LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Actor and director James Darren, best-known for his role in the “Gidget” movies, has died, according to media reports Tuesday. He was 88.
Darren died at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son Jim Moret told media outlets.
Darren played alongside Sandra Dee in “Gidget” and was part of the surfing culture craze of the 1960s. He appeared in the two “Gidget” movie sequels in the early 1960s.
Moret told the Hollywood Reporter Darren was scheduled to have an aortic valve replacement procedure, but he was too weak for the surgery.
“I always thought he would pull through,” his son told The Hollywood Reporter, “because he was so cool. He was always cool.”
In addition to appearing in “Gidget” and surf movies, Darren had a role in the TV series “TJ Hooker,” and directed episodes of “Hollywood 90210” and “Melrose Place.” He also directed episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Hunter.”
He played Officer Jim Corrigan in “TJ Hooker” that starred William Shatner and had small roles in “Melrose Place” and “Star Trek, Deep Space Nine.”
In the original “Gidget,” which was released in 1959, he played Moondoggie, the love interest of Dee’s character in the movie.
Darren also found success as a pop singer. Two of his songs, “Goodbye Cruel World” and “Her Royal Majesty,” reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Goodbye Cruel World” was also in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 semi-autobiographical film, “The Fabelmans.” He also recorded hit songs, “Gidget” and “Angel Face.”
Darren was born James Ercolani in 1936 and grew up in South Philadelphia. It was in the same area of teen idols of the 1950s and ’60s as Fabian and Frankie Avalon.
Darren married his first wife, Gloria, in 1955. Their son, Moret, is an “Inside Edition” correspondent and former CNN anchorman.
Darren married Evy Norlund, who came to the U.S. as the Danish entry in the Miss Universe contest, after divorcing his first wife. They had two sons, Christian and Anthony.
He was also the godfather of Nancy Sinatra’s daughter A.J. Lambert.
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