Charlene Tilton Reveals the Shocking Way She Learned to Water Ski for ‘Freaky Friday’ (Exclusive)

Mike Pingel September 21, 12:00 pm

What To Know

Charlene Tilton landed her first professional acting job in Disney’s 1976 Freaky Friday.
Tilton pretended to be an experienced water skier during her audition and only learned on the spot during filming.
Her performance in Freaky Friday led to a role on Happy Days.

As Freaky Friday is marking its 50th anniversary in 2026, Charlene Tilton, forever beloved as Lucy Ewing on Dallas, reflects on the early role that launched her career. Chatting with ReMIND, Tilton played Annabel’s (Jodie Foster) friend Bambi in the 1976 Disney movie and shared the scary moments of the famous scene where she and Jodie are waterskiing and how it led to getting a small role on Happy Days.

Tilton’s first professional acting job came while she was still a student at Hollywood High School. An agent discovered her during a school play and sent her to audition for Disney’s Freaky Friday. The casting director asked a simple question: Could she water ski?

“I’d never even seen a water ski up close,” Tilton said, laughing. “But of course I said yes. I even told them I had trophies.”

The truth didn’t catch up to her until filming day. Tilton and Jodie Foster stood side by side on a dock, tow ropes in hand, preparing to launch into the lake.

“Jodie was a big star, so they gave her lessons,” Tilton said. “I still hadn’t seen a water ski until that moment. I prayed, ‘God, if you just let me stay up, I’ll never do anything bad again.’”

Everett Collection

Charlene Tilton in Freaky Friday Screengrab

Disney/Screen Grab

“The Director yelled “Action!” and the boats take off. Jody and I take off. We both went down. But on the second “Action!” the boats take off a 2nd time – Jody’s skiing. I’m skiing. Jody’s skiing. I’m skiing. And I’m like, I’m water skiing. It was a miracle,” she gushed.

“I’m not athletic. I can’t throw a ball, can’t catch a ball, can’t run,” she said. “The fact that I could water ski was a miracle. And nobody was any the wiser.”

Her performance in Freaky Friday led directly to Happy Days. Bobby Hoffman, a coach on the film, recommended her to Garry Marshall for the role of Joni Cunningham’s cheerleader nemesis.

“He told Garry, ‘You’ve got to see her. She’s going to be great,’” Tilton said. “I was fortunate to get that part too.”