 00:09:58,916 Speaker 5: and Lemley said, well, sign her two a year's contract 151 00:09:58,996 --> 00:09:59,436 Speaker 5: right away. 152 00:10:00,836 --> 00:10:03,516 Speaker 1: One of the first big talkies at Universal was a 153 00:10:03,556 --> 00:10:11,476 Speaker 1: horror film that became iconic, I Am Not Cumor. During 154 00:10:11,516 --> 00:10:15,276 Speaker 1: the day they shot Bela Lugosi. At night they filmed 155 00:10:15,276 --> 00:10:19,076 Speaker 1: the Spanish version of Dracula, with Ponto's mother, Lupita, playing 156 00:10:19,116 --> 00:10:24,356 Speaker 1: the female lead. Paul supervised the film, and two. 157 00:10:24,316 --> 00:10:27,156 Speaker 5: Years later they got married in Czechoslovakia. 158 00:10:28,716 --> 00:10:31,156 Speaker 1: Paul and his new bride decided to stay in Europe 159 00:10:31,196 --> 00:10:34,316 Speaker 1: and make films. They moved to Berlin, where the political 160 00:10:34,356 --> 00:10:39,036 Speaker 1: situation was taking a dark turn in the early thirties. 161 00:10:39,156 --> 00:10:43,276 Speaker 1: When Paul and Lupita were living there, Hitler was consolidating power, 162 00:10:43,956 --> 00:10:48,316 Speaker 1: ultimately declaring himself Furor of the German Reich in nineteen 163 00:10:48,356 --> 00:10:48,836 Speaker 1: thirty four. 164 00:10:49,996 --> 00:10:53,156 Speaker 5: My mother was Catholic and my father was Jewish, but 165 00:10:53,236 --> 00:10:56,116 Speaker 5: he had an American passports, so he was fairly safe. 166 00:10:56,836 --> 00:11:02,356 Speaker 5: But they were not allowed to live together a gentile 167 00:11:02,396 --> 00:11:07,076 Speaker 5: and a Jew, so they had to move constantly. I 168 00:11:07,116 --> 00:11:13,636 Speaker 5: have a letter from authorizing the accounting department to pay 169 00:11:13,716 --> 00:11:17,916 Speaker 5: my father a bonus for living in Berlin in hazardous times. 170 00:11:17,996 --> 00:11:24,236 Speaker 5: As they said, danger pay yes. They used to travel 171 00:11:24,276 --> 00:11:26,236 Speaker 5: to Paris and to London for the opening of the 172 00:11:26,236 --> 00:11:27,156 Speaker 5: films they were making. 173 00:11:28,516 --> 00:11:32,116 Speaker 1: Because of their work and Paul's American passport, Paul and 174 00:11:32,196 --> 00:11:37,596 Speaker 1: Lupita could travel freely, so they became smugglers, helping friends 175 00:11:37,596 --> 00:11:39,316 Speaker 1: and family move money to the West. 176 00:11:40,756 --> 00:11:44,916 Speaker 5: My mother describes how she used to carry jewelry in 177 00:11:45,356 --> 00:11:48,876 Speaker 5: jars of cold cream or in her knitting in a 178 00:11:48,996 --> 00:11:53,676 Speaker 5: role of knitting. She would hide cash and valuables to 179 00:11:53,836 --> 00:11:55,596 Speaker 5: smuggle this stuff out for friends. 180 00:11:56,796 --> 00:12:01,036 Speaker 1: It seemed to work until one day Paul and Lupita 181 00:12:01,116 --> 00:12:04,396 Speaker 1: were stopped at the German Czech border. They were taken 182 00:12:04,396 --> 00:12:06,836 Speaker 1: off the train and were about to be strip searched. 183 00:12:07,756 --> 00:12:09,796 Speaker 1: Paul ran back on the train and saying he had 184 00:12:09,836 --> 00:12:12,316 Speaker 1: forgotten his suitcase and got rid of a wad of 185 00:12:12,356 --> 00:12:15,316 Speaker 1: cash he was carrying, so he threw. 186 00:12:15,156 --> 00:12:18,276 Speaker 5: That bot of cash under an empty seat somewhere. Looked 187 00:12:18,316 --> 00:12:19,676 Speaker 5: like he was going to be a problem, except my 188 00:12:19,716 --> 00:12:24,236 Speaker 5: father loved to be photographed with personalities, with important people, 189 00:12:24,716 --> 00:12:27,876 Speaker 5: and in his briefcase he had a photograph of himself 190 00:12:28,196 --> 00:12:33,276 Speaker 5: with the Heish Marshal, the air Minister, shaking hands. And 191 00:12:33,436 --> 00:12:36,716 Speaker 5: when they saw that, he said, ah, why didn't you 192 00:12:36,756 --> 00:12:39,556 Speaker 5: tell us? And he said, we can call him at 193 00:12:39,556 --> 00:12:41,596 Speaker 5: his home if you'd like il vouch for me. They 194 00:12:41,596 --> 00:12:45,516 Speaker 5: said no, it's all right. So they let them go, but. 195 00:12:45,636 --> 00:12:49,956 Speaker 1: Clearly someone had reported them for smuggling. It wasn't safe 196 00:12:49,956 --> 00:12:54,396 Speaker 1: to go back to Berlin. They had to escape, so. 197 00:12:54,436 --> 00:12:57,556 Speaker 5: Through Switzerland they went to Paris for six months. The 198 00:12:57,636 --> 00:12:59,876 Speaker 5: news was worse and worse from what they heard from 199 00:12:59,916 --> 00:13:04,076 Speaker 5: refugees in Paris, and so they finally took a book 200 00:13:04,116 --> 00:13:05,316 Speaker 5: and came back to America. 