James Darren, best known for a wide range of television shows and movies from Gidget to T.J. Hooker and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, died on Monday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 88.
A Philadelphia native, Darren first appeared in the film Rumble on the Docks and several other small roles before landing on the cast of Gidget in 1959. The movie, about the life of a teenage surfer girl in California, became a hit and then a television series.
Darren acted in the role of Moondoggie and sang the title track of the movie.
“He was a good man,” Darren’s son Jim Moret told Variety. “He was very talented. He was forever young.”
Moret said his father embraced the role of his Gidget character and that he continued through the years to interact with fans of the movie.
Entertainer Nancy Sinatra, daughter of the late Frank Sinatra, shared her condolences on Darren’s passing on X.
“One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away,” she said. “Godfather to my daughter AJ. Wishing him [a] fast and beautiful journey through the universe and beyond. Godspeed speed sweet Jimmy.”
Morat responded to the post, saying: “My father loved you. Thank you so much for your kind and loving words.”
Darren played supporting roles in numerous shows, such as starring next to William Shatner in T.J. Hooker and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also directed episodes in such popular series as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place.
His star never moved too far from his surfer Moondoggie character in the Gidget movie, where he was the love interest of the star. It spun off two other movies – Gidget Goes to Hawaii in 1961 and Gidget Goes to Rome in 1963. (UPI)
