On this episode of Our American Stories, by the late 1950s, something was happening at Malibu. Surfboards were getting lighter and faster, the waves were crowded with a new generation of riders, and a loose fraternity of beach bums, craftsmen, competitors, and characters was beginning to create a culture that would soon spread far beyond the California coast.
Our regular contributor Roger McGrath returns with the story of surfing’s golden age. He remembers characters like Terry “Tube Steak” Tracy, the Malibu surfer who helped inspire Gidget, along with Phil Edwards, Mickey Dora, Marge Calhoun, and others who gave the sport its style and personality. Before long, movies, magazines, contests, and a growing surf industry carried their world into the American mainstream. That changed surf culture, for better or worse, depending on who you ask.
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