201 00:13:06,876 --> 00:13:09,796 Speaker 1: After Paul and Lupita returned to Los Angeles in nineteen 202 00:13:09,796 --> 00:13:12,876 Speaker 1: thirty five, Paul changed course and became a talent agent. 203 00:13:14,196 --> 00:13:18,756 Speaker 5: It was a very successful agent of what they called 204 00:13:18,756 --> 00:13:22,876 Speaker 5: a boutique agency. Didn't have a lot of clients. It 205 00:13:22,996 --> 00:13:26,636 Speaker 5: was one big family. All of these clients were over 206 00:13:26,676 --> 00:13:30,236 Speaker 5: at the house all the time, Sunday's dinner parties. These 207 00:13:30,236 --> 00:13:32,156 Speaker 5: are it was a family affair. 208 00:13:33,316 --> 00:13:35,716 Speaker 1: His clients were some of the biggest movie stars of 209 00:13:35,716 --> 00:13:41,156 Speaker 1: the time, John Houston, Henry Fonda, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner. 210 00:13:42,156 --> 00:13:44,356 Speaker 5: My sister and I used to put on puppet shows 211 00:13:44,876 --> 00:13:46,836 Speaker 5: for Lana's daughter's birthday. 212 00:13:47,876 --> 00:13:52,916 Speaker 1: But Paul specialized in the European emigres. Billy Wilder, Marlena 213 00:13:52,956 --> 00:13:54,956 Speaker 1: dietrich ingmar Bergmann. 214 00:13:55,236 --> 00:13:58,276 Speaker 5: Any with an accent was a client of the Koner Agency. 215 00:13:58,996 --> 00:14:02,236 Speaker 5: They understood each other. They were a tight knit group. 216 00:14:03,316 --> 00:14:06,636 Speaker 1: The late thirties brought a flood of Europeans into Hollywood, 217 00:14:06,916 --> 00:14:10,516 Speaker 1: many of them refugees from Nazi oppression. They flocked to 218 00:14:10,556 --> 00:14:11,956 Speaker 1: the Coner Agency. 219 00:14:12,676 --> 00:14:15,676 Speaker 5: When anyone who came to Hollywood would go straight to 220 00:14:16,116 --> 00:14:18,636 Speaker 5: nine point sixty nine Sunset Boulevard because that was a 221 00:14:18,676 --> 00:14:24,516 Speaker 5: European refuge My father spoke their languages and got them jobs. 222 00:14:25,596 --> 00:14:30,436 Speaker 1: The Coner Agency became a salon for the Emigray film community. 223 00:14:30,476 --> 00:14:34,276 Speaker 5: His office on Sunset Boulevard is an Art Deco small 224 00:14:34,276 --> 00:14:38,836 Speaker 5: building with large offices, and there's an Oval office in 225 00:14:38,916 --> 00:14:42,996 Speaker 5: the Oval entry room with couches, and that's where these 226 00:14:43,036 --> 00:14:47,196 Speaker 5: Europeans actors out of work would hang out would be 227 00:14:47,316 --> 00:14:52,036 Speaker 5: And then the afternoon, my father's right hand as secretary 228 00:14:53,036 --> 00:14:57,236 Speaker 5: also grown up in Berlin, there would be a coffee clutch. 229 00:14:57,436 --> 00:15:02,636 Speaker 5: She would have pastries from poopies and coffee, and that 230 00:15:02,796 --> 00:15:09,076 Speaker 5: was the meeting place for many of these European actors, writers. 231 00:15:08,756 --> 00:15:13,996 Speaker 1: Direct They discussed the news from Europe endlessly and it 232 00:15:14,076 --> 00:15:15,476 Speaker 1: was always horrible. 233 00:15:16,596 --> 00:15:20,476 Speaker 6: Through the snow, the legions of occupation march into Czechoslovakia. 234 00:15:20,756 --> 00:15:23,836 Speaker 6: This rapid stroke, which has outraged all freedom loving nations 235 00:15:23,836 --> 00:15:26,516 Speaker 6: of the world, is carried out with military executitue. 236 00:15:28,276 --> 00:15:30,956 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty eight, the Nazis took over the part 237 00:15:30,956 --> 00:15:34,636 Speaker 1: of Czechoslovakia that included Tapletz, the Koner's hometown. 238 00:15:36,036 --> 00:15:41,556 Speaker 5: My grandmother Helena didn't want to leave because they were 239 00:15:41,596 --> 00:15:48,116 Speaker 5: still uncles Nansen, until finally the situation became untenable and 240 00:15:48,236 --> 00:15:53,116 Speaker 5: the Nazis were in tablets and she made a phone 241 00:15:53,156 --> 00:15:55,956 Speaker 5: call saying get me out. 242 00:15:56,996 --> 00:16:00,796 Speaker 1: Paul Koner was exceptionally well connected. One of his friends 243 00:16:00,876 --> 00:16:04,916 Speaker 1: was the eldest son of President Franklin D. And Eleanor Roosevelt. 244 00:16:05,676 --> 00:16:08,356 Speaker 1: With his help, they were able to get Helena out 245 00:16:08,436 --> 00:16:09,556 Speaker 1: of Europe. 