By Teen idol turned filmmaker, singer and actor James Darren has died, passing away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles today at the age of 88.
The Philadelphia-born actor first appeared in films in the 1950s, breaking through playing Moondoggie alongside stars Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson in 1959’s “Gidget”. He also sung the title theme for the film.
He did other films including “The Guns of Navarone,” “The Gene Krupa Story” and “Because They’re Young” before becoming a regular on TV’s “The Time Tunnel” and guest starring on various 1970s and 1980s shows along with hosting interview series “Portrait of a Legend”.
In the mid-1980s he was a regular on “T.J. Hooker” playing officer James Corrigan and got into directing series “The A-Team,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Silk Stalkings” and “Nowhere Man”.
He endeared himself to a whole new generation in the late 1990s thanks to his recurring role as the advice-spouting, Tony Bennett-esque holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” in that show’s last two-and-a-half seasons.
It marked his last TV work. His last film work was in John Carroll Lynch’s “Lucky” in 2017 and the DS9 documentary “What We Left Behind” in 2018.
Darren is survived by his wife Evy, sons Jim Moret, Christian Darren and Tony Darren and five grandchildren.
Source: THR
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