James Darren obit

James Darren, ‘Gidget’ Surfer and Cop on ‘T.J. Hooker,’ Dies at 88

The 'Time Tunnel' star also was a pop singer and a crooning hologram on 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.' 

He was not on the list.

James Darren, the former teen idol and pop singer who played the dreamy surfer Moondoggie in three Gidget movies before starring on television on The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker, died Monday. He was 88.

Darren died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Jim Moret, a correspondent for Inside Edition, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had entered the hospital for an aortic valve replacement but was deemed too weak to have the surgery; he went home but had to return.

“I always thought he would pull through,” Moret said, “because he was so cool. He was always cool.”

Early in his career, the dark-haired Darren received excellent notices for starring in Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) — portraying the son of a hoodlum defended by Humphrey Bogart’s character in 1949’s Knock on Any Door — and for playing the Greek soldier Spyros Pappadimos in The Guns of Navarone (1961).

Even though he could not surf, the Philadelphia native got the role of Moondoggie (real name: Jerry Matthews) opposite three actresses as the precocious Malibu teen: Sandra Dee in Gidget (1959), Deborah Walley in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Cindy Carol in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963).

Darren then spiraled through history as the headstrong Dr. Tony Newman, an electronics genius, on the 1966-67 ABC adventure series The Time Tunnel, also starring Robert Colbert. (Tom Hanks once said it was his favorite show as a kid.)

In an interview with Tom Weaver for the 2008 book I Talked With a Zombie, Darren said he wasn’t interested in doing television or science fiction before he agreed to a meeting with the creator of The Time Tunnel, Irwin Allen.

Allen told him, “This is something you have to do. I know you don’t want to do it, but I think you are perfect for this role, and he convinced me,” Darren recalled. “Irwin was one of the great salespersons of our time. I accepted the role because of my meeting with him.”

Fifteen years later, Darren joined the William Shatner ABC action drama T.J. Hooker in its second season, portraying Officer Jim Corrigan opposite Heather Locklear as his inexperienced partner, Stacy Sheridan.

Darren directed for the first time in 1986 as an emergency fill-in during the final season of T.J. Hooker, and he went to helm episodes of Hunter, Silk Stalkings, Melrose Place, Werewolf, The A-Team and Beverly Hills, 90210.

He also played the wealthy Tony Marlin on Fox’s Melrose Place, on which he reunited with Locklear.

Darren’s biggest splash as a singer came with the Gloria Shayne-written “Goodbye Cruel World,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. (Darren performed a version of the tune, about a man whose heart is broken by a “mean, fickle woman,” on an episode of The Donna Reed Show that year.)

He cracked the top 10 again in 1962 with “Her Royal Majesty,” written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. And in the early ’70s, he sang and played the straight man in a lounge act with comic Buddy Hackett.

Darren revived his singing career in the late ’90s when he appeared on several episodes of the syndicated series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine, a role he called “one of the most enjoyable” he ever played.

Several of his Frank Sinatra-styled performances were recorded for the 1999 album This One’s From the Heart.

After many years out of the limelight, Darren made an impression as the husband of a bar owner in Harry Dean Stanton‘s final film, Lucky (2017).

James William Ercolani was born on June 8, 1936. Growing up on South 10th Street in South Philadelphia, he was inspired by another Philly native, Eddie Fisher, to become a singer and actor, and he commuted to New York to study acting with Stella Adler.

While in the city, the owner of a photography shop connected him to Columbia Pictures talent scout Joyce Selznick (David O. Selznick’s niece), and he went on to sign a contract with the studio.

Darren made his film debut as a high school senior and gang member opposite Robert Blake in the crime drama Rumble on the Docks (1956), then followed with roles in Operation Mad Ball, The Brothers Rico and The Tijuana Story in 1957 and Gunman’s Walk in ’58.

The Gidget movies made him extremely popular with young ladies.