246 00:16:09,876 --> 00:16:13,076 Speaker 5: The rest of the family parish were sent to Terrasine 247 00:16:13,356 --> 00:16:15,756 Speaker 5: Camp and other camps. 248 00:16:18,516 --> 00:16:21,796 Speaker 1: Back in Los Angeles. The emigreve film community realized that 249 00:16:21,876 --> 00:16:25,556 Speaker 1: the situation was dire and the US government was making 250 00:16:25,596 --> 00:16:29,836 Speaker 1: it harder for refugees to immigrate. Paul and Frederick Kohner, 251 00:16:30,036 --> 00:16:33,596 Speaker 1: along with Billy Wilder and Marlena Dietrich, decided they needed 252 00:16:33,636 --> 00:16:35,996 Speaker 1: to do something to help their friends who were trapped 253 00:16:35,996 --> 00:16:36,676 Speaker 1: in Europe. 254 00:16:37,396 --> 00:16:40,036 Speaker 5: In order to get here, they had to have the visas, 255 00:16:40,076 --> 00:16:43,916 Speaker 5: they had to have proof of financial support that they 256 00:16:43,956 --> 00:16:46,836 Speaker 5: wouldn't be a burden on the United States. So my 257 00:16:46,956 --> 00:16:49,596 Speaker 5: father had to get to Affi. David's offers of work 258 00:16:49,876 --> 00:16:53,556 Speaker 5: are from the various studios of various employers round town 259 00:16:53,916 --> 00:16:57,076 Speaker 5: and so financially my father was part of the group 260 00:16:57,116 --> 00:16:59,396 Speaker 5: that started the European Film Fund. 261 00:17:00,236 --> 00:17:04,916 Speaker 1: The Khoner saved some sixty people Jews from Germany, Poland, 262 00:17:04,956 --> 00:17:09,676 Speaker 1: Czechoslovakia and Hungary in La The new refugees joined the 263 00:17:09,676 --> 00:17:13,276 Speaker 1: tight knit Emigree community, and when they weren't hanging out 264 00:17:13,276 --> 00:17:16,156 Speaker 1: at the Koner Agency eating pastries, they were at the 265 00:17:16,196 --> 00:17:19,716 Speaker 1: restaurant down the street. That's where some of the best 266 00:17:19,756 --> 00:17:23,276 Speaker 1: and most authentic European food in Los Angeles was served 267 00:17:23,756 --> 00:17:26,396 Speaker 1: and where the European movie stars and directors hung out. 268 00:17:27,156 --> 00:17:41,116 Speaker 1: At Little Hungary, the restaurant owned by Mickey Dora's dad. 269 00:17:47,876 --> 00:17:51,596 Speaker 1: Mickey Dora and Kathy Kohner Gidget met on the beach 270 00:17:51,596 --> 00:17:55,196 Speaker 1: in Malibu in nineteen fifty six, but their families have 271 00:17:55,276 --> 00:18:02,236 Speaker 1: been deeply intertwined for decades through Mickey's dad's restaurant, Little Hungary. Miklos, 272 00:18:03,076 --> 00:18:06,116 Speaker 1: with his young American wife and Little Mickey, had emigrated 273 00:18:06,156 --> 00:18:11,676 Speaker 1: to America in nineteen thirty five. Little Hungary was a 274 00:18:11,716 --> 00:18:16,156 Speaker 1: swanky place on Sunset Boulevard. The waiters wore bow ties 275 00:18:16,316 --> 00:18:21,396 Speaker 1: and traditional Hungarian outfits, and a sign outside advertised Gypsy music, 276 00:18:22,196 --> 00:18:26,116 Speaker 1: but it was also cozy. You could get Transylvanian gulash 277 00:18:26,396 --> 00:18:30,356 Speaker 1: with an apple strudel for dessert. For the many many 278 00:18:30,396 --> 00:18:33,716 Speaker 1: European emigrets living and working in Hollywood at that time, 279 00:18:34,236 --> 00:18:39,156 Speaker 1: Little Hungary was a reminder of home. That was absolutely 280 00:18:39,236 --> 00:18:43,956 Speaker 1: true for Gidget's family. The Kohners, Paul and Frederick, Gidget's 281 00:18:43,996 --> 00:18:48,556 Speaker 1: uncle and her dad, were regulars, and when their youngest brother, 282 00:18:48,636 --> 00:18:52,556 Speaker 1: Walter arrived in Los Angeles, he started working there. He 283 00:18:52,596 --> 00:18:56,316 Speaker 1: was a pianist, playing Viennese waltzes for the after theater crowd. 284 00:18:56,996 --> 00:19:00,156 Speaker 1: He'd later write that he played for quote ten dollars 285 00:19:00,196 --> 00:19:03,956 Speaker 1: a week and all the gulash I could eat. Here's 286 00:19:03,956 --> 00:19:04,956 Speaker 1: cousin Ponto again. 287 00:19:06,436 --> 00:19:08,196 Speaker 5: It was marvelous when I was growing up. 288 00:19:08,196 --> 00:19:09,116 Speaker 1: What do you remember that? 289 00:19:09,716 --> 00:19:12,916 Speaker 5: Remember my uncle playing the piano there, my uncle Walter. 