Frederick Kohner

Friedrich Kohner (September 25, 1905 – July 7, 1986), credited professionally as Frederick Kohner, was an Austrian-born novelist and screenwriter, both in Germany and the U.S. He is best known for having created the "Gidget" novels, which inspired a series of movies, two television series, three telemovies and a feature-length animated film. He based the title character on his daughter, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman. Life Kohner was born on September 25, 1905 in Teplice-Šanov, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. After studying in Vienna and Paris, Kohner wrote his thesis, "Film ist Dichtung" ("Film is Poetry"). Subsequently, he worked as a journalist in Prague and Berlin. During 1929/1930 he was employed as a movie correspondent for German newspapers in Hollywood. While there, he took a minor role in Lewis Milestone's 1930 anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front.