“The defining moment was when I was at a studio in San Francisco and word got out that I was there,” he recalled in a 2015 interview with Los Angeles magazine. “Thousands of girls were screaming out front. When I had to leave the building, they tackled me to the ground and pulled pieces of my hair out. The police had to rescue me and took me to the roof until things settled down.”

To land the Gidget gig, Darren had to convince the producers that he could carry a tune. “They were going to use somebody else’s voice, but I told them I could sing,” he said. “We went into one of the soundstages with a piano player and I sang the song and they said, ‘He can do it.’ Then they put me on their label, Colpix.”

Darren also was heard performing in All the Young Men (1960), Diamond Head (1962), Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) and For Those Who Think Young (1964).

He sang “Almost in Your Arms” at the 1959 Academy Awards and “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” on the 1964 Oscar telecast; performed as Yogi Bear in a 1964 animated film; and did a number on a 1965 episode of The Flintstones.

He also played the best friend opposite Sal Mineo in The Gene Krupa Story (1959), starred as a car mechanic in The Lively Set (1964) and ventured to Italy to topline Venus in Furs (1969) with Barbara McNair.

Darren was married to childhood sweetheart Gloria Terlitsky from 1955 until their 1958 divorce and to Evy Norlund, a former Miss Denmark, from 1960 until his death. He lived for decades in a home on Kimridge Road in Beverly Ridge Estates that had been owned by Audrey Hepburn.

In addition to his wife and Moret, survivors include his other sons, Christian and Anthony; grandchildren Amanda, Carly, Matthew, Natalie and Nicholas; and goddaughter A.J. Lambert, daughter of Nancy Sinatra.

Over the years, Darren encountered many fans of his music, some of them unexpected.

“I was in a pizza shop one day with a friend of mine. I heard this motorcycle pull up, and in walked Bruce Springsteen in his little motorcycle cap, like Brando wore in The Wild One — I guess he left his helmet outside,” he recalled in his chat with Weaver. “I said, ‘Oh, I gotta go say hi to him.’

“I walked up to him and said, ‘Hi, I don’t want to interrupt you, but my name is James Darren. I just want to tell you I’m a big fan. I love all your stuff.’ And he said, ‘James Darren? I bought “Goodbye Cruel World” in Freehold, New Jersey.’ Isn’t that sweet?”

Actor

David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Dean Stanton, and Ron Livingston in Lucky (2017)

Lucky

7.3

Paulie

2017

 

Random Acts (2001)

Random Acts

7.0

Allen

2001

 

Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, and Alexander Siddig in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.1

TV Series

Vic Fontaine

1998–1999

8 episodes

 

Melrose Place (1992)

Melrose Place

6.0

TV Series

Tony Marlin

1999

5 episodes

 

Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder (1993)

Diagnosis Murder

6.8

TV Series

Councilman Matthew Watson

1997

1 episode

 

Mitzi Kapture and Rob Estes in Silk Stalkings (1991)

Silk Stalkings

6.5

TV Series

1994

1 episode

 

Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, and Branscombe Richmond in Renegade (1992)

Renegade

5.9

TV Series

Lou Delgado

1992

1 episode

 

Raven (1992)

Raven

7.3

TV Series

Billy Sharp (uncredited)

1992

1 episode

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

Officer Jim Corrigan

Dan Danko

1982–1986

66 episodes

 

Valerie Bertinelli, Bonnie Franklin, Pat Harrington Jr., and Mackenzie Phillips in One Day at a Time (1975)

One Day at a Time

6.6

TV Series

Roger Alexander

1983

1 episode

 

Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)

Fantasy Island

6.6

TV Series

Claude Duvalle

Brian Holmes

Michael Duvall

1979–1982

3 episodes

 

Priscilla Barnes, Dirk Benedict, and Shelley Smith in Scruples (1981)

Scruples

7.4

TV Movie

Vito

1981

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

The Love Boat

6.3

TV Series

Tony Streeter

1981

2 episodes

 