290 00:19:14,956 --> 00:19:17,636 Speaker 1: Late one night in the spring of nineteen forty, Walter 291 00:19:17,796 --> 00:19:21,996 Speaker 1: was at Little Hungary. Miklosch, Dora, mister Dora to Walter, 292 00:19:22,436 --> 00:19:26,316 Speaker 1: was there too. Mieklosch came and sat next to Walter 293 00:19:26,356 --> 00:19:32,236 Speaker 1: at the piano and delivered terrible news. The Nazis, Miklosch said, 294 00:19:32,596 --> 00:19:37,396 Speaker 1: had invaded Holland. It was a solemn moment between boss 295 00:19:37,436 --> 00:19:43,236 Speaker 1: and employee, two Europeans in grim solidarity. But to Walter 296 00:19:43,316 --> 00:19:49,396 Speaker 1: the news was excruciatingly personal. His childhood sweetheart, Hannah, who 297 00:19:49,836 --> 00:19:59,236 Speaker 1: like him was Jewish, was stuck in Amsterdam. Later, their 298 00:19:59,276 --> 00:20:02,396 Speaker 1: dramatic reunion would be the subject of an episode of 299 00:20:02,436 --> 00:20:04,236 Speaker 1: This Is Your Life. 300 00:20:04,516 --> 00:20:08,436 Speaker 6: This Is Your Life television was most talked about program 301 00:20:08,596 --> 00:20:14,836 Speaker 6: and our host, Ralph Edward Hey. 302 00:20:14,876 --> 00:20:17,876 Speaker 1: On the show, which was wildly popular and ran for 303 00:20:17,916 --> 00:20:21,156 Speaker 1: more than a decade, the host would surprise an unsuspecting 304 00:20:21,196 --> 00:20:23,956 Speaker 1: member of the audience, filling the stage with the most 305 00:20:23,956 --> 00:20:25,716 Speaker 1: important people in the subject's life. 306 00:20:26,716 --> 00:20:33,476 Speaker 6: This is Your Life Hannah Blackconer, Oh No, Yes. 307 00:20:36,076 --> 00:20:40,556 Speaker 1: The program told an extraordinary story how Hannah had defied 308 00:20:40,596 --> 00:20:44,596 Speaker 1: the odds, enduring a series of concentration camps and escaping 309 00:20:44,636 --> 00:20:47,396 Speaker 1: with her life. It was the first time the show 310 00:20:47,476 --> 00:20:51,236 Speaker 1: was devoted to a survivor of the Holocaust. People from 311 00:20:51,316 --> 00:20:54,516 Speaker 1: different parts of Hannah's wartime odyssey, people she had not 312 00:20:54,636 --> 00:20:57,356 Speaker 1: seen in years and she thought she'd never see again, 313 00:20:57,876 --> 00:21:05,196 Speaker 1: appeared on stage for Tearful Reunions. Hannah and Walter had 314 00:21:05,236 --> 00:21:07,956 Speaker 1: met in Teplets when they were young, but when the 315 00:21:07,996 --> 00:21:10,836 Speaker 1: war broke out in your they were separated. 316 00:21:11,836 --> 00:21:15,996 Speaker 5: They were sweethearts in high school, and then Walter came 317 00:21:16,036 --> 00:21:21,276 Speaker 5: to America and Hannah is sweet artist girlfriend. He was 318 00:21:21,356 --> 00:21:23,716 Speaker 5: going to arrange try to arrange a visa for herticum, 319 00:21:24,676 --> 00:21:26,796 Speaker 5: but that was delayed. 320 00:21:28,316 --> 00:21:31,836 Speaker 1: Hannah fled home for the relative safety of Prague. When 321 00:21:31,876 --> 00:21:35,156 Speaker 1: Prague became too dangerous, she went to Amsterdam. 322 00:21:36,236 --> 00:21:43,396 Speaker 5: And she first as a housekeeper. Then the war started 323 00:21:44,156 --> 00:21:51,156 Speaker 5: and she worked as a typist in the German Nazi offices, 324 00:21:51,836 --> 00:21:54,116 Speaker 5: and she had access to all the lists of who 325 00:21:54,156 --> 00:21:55,956 Speaker 5: they were going to round up. 326 00:21:57,476 --> 00:22:01,676 Speaker 1: Once the Nazis invaded Holland, it became basically impossible for 327 00:22:01,716 --> 00:22:04,276 Speaker 1: Hannah to get a visa to come to the United States. 328 00:22:05,956 --> 00:22:10,156 Speaker 1: Then Hannah sent a letter that broke Walter's heart. She 329 00:22:10,156 --> 00:22:12,116 Speaker 1: had fallen in love with someone else. 330 00:22:13,916 --> 00:22:19,716 Speaker 5: She had a suitor, Carl was his name, and she 331 00:22:19,796 --> 00:22:22,356 Speaker 5: hadn't heard from Walter in a long time, and her 332 00:22:22,836 --> 00:22:25,796 Speaker 5: chances of getting a visa were slimmed to none. It 333 00:22:25,916 --> 00:22:28,836 Speaker 5: was a five year waiting list. And then I think 334 00:22:28,876 --> 00:22:34,636 Speaker 5: the American embassy there in Amsterdam was bombed or blew 335 00:22:34,756 --> 00:22:38,156 Speaker 5: up and all the paper was gone. So she and 336 00:22:38,236 --> 00:22:41,156 Speaker 5: Carl got married. They were rounded up and taken to 337 00:22:41,196 --> 00:22:43,636 Speaker 5: a camp and released several times. 