James Darren Dead at Age 88: A Look Back at the Teen Idol’s Acting, Singing and Directing Career
Plus, read what advice the late actor had for aspiring creatives wanting to pursue an entertainment career
Actor James Darren died on September 2, 2024, at age 88. He was best known for his work in Gidget (1959), T.J Hooker (1982 to 1986) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998 to 1999).
According to Darren’s son Jim Moret, the actor died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, surrounded by his loved ones.
Says Monet: “He was a good man. He was very talented. He was forever young.”
Darren’s death came shortly after a scheduled heart surgery was postponed, as he was too weak to withstand the aortic valve replacement. He was then sent home but soon returned to the hospital, where he would later pass away.
“I always thought he would pull through,” Darren’s son Monet recalled. “Because he was so cool. He was always cool.”
The late actor is survived by his wife, Evy Norlund, and his three children.
The early days of James Darren
Born under the name James William Ercolani in 1936, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native began learning how to act under the esteemed coach Stella Adler. At age 20, he would appear in his first-ever film: Rumble on the Docks in 1956.
He would then go onto work on five other projects between the years 1957 and 1959, before being cast in the film that would change his life: Gidget.
James Darren in ‘Gidget’
Gidget is a 1959 cult classic teen movie about a girl named Francie Lawrence, a.k.a. Gidget (Sandra Dee), who falls in love with surfing and boys.
Darren played James Matthews a.k.a. Moondoggie, a role which wasn’t easy for him to get since production wasn’t convinced that the late actor could sing.
“They were going to use somebody else’s voice, but I told them I could sing. We went into one of the soundstages with a piano player and I sang the song, and they said, ‘He can do it,’” remembered Darren. “Then they put me on their label, Colpix.”
And good thing they did, because Darren’s work as Moondoggie would soon catapult him into teen stardom.
In 2015, the late actor even recalled, “The defining moment was when I was at a studio in San Francisco and word got out that I was there. 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. It was total pandemonium. That was the moment.”
Darren would reprise his role as Moondoggie twice more in 1961 and 1963, before retiring the character altogether.
The later career of James Darren
After leaving the world of surfboards and beach babes behind, Darren did continue acting in projects like The Time Tunnel (1966 to 1967), T.J Hooker (1982 to 1986), Melrose Place (1999) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998 to 1999).
Darren also took the time to release multiple albums over the course of his life, with his most well-known song being “Goodbye Cruel World,” which he released in 1958.
“I initially turned down The Time Tunnel, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and ‘Goodbye Cruel World,’” remembered Darren in 2015. “My advice to anyone today is: Take the jobs.”
When he wasn’t acting or singing, Darren could also be found directing, a role which he started thanks to a 1986 episode of T.J. Hooker and ended with two episodes of Melrose Place (1996 to 1997).
“When we had one show left on T.J. Hooker, it didn’t have a director assigned. I asked [writer] Rick [Husky], ‘Do you think I could direct it?’ I didn’t even know what I was talking about! Deep down inside, my guts were spinning. Rick said, “If I don’t do it, you can.” I knew it was the next step. Anyway, when Rick told me I was doing it, the blood left my body,” remembered Darren.
“Thank God I knew the crew. That was a giant help because I had no idea or not much of an idea what I was doing except what I would visualize in my head. That’s how I directed. I would see a scene, and that’s how I would block it.”
Darren’s last acting project was the 2017 film Lucky, which he worked on with Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch.
May James Darren rest in peace.
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