James Darren, best known as Moondoggie in the Gidget film series, died on September 2 at age 88. He passed away in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after being hospitalized for an aortic valve replacement that doctors later felt was too risky.
Born James William Ercolani in 1936 in Philadelphia to Italian immigrant parents, he started as a singer before becoming a teen idol through acting. His breakthrough came in the 1959 film Gidget alongside Sandra Dee, which launched the surf movie craze. He reprised the role in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Gidget Goes to Rome (1963).
Darren also had a music career, with his 1961 hit “Goodbye Cruel World” reaching No. 3 on the Billboard charts. He later worked in TV, starring in The Time Tunnel and appearing in numerous shows, before moving into directing series like T.J. Hooker, Hunter, and Melrose Place.
He was married twice and had three children, including journalist Jim Moret.