338 00:22:44,516 --> 00:22:49,556 Speaker 1: Eventually they were sent to Auschwitz. Carl died there, Hannah 339 00:22:49,876 --> 00:22:51,396 Speaker 1: miraculously did not. 340 00:22:53,316 --> 00:22:56,596 Speaker 5: Her brother, who was a medical student, also was in 341 00:22:56,636 --> 00:22:59,116 Speaker 5: the camps, and they actually saw each other through a 342 00:22:59,196 --> 00:22:59,876 Speaker 5: fence once. 343 00:23:01,116 --> 00:23:04,676 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, Walter had left his job playing piano for mister Dora. 344 00:23:05,196 --> 00:23:10,716 Speaker 1: He'd been drafted into the US Army. Walter was in Europe, 345 00:23:10,876 --> 00:23:13,636 Speaker 1: but he had no idea where Hannah was or if 346 00:23:13,676 --> 00:23:17,956 Speaker 1: she was alive. Then one day, not long after the 347 00:23:17,956 --> 00:23:21,316 Speaker 1: war was over, Walter got a letter. It was addressed 348 00:23:21,316 --> 00:23:26,036 Speaker 1: simply to Walter Kohner. Sunset Boulevard. The letter had made 349 00:23:26,076 --> 00:23:28,436 Speaker 1: it to his brother's talent agency and they had sent 350 00:23:28,516 --> 00:23:32,236 Speaker 1: it to Walter, who was then in Luxembourg. The letter 351 00:23:32,316 --> 00:23:36,476 Speaker 1: was from two American soldiers. They'd liberated a concentration camp 352 00:23:36,636 --> 00:23:38,356 Speaker 1: and had found Hannah alive. 353 00:23:40,236 --> 00:23:45,636 Speaker 5: So he borrowed a jeep and was racing from camp 354 00:23:45,676 --> 00:23:48,916 Speaker 5: to camp trying to find her. At one point he 355 00:23:49,516 --> 00:23:53,876 Speaker 5: i demolished the jeep common neared another vehicle. He got 356 00:23:53,916 --> 00:23:58,556 Speaker 5: to Prague and by chance, in the streets of Prague 357 00:23:58,596 --> 00:24:02,956 Speaker 5: he found freedol Hannah's brother and told him that his 358 00:24:02,996 --> 00:24:06,476 Speaker 5: sister was alive, but they didn't know where, and so 359 00:24:06,596 --> 00:24:09,396 Speaker 5: they thought, well, maybe she went back to Amsterdam. Yeah, 360 00:24:10,116 --> 00:24:14,076 Speaker 5: so Walter went to Amstam. He knew the house how 361 00:24:14,156 --> 00:24:17,636 Speaker 5: she had worked as a maid, and rang the doorbell 362 00:24:17,836 --> 00:24:18,956 Speaker 5: and there she was. 363 00:24:21,196 --> 00:24:24,436 Speaker 1: Hannah and Walter married in the fall of nineteen forty five. 364 00:24:25,116 --> 00:24:28,276 Speaker 1: They decided to return to Los Angeles, where Walter went 365 00:24:28,316 --> 00:24:31,876 Speaker 1: back to playing piano at Mister Dora's restaurant, which he 366 00:24:31,916 --> 00:24:36,636 Speaker 1: had renamed Little Gypsy. Hungary had joined the Axis during 367 00:24:36,636 --> 00:24:39,636 Speaker 1: the war, and Mi Klose didn't want to be associated 368 00:24:39,756 --> 00:24:46,196 Speaker 1: with the Nazis. Gidget's family knew first hand the evils 369 00:24:46,276 --> 00:24:51,436 Speaker 1: of anti Semitism. They knew what a swastika meant. A 370 00:24:51,476 --> 00:24:57,476 Speaker 1: swastikament you don't belong here. It meant you're not safe, 371 00:24:57,796 --> 00:25:04,396 Speaker 1: it meant leave. All this made what happened at Malibu, 372 00:25:04,916 --> 00:25:10,036 Speaker 1: what Kathy's so called friends did, even uglier and more personal, 373 00:25:11,356 --> 00:25:28,476 Speaker 1: really unforgivable. When Kathy Koher returned to Malibu after college, 374 00:25:28,596 --> 00:25:33,156 Speaker 1: the scene on the beach was unrecognizable and something else 375 00:25:33,156 --> 00:25:37,916 Speaker 1: have changed. Kathy wasn't surfing anymore. She'd quit. 376 00:25:38,836 --> 00:25:40,996 Speaker 3: So when I came home in nineteen sixty, I don't 377 00:25:41,036 --> 00:25:45,756 Speaker 3: even remember having my own surfboard anymore, but I do 378 00:25:45,836 --> 00:25:49,796 Speaker 3: remember it being pretty crowded. So the movie came out 379 00:25:49,796 --> 00:25:54,676 Speaker 3: in nineteen fifty nine, and that Gidget, the movie I 380 00:25:54,676 --> 00:25:56,876 Speaker 3: think is the start of the billion dollar surf industry. 381 00:25:56,956 --> 00:25:59,756 Speaker 3: I mean, you know, like, oh my gosh, I want 382 00:25:59,796 --> 00:26:02,436 Speaker 3: to go to Malibu, I want to surf. 383 00:26:02,596 --> 00:26:04,716 Speaker 4: I want to meet Moondoggie. 384 00:26:05,796 --> 00:26:12,076 Speaker 3: Pretty dramatic change, actually, And the fellas that I had 385 00:26:12,116 --> 00:26:16,516 Speaker 3: surfed with they were older than me always, so that 386 00:26:16,596 --> 00:26:19,356 Speaker 3: when I came home they had sort of dispersed. They 387 00:26:19,356 --> 00:26:22,516 Speaker 3: were in the military. Uh, maybe they went away to college. 388 00:26:22,556 --> 00:26:25,236 Speaker 3: So it wasn't kind of the same crew, the same 389 00:26:25,276 --> 00:26:28,196 Speaker 3: grouping of surfers that I had known in fifty six 390 00:26:28,276 --> 00:26:30,196 Speaker 3: fifty seven and fifty eight fifty nine. 391 00:26:34,356 --> 00:26:38,036 Speaker 1: But that's not really the whole story. The vibe at 392 00:26:38,076 --> 00:26:42,436 Speaker 1: Malibu had turned toxic long before all those teeny boppers 393 00:26:42,476 --> 00:26:46,436 Speaker 1: came looking for their Moondoggie. When Kathy was still surfing 394 00:26:46,436 --> 00:26:50,316 Speaker 1: at Malibu. It would be whitewashed out of the movie 395 00:26:50,476 --> 00:26:53,956 Speaker 1: and the TV show. The Gidget character played by Sandra 396 00:26:54,036 --> 00:26:59,196 Speaker 1: d never had to deal with it. Here's what happened 397 00:27:00,076 --> 00:27:03,636 Speaker 1: the second summer. Kathy Kohner, the real Gidget, surfed at 398 00:27:03,636 --> 00:27:07,596 Speaker 1: Malibu the summer of nineteen fifty seven, when her father's 399 00:27:07,596 --> 00:27:10,596 Speaker 1: novel was published and knew was already out that it 400 00:27:10,636 --> 00:27:14,396 Speaker 1: would soon be a feature film. A symbol appeared on 401 00:27:14,476 --> 00:27:18,716 Speaker 1: the side of tube steak shack. It was a swastika. 402 00:27:19,796 --> 00:27:24,116 Speaker 1: Kathy told me about this reluctantly, and she got really 403 00:27:24,156 --> 00:27:27,636 Speaker 1: uncomfortable when I asked her about another swastika i'd heard about. 404 00:27:28,636 --> 00:27:32,436 Speaker 1: It's an incident Kathy doesn't like to discuss, because this 405 00:27:32,556 --> 00:27:35,676 Speaker 1: time it was drawn in the gravel of the driveway 406 00:27:35,916 --> 00:27:40,596 Speaker 1: at her family's home. This is something Kathy puts in 407 00:27:40,636 --> 00:27:44,716 Speaker 1: the category of prank, like disconnecting the distributor on her car. 408 00:27:45,716 --> 00:27:48,716 Speaker 1: She never found out who did it, but she refused 409 00:27:48,716 --> 00:27:49,636 Speaker 1: to let it get to her. 410 00:27:50,756 --> 00:27:54,876 Speaker 3: And had there been a swastika on the driveway or 411 00:27:54,996 --> 00:27:57,316 Speaker 3: no swastik on the driver, we just kind of like 412 00:27:57,796 --> 00:28:00,116 Speaker 3: it was not a big We kind of didn't want 413 00:28:00,156 --> 00:28:02,276 Speaker 3: to deal with something like that, so we just kind 414 00:28:02,316 --> 00:28:05,916 Speaker 3: of like, who cares, you know, you want to throw 415 00:28:05,956 --> 00:28:12,036 Speaker 3: my board over the fence. So I had a drive, 416 00:28:12,276 --> 00:28:14,916 Speaker 3: I mean I had a drive to want to learn 417 00:28:14,916 --> 00:28:17,956 Speaker 3: how to surf, to prove it to you know, maybe 418 00:28:18,036 --> 00:28:20,996 Speaker 3: to myself, but to the guys that I could be 419 00:28:21,116 --> 00:28:24,396 Speaker 3: just when I could surf too, I'm going to surf. 420 00:28:25,876 --> 00:28:28,676 Speaker 1: Talking to me, she didn't want to dwell on swastika's 421 00:28:29,236 --> 00:28:32,516 Speaker 1: it's the gidget in me, she explained. She got over it. 422 00:28:32,636 --> 00:28:39,356 Speaker 1: She learned to surf. Isn't that the story at Duke's Restaurant. 423 00:28:39,476 --> 00:28:42,676 Speaker 1: It's literally Kathy's job to live in the past, to 424 00:28:42,716 --> 00:28:46,276 Speaker 1: be that piece of living history talking about Moondoggie and 425 00:28:46,316 --> 00:28:48,596 Speaker 1: tube Steak and the shack and the bitch in summer 426 00:28:48,636 --> 00:28:51,916 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty six. She loves it. 427 00:28:52,956 --> 00:28:55,716 Speaker 3: Hemingway wrote that story A clean, well lighted place, which 428 00:28:55,756 --> 00:28:58,756 Speaker 3: I loved because you know, I kind of feel like 429 00:28:58,836 --> 00:29:01,636 Speaker 3: the barefoot bar at Duke's somewhat like a clean, well 430 00:29:01,716 --> 00:29:02,236 Speaker 3: lighted place. 431 00:29:02,276 --> 00:29:03,556 Speaker 4: You go there, you can. 432 00:29:03,436 --> 00:29:07,036 Speaker 3: See the people, They're regulars, they're welcoming you. 433 00:29:07,796 --> 00:29:08,836 Speaker 4: I can go around and. 434 00:29:08,756 --> 00:29:13,716 Speaker 3: Gets I got elevated to excellence. I have to thank 435 00:29:13,796 --> 00:29:19,476 Speaker 3: the Duke's Corporation. The title now is Ambassador of Aloha, 436 00:29:19,556 --> 00:29:21,996 Speaker 3: which means that I greet the guests when the doors 437 00:29:22,036 --> 00:29:27,116 Speaker 3: are open. I'm pretty much walking around. I'm allowed to 438 00:29:27,916 --> 00:29:28,916 Speaker 3: offer the free. 439 00:29:28,796 --> 00:29:30,876 Speaker 4: Hula pi, which is our signature dessert. 