Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

19 hours ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

21 hours ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

22 hours ago

Wall Street Jumps as Microsoft Enters $4 Trillion Club After Results

23 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

2 days ago

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

2 days ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

2 days ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

2 days ago
James Darren, 'Gidget' Teen Idol, Singer and Director, Dies at 88
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 11 months ago on
September 3, 2024

Left to right: James Darren, one of the stars of the film For "Those Who Think Young," chats with Nancy Sinatra and Claudia Martin about their film debuts, Aug. 13, 1963. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LOS ANGELES — James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday at 88.

Darren died in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital, his son Jim Moret told news outlets.

Moret told The Hollywood Reporter that Darren was supposed have had an aortic valve replacement but was too weak for the surgery. “I always thought he would pull through,” his son told the entertainment trade, “because he was so cool. He was always cool.”

A Multifaceted Career in Entertainment

In his long career, Darren acted, sang and built up a successful behind-the-scenes career as a television director, helming episodes of such well-known series as “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place.” In the 1980s, he was Officer Jim Corrigan on the television cop show “T.J. Hooker.”

But to young movie fans of the late 1950s, he would be remembered best as Moondoggie, the dark-haired surfer boy in the smash 1959 release “Gidget.” Dee starred as the title character, a spunky Southern Californian who hits the beach and eventually falls in love with Moondoggie.

“I was in love with Sandra,” Darren later recalled. “I thought that she was absolutely perfect as Gidget. She had tremendous charm.”

The film was based on a novel that a California man, Frederick Kohner, had written about his own teenage daughter and helped spur interest in surfing — one that influenced pop music, slang, and even fashion.

From Teen Idol to Recording Artist

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’s singles, “Goodbye Cruel World” and “Her Royal Majesty,” reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (“Goodbye Cruel World” also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 semi-autobiographical film, “The Fabelmans.” ) Other singles included “Gidget” and “Angel Face.”

Darren was the only “Gidget” cast member who appeared in both its sequels, 1961’s “Gidget Goes Hawaiian” and 1963’s “Gidget Goes to Rome.” Dee was replaced by Deborah Walley in the second film and Cindy Carol in the third. (“Gidget” later became a television show, launching the career of Sally Field. )

“They had me under contract; I was a prisoner,” Darren told Entertainment Weekly in 2004. “But with those lovely young ladies, it was the best prison I think I’ll ever be in.”

As a contract player at Columbia Studios, Darren appeared in grown-up films, too, including “The Brothers Rico,” “Operation Meatball” and “The Guns of Navarone.”

Transition to Television and Directing

By the mid-’60s, when Darren appeared in “For Those Who Think Young” and “The Lively Set,” 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 “Lucky,” directed by John Carroll Lynch.

But he remained active on television, appearing as a lead on the sci-fi show “The Time Tunnel” in the late 1960s, and doing guest spots and small recurring roles in TV shows such as “The Love Boat,” “Hawaii Five-O” and “Fantasy Island.”

Darren was a series regular for four seasons of the William Shatner-starrer “T.J. Hooker” in the 1980s. While appearing on the show, he noticed that no director was listed for an upcoming sequence and asked if he could try out for it.

“When it was shown, I got several offers to direct,” he told the New York Daily News. “Soon I was getting so many offers to direct, I kind of gave up acting and singing.”

For almost two years, Darren directed episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Hunter,” “Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and other series. He returned to acting in the 1990s with small roles in “Melrose Place” and “Star Trek, Deep Space Nine.”

Early Life and Rise to Fame

Darren was born James Ercolani in 1936 and grew up in South Philadelphia, not far from such fellow teen idols of the 1950s and ’60s as Fabian and Frankie Avalon. Singing came easy to him, and at 14 he was appearing in local nightclubs.

“From the age of 5 or 6 I knew I wanted to be an entertainer, or famous maybe,” he said in a 2003 interview with the News-Press of Fort Myers, Florida. He noted that such luminaries as Eddie Fisher and Al Martino had lived in the same area as he did, “a real neighborhood. It made you feel you could be successful, too.”

According to a 1958 Los Angeles Times profile, he got a break when he went to New York to get some pictures taken and the photographer’s office put him in touch with a talent scout.

He was soon signed by Columbia Pictures, and the newspaper said that after a few appearances, his fan mail at the studio was running “second only to Kim Novak’s. … The studio now feels that the young man is ready to hit the jackpot.”

Darren married his first wife, Gloria, in 1955 and together had Moret, an “Inside Edition” correspondent and former CNN anchorman. After a divorce he married Evy Norlund, who came to the U.S. as the Danish entry in the Miss Universe contest. They had two sons, Christian and Anthony.

He was also the godfather of Nancy Sinatra’s daughter A.J. Lambert. Sinatra, his “For Those Who Think Young” co-star, posted The Hollywood Reporter obituary on her X page, with a broken heart emoji.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

DON'T MISS

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

DON'T MISS

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

DON'T MISS

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

DON'T MISS

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

DON'T MISS

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

UP NEXT

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

UP NEXT

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

UP NEXT

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

UP NEXT

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

UP NEXT

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

UP NEXT

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

UP NEXT

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

UP NEXT

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

UP NEXT

If Texas Gerrymanders Its House Districts, Costa Says California Must Follow Suit

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

17 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

17 hours ago

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

18 hours ago

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

18 hours ago

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

19 hours ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

19 hours ago

Tulare County Fire Responds to Three-Alarm Fire at Commercial Building Near Tipton

20 hours ago

If Texas Gerrymanders Its House Districts, Costa Says California Must Follow Suit

20 hours ago

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

21 hours ago

Two Men Shot During Fight at Tulare Apartment Complex

21 hours ago

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens...

14 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
14 hours ago

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

A fire sparked by oily rags displaced a Fresno family and damaged their home Thursday, July 31, 2025, but firefighters rescued three dogs, a chameleon, and a turtle with no injuries reported. (Fresno FD)
16 hours ago

Fresno Fire Displaces Family of Three, Pets Rescued

Measure C MeasureC Highway 41 HWY41 Transportation tax (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
17 hours ago

Measure C Advisory Group Still Squabbling but Agrees on Mission Statement

Eevee Is GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week, July 31, 2025
17 hours ago

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

Fresno County authorities helped Fowler police arrest a suspect on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and seize stolen firearms, drugs, ammunition, and cash following a grand theft investigation. (Fowler PD)
17 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect, Recover Firearms and Drugs in Fowler

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
18 hours ago

Countries With No Trade Deal Will Hear From US by Midnight, White House Says

Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

19 hours ago

Fresno’s $100M Warehouse Project Means Big Things for City: Dyer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend