James Darren, ‘Gidget’ & ‘T.J. Hooker’ Star, Dies at 88

Actor and singer James Darren, who rose to fame as a teen idol in the 1959 comedy film Gidget and went on to have roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and T.J. Hooker, has died. He was 88.

According to Variety, Darren passed away on Monday, September 1, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California. His son, Jim Moret, told the outlet that his father had been able to express his love for his family while being treated in the cardiac unit.

“He was a good man. He was very talented,” Moret said. “He was forever young.”

Born on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Darren studied acting with Stella Adler in New York and was signed to Columbia Pictures after being discovered by talent agent and casting director Joyce Selznick. He made his on-screen debut in the 1956 film Rumble on the Docks.

He went on to appear in the films Operation Madball (1957) and Gunman’s Walk (1958) before landing the lead role of Moondoggie in the surf film Gidget alongside Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson. Darren also sang Gidget‘s title track.

James Darren in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Paramount Television/courtesy Everett Collection

The film’s popularity led to a successful singing career for Darren, who recorded a string of pop hits for Colpix Records, including “Goodbye Cruel World,” which landed at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. During this time, he continued to appear in movies, including The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960), and The Guns of Navarone (1961).

Darren reprised his role as Moondoggie for 1961’s Gidget Goes Hawaiian and 1962’s Gidget Goes to Rome, though he’d started to become tired of films. In a 2001 interview with the website The Digital Bits, Darren said he “hated” the third film in the franchise, noting, “I didn’t want to do it. I thought that I’d be doing those for the rest of my life.”

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From the late 1960s, Darren moved into television, playing adventurer Tony Newman on the science fiction series The Time Tunnel. He also made appearances on shows such as Love, American Style, S.W.A.T., Charlie’s Angels, Police Story, Hawaii Five-O, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island.

He appeared regularly on T.J. Hooker from 1983 to 1986 and then landed the memorable role as holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1998. Darren also moved into TV directing, working on the likes of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.

He is survived by his wife Evy; sons Jim Moret, Christian Darren, and Tony Darren; and five grandchildren.