440 00:29:31,396 --> 00:29:35,156 Speaker 3: I sometimes help seat, but usually I just I dress up, 441 00:29:35,156 --> 00:29:38,036 Speaker 3: which is fun for me, and I walk around and 442 00:29:38,556 --> 00:29:40,836 Speaker 3: I smile, and if somebody smiles. 443 00:29:40,436 --> 00:29:42,476 Speaker 4: Back, I'm like, have you been here before? 444 00:29:43,036 --> 00:29:47,596 Speaker 3: Where are you visiting from? Oh? If I'll take them 445 00:29:47,636 --> 00:29:50,116 Speaker 3: to a table where I'm happening to walk by photos 446 00:29:50,116 --> 00:29:52,116 Speaker 3: that are of me on the wall, I'll say that's. 447 00:29:51,916 --> 00:29:52,876 Speaker 4: Me when I was a kid. 448 00:29:54,436 --> 00:29:57,676 Speaker 1: Sixty five years after her dad's book came out, people 449 00:29:57,756 --> 00:29:59,076 Speaker 1: still care about Gidget. 450 00:30:00,236 --> 00:30:04,236 Speaker 3: This little girl said, I'm Angelie and Devin from Nando Beach, 451 00:30:04,636 --> 00:30:07,716 Speaker 3: I wrote a paper report about you in high school. 452 00:30:08,076 --> 00:30:10,796 Speaker 3: We met you years ago here at Duke's We love you, 453 00:30:12,196 --> 00:30:16,356 Speaker 3: And when she came in last Sunday, the face was familiar. 454 00:30:16,476 --> 00:30:17,716 Speaker 4: But oh, I'm so. 455 00:30:17,756 --> 00:30:21,356 Speaker 3: Glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here. Speak hug. 456 00:30:22,316 --> 00:30:25,236 Speaker 3: I met you several years ago. You were going to Hawaii. 457 00:30:25,236 --> 00:30:29,316 Speaker 3: You remember me? Do you remember me? I don't remember, 458 00:30:29,356 --> 00:30:32,236 Speaker 3: my guess I've been there twenty years. But there's that 459 00:30:32,676 --> 00:30:36,396 Speaker 3: feeling of warmth that may generate to me or just 460 00:30:36,476 --> 00:30:44,236 Speaker 3: to the type of climate that Gidget represents to people today. 461 00:30:44,676 --> 00:30:45,476 Speaker 1: And what is that? 462 00:30:45,596 --> 00:30:46,516 Speaker 4: What is that climate? 463 00:30:46,836 --> 00:30:51,196 Speaker 3: Well, that climate is this was fun, This was clean, 464 00:30:51,396 --> 00:30:53,156 Speaker 3: you know, not it was. 465 00:30:54,836 --> 00:30:57,996 Speaker 4: There weren't any you know, I didn't. I wasn't aware 466 00:30:58,036 --> 00:30:58,716 Speaker 4: of drugs. 467 00:30:58,876 --> 00:31:02,476 Speaker 3: I wasn't aware of homelessness, you know, I mean except 468 00:31:02,556 --> 00:31:06,276 Speaker 3: Toobsteak lived in the shack. So I thought, you have 469 00:31:07,716 --> 00:31:11,516 Speaker 3: a path to follow, and that path in like the 470 00:31:11,636 --> 00:31:14,356 Speaker 3: Judy Garland movie, you know, to the Yellow Rick Road. 471 00:31:14,876 --> 00:31:16,716 Speaker 1: So it's two innocent times. 472 00:31:16,396 --> 00:31:19,676 Speaker 3: An innocent time, I think, so an innocent time. 473 00:31:20,956 --> 00:31:23,796 Speaker 1: But what really endures about Gidget and why the story 474 00:31:23,836 --> 00:31:27,396 Speaker 1: inspires women and girls today, has to do with Kathy's 475 00:31:27,476 --> 00:31:31,756 Speaker 1: incredible spirit. She was determined to surf, and she did it. 476 00:31:32,236 --> 00:31:34,116 Speaker 1: She carved out a place for herself. 477 00:31:35,356 --> 00:31:42,676 Speaker 3: The Gidget story may have an element of, you know, 478 00:31:43,556 --> 00:31:49,556 Speaker 3: it does have an element of don't drop in on me. 479 00:31:49,916 --> 00:31:53,396 Speaker 3: That's a cerfect expression. So you know, the book has 480 00:31:53,436 --> 00:31:57,196 Speaker 3: an element of nobody's going to take this spirit away 481 00:31:58,196 --> 00:32:00,796 Speaker 3: of the young girl, and nobody's going to drop in 482 00:32:00,876 --> 00:32:03,876 Speaker 3: on her. She's going to, you know, in the last 483 00:32:03,916 --> 00:32:07,076 Speaker 3: line of the book, maybe I'm just a woman in 484 00:32:07,116 --> 00:32:08,116 Speaker 3: love with a surfboard. 485 00:32:10,276 --> 00:32:13,516 Speaker 1: Kathy moved on from Malibu, and. 486 00:32:14,076 --> 00:32:19,956 Speaker 3: In college, I had discovered, you know that, Hey, I'm 487 00:32:20,036 --> 00:32:22,756 Speaker 3: Jewish and I'm in Corvallis, Oregon. I better join the 488 00:32:22,836 --> 00:32:27,356 Speaker 3: Hillel Club or I wanted to. I wanted some identification. 489 00:32:28,556 --> 00:32:31,236 Speaker 3: And I came home I thought, oh wow, I'm going 490 00:32:31,316 --> 00:32:33,036 Speaker 3: to join the Peace Corps. 