James Darren, who was 88 years old, passed away lately. The actor gained the most recognition for his performance in the film Gidget, which was released in 1959, as well as for his subsequent appearance on the television show T.J. Hooker, which aired many decades later. At the beginning of his career, Darren was regarded as a teen idol by his peers.
On Monday, September 2, the actor passed away peacefully at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, as said in a statement that was posted on his website.
Jim Moret, a journalist for Inside Edition, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that his father went to the hospital in order to have surgery to replace his aortic valve, but the surgeon determined that his father was not physically capable of undergoing the procedure.
“Because he was so cool, I always thought he would eventually make it through this.” He never failed to be cool,” Moret said to the publication. In an effort to get a comment, individuals contacted Moret’s agent.
In the year 1936, Darren, whose birth name was James Ercolani, was born in Philadelphia. His parents were immigrants from Italy, and he spent more time getting into trouble outside of school than he did in studying. “I was a Dennis the Menace sort, not a bad kid,” he said in an interview with Popular Culture in 1983. He took a break from school when he was 16 years old and started pursuing a career in acting. A talent scout was the one who found him.
According to the information provided on his website, the native of Philadelphia had training in acting under the renowned Stella Adler in New York before signing with Columbia Pictures and made his debut in the film industry with the drama Rumble on the Docks, shot in 1956. Although the film had a modest budget, Darren started getting a lot of fan letters when it was released. In 1957, he had appearances in the films Operation Mad Ball, The Brothers Rico, and The Tijuana Story. In 1958, he made an appearance in the film Gunman’s Walk by the same name.
Gidget, which was released in 1959, was his film debut. In the film about surfers, Sandra Dee played the role of the film’s protagonist, while Darren played the role of her love interest, a surfer who go by the moniker “Moondoggie.” A great amount of success was achieved by the film, which helped to bring California surf culture and the stars of the film into the mainstream.
For Darren, fame was not always that enjoyable. According to what he shared with PEOPLE, “I was on a dance-party TV show in San Francisco at one point, and hundreds of girls mobbed the studio, took the glass door right off, dragged me outside, down on the ground, and pulled hairs out of my head for souvenirs.” I was aghast with fear. As a result of the uncomfortable experience of having my hair ripped out, tears were flowing down my cheeks.
He began his career as a singer as a result of the movie. The popularity of the film led to Darren recording and releasing further songs, including his most successful single, “Goodbye Cruel World,” which was released in 1961 and reached its highest position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number three.
Even though the actress who portrayed Gidget changed each time, Deborah Walley and Cindy Carol, respectively, played the character in the sequels, Darren continued to play the part in the films Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Gidget Goes to Rome (1963). Additionally, Darren repeated the role in each of these films. The explanation that he provided to Entertainment Weekly in 2004 was that “they had me under contract.” I had been incarcerated. Nevertheless, due to the presence of those attractive young girls, I believe that it was the nicest jail I will ever be in.
In addition to his roles as adolescent idols on The Donna Reed Show and The Flintstones, Darren has also made appearances in a number of films, such as The Gene Krupa Story, The Guns of Navarone, Diamond Head, The Lively Set, and Venus in Furs. 1966 was the year that he was cast as the lead character in the science-fiction television series The Time Tunnel, which was only on the air for one season.
During the 1970s, Darren appeared in a number of television shows, such as Charlie’s Angels, Police Story, Hawaii Five-O, Vegas, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island, among others. Not only did he continue to play music, but he also hosted the interview program Portrait of a Legend on the Public Broadcasting Service.
Darren was a cast member in the television show T. J. Hooker, a police drama, from 1983 to 1986. Other cast members included Heather Locklear and William Shatner. It was a friend of his who was a producer on the series that came up with the idea of writing the character of Officer Jim Corrigan for him, which ultimately led to his being cast in the role.
“I get panicky when I don’t work,” he said in an interview with PEOPLE. “I like to feel like a normal person with a normal job.” In addition, he had the goal that the program would improve his name and face recognition outside the realm of Gidget. “I get disappointed when someone doesn’t know me from other things I’ve done.”
Additionally, Darren directed an episode of the television show T.J. Hooker. He went on to direct episodes of Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210, Walker Texas Ranger, and Werewolf from that point on.
In the year 1998, he started making appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine playing the role of Vic Fontaine, a hologram vocalist who also offered guidance on love relationships. However, before Darren was cast in the part, the character, which was modeled after Frank Sinatra Jr., was first created for Steve Lawrence. After that, it was presented to Steve Lawrence.
However, Darren had no intention of playing the role of another vocalist at first. The advice of his agency was that he should really read the screenplay. “Of course, I did read the script, and of course, I did love it,” he said in an interview with StarTrek.com in 2019. “It was just an outstanding job. From Vic Fontaine’s perspective, it was like a dream come true for me. What more could I possibly say? For me, it was one of the most pleasant parts I’ve ever had the opportunity to portray.
“If he had been just a singer, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it one-tenth as much as I did,” he remarked, saying that he grew extremely close with the other cast members while shooting the episodes in which he starred. He also mentioned that he had a lot of fun working with them.
In 1955, Darren tied the knot with Gloria Terlitsky, the woman he had loved since boyhood. In 1956, they became parents to a boy named Jim. The divorce took place in 1958. Gloria’s third husband adopted Jim, a journalist, and gave him the surname Moret. Jim took on the surname thereafter.
He tied the knot with Evy Norlund, a former Miss Denmark, in the year 1960. Two boys were born to them: Christian in the year 1960 and Anthony in the year 1964.
Additionally, Nancy Sinatra’s daughter was blessed with Darren’s role as godfather.
“One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, at any point in my life has passed away,” Sinatra wrote in a tribute on X, referring to the deceased.
My daughter, AJ, has a godfather known as. Sending him my best wishes for a swift and breathtaking voyage across the universe and beyond. Rest in peace, Jimmy, my dear. Her statement added, “My heart is torn, but it is full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony, and Jimmy Jr.”
Darren acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times in 2019 that when he did his one-man shows, it was usually his Gidget anecdotes that drew the most reaction. This was despite the fact that Darren sometimes wanted to outrun his days as Gidget.
“Gidget was, you know, I was so fortunate to get that role because when you do a movie or a TV series, whatever, the character you play is what people fall in love with or hate,” he said in an interview. “Gidget was a character that I was so fortunate to become a part of.” Or both of them. It was a fortunate turn of events for me that they fell in love with Moondoggie.
Wife and children are the only ones who will remember Darren.