Turnover Smith (1980)

Turnover Smith

6.1

TV Movie

Georgie Green

1980

 

Tony Curtis, Robert Urich, Phyllis Davis, and Judy Landers in Vega$ (1978)

Vega$

6.9

TV Series

Paul Bracken

1980

1 episode

 

That's Life

(rumored)

1979

 

Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)

Hawaii Five-O

7.4

TV Series

Johnny Munroe

1978–1979

2 episodes

 

The Boss' Son (1978)

The Boss' Son

5.7

Buddy Weistein

1978

 

Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)

Police Story

7.5

TV Series

Roger Lewis

1977

1 episode

 

Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith in Charlie's Angels (1976)

Charlie's Angels

6.6

TV Series

David Barzak

1977

1 episode

 

Harold Gould and Stefanie Powers in The Feather and Father Gang (1976)

The Feather and Father Gang

7.0

TV Series

Praeger

1977

1 episode

 

Robert Conrad, Dirk Blocker, Dana Elcar, Jeff MacKay, and Simon Oakland in Black Sheep Squadron (1976)

Black Sheep Squadron

7.6

TV Series

Lt. Col. Rod Towers

1977

1 episode

 

Angie Dickinson in Police Woman (1974)

Police Woman

6.6

TV Series

Rick Matteo

1976

2 episodes

 

S.W.A.T. (1975)

S.W.A.T.

6.7

TV Series

Joey Wade

1976

2 episodes

 

The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975)

The Lives of Jenny Dolan

6.5

TV Movie

Orlando

1975

 

Higgins in Mooch (1974)

Mooch

4.7

TV Movie

James Darren

1974

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

Roger Barnes (segment "Love and the Monsters")

1971

1 episode

 

City Beneath the Sea (1971)

City Beneath the Sea

5.1

TV Movie

Dr. Talty

1971

 

Venus in Furs (1969)

Venus in Furs

5.6

Jimmy Logan

1969

 

The Man from the 25th Century (1968)

The Man from the 25th Century

5.2

TV Short

Tomo

Robert Prentiss

1968

 

The Time Tunnel (1966)

The Time Tunnel

7.5

TV Series

Dr. Tony Newman

1966–1967

30 episodes

 

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

7.2

TV Series

Omir

1966

1 episode

 

Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet, Don Messick, Alan Reed, and Jean Vander Pyl in The Flintstones (1960)

The Flintstones

7.5

TV Series

Jimmy Darrock (voice)

1965

1 episode

 

James Darren, Doug McClure, Joanie Sommers, and Pamela Tiffin in The Lively Set (1964)

The Lively Set

5.7

Casey Owens

1964

 

Julie Bennett, Daws Butler, and Don Messick in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964)

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear

6.5

Yogi Bear ('Ven-e, Ven-o, Ven-a') (singing voice)

1964

 

Tina Louise, Nancy Sinatra, James Darren, and Pamela Tiffin in For Those Who Think Young (1964)

For Those Who Think Young

5.2

Gardner 'Ding' Pruitt III

1964

 

Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963)

Under the Yum Yum Tree

6.0

James Darren - Singer Behind Title Credits

1963

 

Cindy Carol and James Darren in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

Gidget Goes to Rome

5.1

Moondoggie (Jeff Matthews)

1963

 

Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux in Diamond Head (1962)

Diamond Head

6.0

Paul Kahana

1962

 

Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Petersen in The Donna Reed Show (1958)

The Donna Reed Show

7.4

TV Series

Kip Dennis

Jim Bryce

Buzz Berry

1959–1961

2 episodes

 

Michael Callan, James Darren, and Deborah Walley in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)

Gidget Goes Hawaiian

5.7

Moondoggie (Jeffrey Matthews)

1961

 

David Niven, Gregory Peck, and Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone (1961)