491 00:32:33,556 --> 00:32:37,276 Speaker 1: She met her husband, Marv. He's a retired professor of Yiddish. 492 00:32:37,596 --> 00:32:41,556 Speaker 1: They have two sons and three granddaughters. From about nineteen 493 00:32:41,596 --> 00:32:44,556 Speaker 1: sixty to about two thousand and one, when Gidget the 494 00:32:44,556 --> 00:32:48,916 Speaker 1: Book was reissued, she pretty much disappeared from surf culture. 495 00:32:49,636 --> 00:32:54,356 Speaker 1: While surfing was ballooning into the gigantic industry it is today. 496 00:32:55,516 --> 00:32:59,076 Speaker 1: I asked Matt Warshaw, the surf historian, what Gidget meant 497 00:32:59,076 --> 00:33:00,036 Speaker 1: for surfing. 498 00:33:00,996 --> 00:33:04,156 Speaker 7: Kathy was the beginning of selling surfing to everybody. It 499 00:33:04,236 --> 00:33:08,076 Speaker 7: was going from Hollywood across the country and then across 500 00:33:08,116 --> 00:33:11,996 Speaker 7: the world. Literally see Gidget posters in all these different languages. 501 00:33:12,036 --> 00:33:15,356 Speaker 7: So I mean it really went around the world and 502 00:33:15,396 --> 00:33:18,996 Speaker 7: it's just this call to come to the beach. 503 00:33:20,196 --> 00:33:24,076 Speaker 1: Mickey, he had a different message. 504 00:33:24,316 --> 00:33:27,276 Speaker 7: I think Mickey was the one who was going to 505 00:33:28,116 --> 00:33:33,436 Speaker 7: originate surfers, you know, sort of telling everybody. Then the 506 00:33:33,516 --> 00:33:35,596 Speaker 7: rest of the surf world and a lot of surfers 507 00:33:35,596 --> 00:33:39,356 Speaker 7: as well, you know, stay away from this break. You 508 00:33:39,396 --> 00:33:41,836 Speaker 7: know that Mickey was the one who brought sort of 509 00:33:41,916 --> 00:33:47,596 Speaker 7: theater to surfing, being a nonconformist, anti establishment thing. Came 510 00:33:47,636 --> 00:33:51,356 Speaker 7: in and trolled the people that didn't surf or you 511 00:33:51,836 --> 00:33:55,276 Speaker 7: railed against those who had sold out. So he invented 512 00:33:55,316 --> 00:33:59,796 Speaker 7: that sort of rebellious version of the surfer. 513 00:34:01,036 --> 00:34:08,476 Speaker 1: So it's also you could say that Gidget's contribution was 514 00:34:09,356 --> 00:34:11,156 Speaker 1: surfing is for everyone. 515 00:34:11,156 --> 00:34:15,076 Speaker 7: Right, and Mickey's in a way was to try to 516 00:34:15,716 --> 00:34:18,756 Speaker 7: with as much flair as possible, push everyone away. 517 00:34:19,116 --> 00:34:19,356 Speaker 5: You know. 518 00:34:20,396 --> 00:34:22,636 Speaker 7: It was it was him and a few other hardcore 519 00:34:22,676 --> 00:34:26,796 Speaker 7: surfers against everyone. Mickey was just as angry and sort 520 00:34:26,836 --> 00:34:31,236 Speaker 7: of performative against other surfers as he was against nonsurfers. 521 00:34:31,516 --> 00:34:34,636 Speaker 7: More so in fact, you know, he there was no 522 00:34:34,796 --> 00:34:36,556 Speaker 7: you know, it was a real purity test that you 523 00:34:36,556 --> 00:34:38,436 Speaker 7: had to pass with him to be okay. 524 00:34:38,156 --> 00:34:50,036 Speaker 1: With Next time, I'm Lostel's Mickey Police's Malibu Beach. 525 00:34:53,596 --> 00:34:55,756 Speaker 8: So now we've got like a rich kid in fancy 526 00:34:55,756 --> 00:34:59,636 Speaker 8: sunglasses and fancy clothes in a fancy sports car, passing 527 00:34:59,676 --> 00:35:03,196 Speaker 8: bad checks and putting swastikas on his board and being 528 00:35:03,196 --> 00:35:05,556 Speaker 8: a jerk to outsiders because they don't know how to surf, 529 00:35:05,836 --> 00:35:10,036 Speaker 8: and spewing all this vile stuff. I don't know, it 530 00:35:10,196 --> 00:35:13,196 Speaker 8: just kind of started to turn, you know, green and 531 00:35:13,276 --> 00:35:15,996 Speaker 8: gross inside and feel to me like there's something wrong 532 00:35:16,076 --> 00:35:16,316 Speaker 8: with this. 533 00:35:17,876 --> 00:35:24,276 Speaker 1: That's next in episode five. Surf Nazi Lost Tails is 534 00:35:24,316 --> 00:35:27,956 Speaker 1: written and reported by Me Dana Goodyear. It's created by 535 00:35:28,036 --> 00:35:32,316 Speaker 1: me and Benadere and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. 536 00:35:33,236 --> 00:35:36,156 Speaker 1: Subscribe to Pushkin Plus and you can binge the entire 537 00:35:36,196 --> 00:35:40,036 Speaker 1: season right now ad free. Find Pushkin Plus on the 538 00:35:40,036 --> 00:35:43,036 Speaker 1: Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts, or at pushkin 539 00:35:43,156 --> 00:35:45,476 Speaker 1: dot fm. Slash plus