MA Residents Mourn The Loss Of An Iconic Actor

Bay State movie aficionados are saddened by the news that we lost James Darren, who went from teen idol status while acting in youth-oriented movies like "Gidget" to becoming an actor in TV shows such as “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “T.J. Hooker”. He was also a singer and director. Jimmy Darren passed away on Monday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 88.

(Photo image of Jimmy Darren courtesy of www.jamesdarren.com)

His son, Jim Moret, a correspondent for "Inside Edition" said he had been able to express his love for his family while being treated in the cardiac unit. “He was a good man, very talented and was forever young.”

Moret was grateful that his father had been able to embrace his signature role Moondoggie in the “Gidget” movie co-starring opposite Sandra Dee and Deborah Walley in the title role as he continued to interact with his fans until the very end.

(Audio of "Gidget" theme by James Darren courtesy of www.youtube.com)

The Philadelphia Pennsylvania native perfected his acting savvy with Stella Adler in my ol' hometown of New York City. His first movie role was in the Columbia Pictures presentation "Rumble In the Docks" and then went on to co-star in The Gidget films where he sang the title track as his character was paired up with a teenaged surfer girl on the shores of Malibu, California. Afterwards, "Gidget" found life on the small screen with Sally Field reprising the role on TV in 1965.

(Audio of "Goodbye Cruel World" by James Darren courtesy of www.youtube.com)

The “Gidget” theme song launched a successful singing career for Darren, who had a gold record with “Goodbye Cruel World” in 1961 and released 14 albums. He continued to appear in feature films including “The Guns of Navarone,”(which was filmed in my native land, Greece) “The Gene Krupa Story,” “All the Young Men” and “Because They’re Young.”

(Photo image of "The Time Tunnel" series courtesy of www.amazon.com)

Moving into television, he starred in “The Time Tunnel” and after a brief sojourn in Italy appearing in Jess Franco’s “Venus in Furs,” Jimmy went on to guest-star on numerous series including “Love, American Style,” “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat.”

(Photo image of T.J. Hooker DVD cover courtesy of www.amazon.com)

Darren was a regular on “T.J. Hooker” from 1983 to 1986 and also moved into TV directing, working on series including “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place.”

(Photo image of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine boxed collection courtesy of www.amazon.com)

He found a new generation of fans in 1998 as Vic Fontaine, the holographic lounge singer on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

(James Darren CD cover "This One's From The Heart" courtesy of www.amazon.com)

Recently, Jimmy took center stage singing classics from The Great American Songbook. It was then, I was lucky enough to interview him on his new career direction and we met a few times after seeing him in concert.

 (Photo image of New York State Fair entrance courtesy of Michael Okoniewski)

My best memory was seeing him perform at Chevy Court in Syracuse, New York at "The Grand Daddy Of Them ALL" as I stood in the pouring rain to watch him LIVE. He saw me in the crowd, gave me a wink and after the show, Jimmy signaled me to join him back stage and we reminisced about his career and talked about show business. It was the last time I saw him in person as this moment will be cherished in my heart forever.

James Ercolani (Darren) is survived by his wife Evy, sons Jim Moret, Christian and Tony Darren and five grandchildren. His memory will ALWAYS remain eternal and everlasting.

(Featured image of "Gidget" montage courtesy of www.amazon.com)

(Some information obtained in this article courtesy of Variety magazine's web site www.variety.com)