The Guns of Navarone

7.5

Spyros Pappadimos

1961

 

Ricardo Montalban, Shelley Winters, James Darren, Ella Fitzgerald, Burl Ives, and Jean Seberg in Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960)

Let No Man Write My Epitaph

7.0

Nick Romano

1960

 

All the Young Men (1960)

All the Young Men

6.1

Pvt. Cotton

1960

 

The Gene Krupa Story (1959)

The Gene Krupa Story

6.7

Eddie Sirota

1959

 

The Lineup (1954)

The Lineup

8.1

TV Series

Vezey

1959

1 episode

 

Kovacs on Music

8.0

TV Movie

Various

1959

 

Sandra Dee, James Darren, and Cliff Robertson in Gidget (1959)

Gidget

6.6

Jeffrey Matthews aka Moondoggie

1959

 

Gunman's Walk (1958)

Gunman's Walk

7.0

Davy Hackett

1958

 

The Tijuana Story (1957)

The Tijuana Story

5.3

Mitch

1957

 

Richard Conte, James Darren, Dianne Foster, Larry Gates, Kathryn Grant, and Paul Picerni in The Brothers Rico (1957)

The Brothers Rico

6.8

Johnny Rico

1957

 

Operation Mad Ball (1957)

Operation Mad Ball

6.5

Pvt. Widowskas

1957

 

The Web (1957)

The Web

TV Series

Tony Roberts

1957

1 episode

 

Rumble on the Docks (1956)

Rumble on the Docks

5.6

Jimmy Smigelski

1956

 

Director

Melrose Place (1992)

Melrose Place

6.0

TV Series

Director

1996–1997

2 episodes

 

Robyn Lively, Jamie Luner, and Shannon Sturges in Savannah (1996)

Savannah

7.1

TV Series

Director

1996–1997

4 episodes

 

Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

Beverly Hills, 90210

6.5

TV Series

Director

1996

2 episodes

 

Mitzi Kapture and Rob Estes in Silk Stalkings (1991)

Silk Stalkings

6.5

TV Series

Director

1994–1995

3 episodes

 

Bruce Greenwood in Nowhere Man (1995)

Nowhere Man

8.3

TV Series

Director

1995

1 episode

 

Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, and Branscombe Richmond in Renegade (1992)

Renegade

5.9

TV Series

Director

1994

1 episode

 

Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)

Walker, Texas Ranger

5.6

TV Series

Director

1993

1 episode

 

Raven (1992)

Raven

7.3

TV Series

Director

1992–1993

4 episodes

 

Jack Scalia in Tequila and Bonetti (1992)

Tequila and Bonetti

6.4

TV Series

Director

1992

1 episode

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (1984)

Hunter

6.9

TV Series

Director

1987–1991

7 episodes

 

Hardball (1989)

Hardball

7.1

TV Series

Director

1990

1 episode

 

Something Is Out There (1988)

Something Is Out There

6.7

TV Series

Director

1988

1 episode

 

Police Story: Gladiator School (1988)

Police Story: Gladiator School

6.2

TV Movie

Director

1988

 

Chuck Connors, Lance LeGault, and John J. York in Werewolf (1987)

Werewolf

7.8

TV Series

Director

1987–1988

7 episodes

 

Nick Mancuso in Stingray (1986)

Stingray

7.4

TV Series

Director

1987

1 episode

 

George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, and Dwight Schultz in The A-Team (1983)

The A-Team

7.5

TV Series

Director

1986

1 episode

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

Director

1986

1 episode

 

Soundtrack

Steven Spielberg, Judd Hirsch, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams, Keeley Karsten, Tony Kushner, Birdie Borria, Alina Brace, Sophia Kopera, Mateo Zoryan, Gabriel LaBelle, Chloe East, and Julia Butters in The Fabelmans (2022)

The Fabelmans

7.5

performer: "Goodbye Cruel World"

2022

 

