James Darren, a teen idol of cinema and pop music in the early ’60s, has died at the age of 88.
The actor, known for his roles in The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker, as well as the Gidget film series, passed away in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on September 2, after being deemed too weak for heart surgery.
In addition to his screen career, Darren had a string of pop hits in the US between 1959 and 1963, reaching Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Goodbye Cruel World’, which also charted at Number 28 in the UK.
He became closely identified with the role of Moondoggie in the 1959 surf film Gidget opposite Sandra Dee, and had further success in the sequels Gidget Goes Hawaiian in 1961 and Gidget Goes to Rome two years later.
Darren was born James William Ercolani on June 8, 1936, and grew up in Philadelphia. He relocated to New York City in the mid-’50s to study acting with the renowned teacher Stella Adler and soon signed a contract with Columbia Pictures.
Early supporting roles came in The Gene Krupa Story (1959) and The Guns Of Navarone (1961), before he found his home on television, notably on ABC’s sci-fi show The Time Tunnel, later described by Tom Hanks as his favourite childhood series.
He went on to star as Officer Jim Corrigan opposite William Shatner in T.J. Hooker in the 1980s, which also provided his first chance to sit in the director’s chair – he would later go on to direct episodes of The A-Team, Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210.
His singing career took a back seat after his initial success, but it saw a revival after his semi-regular appearances in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the late-’90s, in which he played the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine. He recorded two Frank Sinatra-inspired albums off the back of the show’s success.
Darren is survived by his second wife Evy Norlund, whom he married in 1960, and his three sons Jim, Christian and Anthony.
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