Gidget describes the Kahoona's first appearance: Just then the bamboo curtain to the hut was drawn open and this bum came out.

Of course all the surfers in enclosure wore only shorts or Hawaiian-print bathing trunks but this superannuated Huckleberry Finn had on a pair of jeans that were cut off just beneath the knees and looked more like an old rag bleached by the sun.

He had a beard growth of at least three days and he stood there and scratched his stubble and had this kind of empty gaze like he was full of booze.

After nobody.”[1] The Kahoona is a principal character in this novel and its immediate sequel, Cher Papa, alternately Gidget's friend, role model and potential love interest.

He does not address or refer to Gidget by her titular nickname, but calls her Franzie or Angel.

In the television sitcom Gidget, (episode three, The Great Kahuna), he is portrayed by Martin Milner,[5][better source needed] and the character's proper name is Cassius Kopp.