{"id":75428,"date":"2024-09-02T23:57:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T03:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mortystv.com\/blog\/?p=75428"},"modified":"2024-09-02T23:57:43","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T03:57:43","slug":"james-darren-teen-idol-actor-in-gidget-singer-and-director-dies-at-88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mortystv.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/02\/james-darren-teen-idol-actor-in-gidget-singer-and-director-dies-at-88\/","title":{"rendered":"James Darren, Teen Idol Actor in \u2018Gidget,\u2019 Singer and Director, Dies at 88"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Darren died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Jim Moret, a correspondent for Inside Edition,<\/em> told The Hollywood Reporter<\/span>. 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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI always thought he would pull through,\u201d Moret said, \u201cbecause he was so cool. He was always cool.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a>Born June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Darren was a student of famed acting coach Stella Adler, for whom he commuted to New York regularly. He starred as surfer Moondoggie (landing the part despite being unable to surf and being a weak swimmer) in all three Columbia Pictures\u2019 romantic comedy Gidget<\/em> films, from the 1959 original through subsequent sequels Gidget Goes Hawaiian<\/em> (1961) and Gidget Goes to Rome<\/em> (1963).<\/div>\n
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For Darren, his success with teen fans led to a recording contract, as it did with many young actors at the time, among them Tab Hunter and Annette Funicello. Two of Darren\u2019s singles, \u201cGoodbye Cruel World\u201d and \u201cHer Royal Majesty,\u201d reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (\u201cGoodbye Cruel World\u201d also appeared in Steven Spielberg\u2019s 2022 semi-autobiographical film, \u201cThe Fabelmans.\u201d<\/em>) Other singles included \u201cGidget\u201d and \u201cAngel Face.\u201d<\/div>\n
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As a contract player at Columbia Studios, Darren appeared in grown-up films, too, including \u201cThe Brothers Rico,\u201d \u201cOperation Meatball\u201d<\/em> and \u201cThe Guns of Navarone.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n
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By the mid-\u201960s, when Darren appeared in \u201cFor Those Who Think Young<\/em>\u201d and \u201cThe Lively Set<\/em>,\u201d his big-screen acting career was almost over. He appeared in just a handful of movies after the 1960s ended, last appearing in 2017’s \u201cLucky<\/em>,\u201d directed by John Carroll Lynch.<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a>When Darren’s film career waned he found new success on the small screen in 1966 with the Irwin Allen series \u201cThe Time Tunnel.\u201d<\/em> In the mid-1980s, he starred as a rookie Los Angeles police officer Jim Corrigan, earning his stripes opposite William Shatner\u2019s veteran sergeant and title character in \u201cT.J. Hooker.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n
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