Ira Steven Behr in What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018)

What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.3

performer: "The Best Is Yet to Come"

2018

 

Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis in Vegas (2012)

Vegas

7.3

TV Series

performer: "Come Fly With Me"

2013

1 episode

 

Jerry Stiller, Kevin James, and Leah Remini in The King of Queens (1998)

The King of Queens

7.4

TV Series

performer: "Come Fly with Me"

2004

1 episode

 

Carmine Famiglietti in Chooch (2003)

Chooch

4.3

performer: "More Today Than Yesterday"

2003

 

Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

Hearts in Atlantis

6.9

performer: "Come Fly with Me"

2001

 

Catherine Bell, David James Elliott, and Tracey Needham in JAG (1995)

JAG

6.7

TV Series

performer: "Come Fly with Me" (uncredited)

2001

1 episode

 

Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)

Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970)

6.7

TV Movie

performer: "Because They're Young"

2000

 

Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles in Down to You (2000)

Down to You

5.0

performer: "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You"

2000

 

Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, and Alexander Siddig in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.1

TV Series

performer: "The Way You Look Tonight"

performer: "Alamo", "The Best is Yet to Come"

performer: "I'll Be Seeing You", "I've Got the World on a String", "Just in Time", "It's Only a Paper Moon" ...

1998–1999

7 episodes

 

Renee Anderson, Wanda Bailey, Patricia Mickey, Susie Ewing, Jackie Chidsey, Micki McGlone, Paula Cinko, The Golddiggers, Pauline Antony, Rosie Cox Gitlin, and Michelle DellaFave in Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers (1968)

Chevrolet Presents the Golddiggers

8.2

TV Series

performer: "Proud Mary"

1972

1 episode

 

Hollywood a Go Go (1964)

Hollywood a Go Go

8.2

TV Series

performer: "Tom Hawk"

1966

1 episode

 

James Darren, Doug McClure, Joanie Sommers, and Pamela Tiffin in The Lively Set (1964)

The Lively Set

5.7

performer: "The Lively Set"

1964

 

Julie Bennett, Daws Butler, and Don Messick in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964)

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear

6.5

performer: "Ven-E, Ven-O, Ven-A"

1964

 

Tina Louise, Nancy Sinatra, James Darren, and Pamela Tiffin in For Those Who Think Young (1964)

For Those Who Think Young

5.2

performer: "For Those Who Think Love"

1964

 

"Academy Awards: 36th Annual," Natalie Wood.  1964.

The 36th Annual Academy Awards

6.7

TV Special

performer: "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World"

1964

 

Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963)

Under the Yum Yum Tree

6.0

performer: "Under the Yum Yum Tree"

1963

 

Cindy Carol and James Darren in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

Gidget Goes to Rome

5.1

performer: "Gegetta", "Big Italian Moon"

1963

 

Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Petersen in The Donna Reed Show (1958)

The Donna Reed Show

7.4

TV Series

performer: "Goodbye Cruel World", "Mighty Pretty Territory" (uncredited)

performer: "The Next Best Thing to Love"

1959–1961

2 episodes

 

Michael Callan, James Darren, and Deborah Walley in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)

Gidget Goes Hawaiian

5.7

performer: "Wild About the Girl", "Gidget Goes Hawaiian"

1961

 

All the Young Men (1960)

All the Young Men

6.1

performer: "All The Young Men"

1960

 

Because They're Young (1960)

Because They're Young

5.9

performer: "Because They're Young"

1960

 

The Gene Krupa Story (1959)

The Gene Krupa Story

6.7

performer: "Let There Be Love"

1959

 

Sandra Dee, James Darren, and Cliff Robertson in Gidget (1959)

Gidget

6.6

performer: "Gidget", "The Next Best Thing to Love"

1959

 

The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959)

The 31st Annual Academy Awards

7.1

TV Special

performer: "Almost in Your Arms (Love Song from Houseboat)"

1959