At the age of 88, actor James Darren has died. He was best known for his parts in Gidget and Star Trek.
His son said that his dad passed away on Monday in a hospital in Los Angeles.
He told Variety that his dad had a chance to tell his family how much he loved them before he died.
Jim also said that his dad was getting care in the hospital’s heart unit.
“He was a good person.” Jim said, “He was very skilled.”
“He was forever young.”
His sons Jim, Christian Darren, and Tony Darren, as well as his wife Evy, will miss him.
Besides that, he had five grandchildren.
No more information has been given about how James died or why he was taken to the hospital.
Fans shared nice things about the actor on social media and thought about his career as a tribute.
A well-known X account called @TrekCore, which is all about Star Trek, posted a video of James on the show with a goodbye message.
“Farewell to legendary singer and Star Trek DS9 recurring star Jimmy Darren – Vic Fontaine, your holosuite will always keep running in our hearts,” the message said.
“I just learned that James Darren has died.” Dad and James have known each other for 65 years. I just found these old black-and-white pictures of them together from the 1970s. Two singers from Philadelphia who never lost their cool. Our hearts will miss you, Moondoggie,” wrote Alison Martino, Al Montino’s daughter.
A third face gushed, “Rest in peace, James Darren! I loved him in the Gidget movies!”
“RIP the great James Darren – the one and only Vic Fontaine,” said a fourth person.
“As a child, I loved The Time Tunnel, The Guns of Navarone, and he was Moondoggie.” Don’t forget T.J. Hooker from DS9; he’s a good cop! He could also sing. An interesting job. “Rest in peace, James Darren,” a fan wrote.
“Today we lost James Darren.” “One of the greats,” wrote someone else.
JAMES’ HISTORY
Some of James’s most famous roles were as Moondoggie the surfer in Giget and Vic Fontaine, the Holosuit lounge singer in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
He was born in Philadelphia and went to New York to study acting with Stella Adler.
He was signed by Columbia Pictures and got his first part in Rumble on the Docks there.
After that, he was in Operation Madball, Gunmen’s Walk, and Gidget, which was the start of his career.
James not only starred in the movie, but he also sang the title track.
He went on to have a gold record with Goodbye Cruel World in 1961, which was based on that song.
James put out at least 14 albums over the course of his career.
After singing, he went on to star in movies like “The Guns of Navarone,” “The Gene Krupa Story,” “All the Young Men,” and “Because They’re Young.”
Gidget Goes to Hawaii and Gidget Goes to Rome both had James play Moondoggie again.
Aside from movies, the actor was in a number of TV shows.
These movies and TV shows cast him: The Love Boat, Venus in Furs, Love, American Style, and The Time Tunnel.
From 1983 to 1986, he was a regular on T.J. Hooker. After that, he switched from acting to directing.
James was in charge of episodes of Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, and 90210.
