James Darren, the actor from T.J. Hooker, died at the age of 88 from cardiac problems
At the age of 88, James Darren departed from this life quietly while sleeping on Monday.
According to his son Jim Moret, the actor, who is most known for his roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, T.J. Hooker, and Gidget, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Moret told TMZ that his father was receiving treatment for heart problems at the hospital’s cardiac unit, even though the cause of his death is still unknown. When Darren first arrived at the hospital, his physicians thought he was too frail to have an aortic valve replacement, so they sent him home.
Darren was rushed back to the hospital after being sent home. “I always believed he would recover,” Moret stated to The Hollywood Reporter. Since he was so awesome. He was cool all the time.
The Philadelphia native had always wanted to be an entertainer, so he traveled to New York City to study acting. There, he met talent scout Joyce Selznick of Columbia Pictures and secured a contract with the company.
He starred opposite Ryan Blake in the crime drama Rumble on the Docks when he made his film debut in 1956. In addition, he starred in the films Gunman’s Walk, The Brothers Rico, The Tijuana Story, and Operation Mad Ball.
Darren became well-known as a teenage romantic after he was cast as Moondoggie, a surfer, in the romantic comedy Gidget (1959).
The teenage sensation also acted in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) after the original film’s release.
He also starred in the following early in his career: Let No Man Write my Epitaph (1960), Knock on Any Door (1949), and The Guns of Navarone (1961) action-adventure war film.
In the television series T.J. Hooker, Darren was well-known for his recurrent role as Jim Corrigan, a police officer.
From the program’s launch in 1982 to its conclusion in four seasons, Darren starred in 66 episodes.
His contributions to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were equally well-known. He portrayed Vic Fontaine, a hologram lounge singer, in a recurrent character in the science fiction series from the late 1990s.
Additionally, Darren played Dr. Tony Newman, an electrical whiz, in the 1966–1967 ABC adventure series The Time Tunnel.
Prior to meeting The Time Tunnel’s creator, Irwin Allen, Darren had little interest in working in television or on science fiction projects in an interview with Tom Beaver for the film historian’s 2008 book, I Talked With A Zombie.
Allen told Darren, “This is something you have to do,” Darren recounted. Even though I know you don’t want to, I believe you are ideal for this position. “And he convinced me,” he continued. Irwin was a legendary salesman in our era. It was because of our meeting that I took the post.
When Darren filled in as T.J. Hooker’s director on short notice for the show’s final season in 1986, he added directing to his already stellar portfolio.
Later, he realized he had a passion for filmmaking as well, and he directed episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210, Hunter, Silk Stalkings, Melrose Place, Werewolf, and The A-Team.
Darren was a pop vocalist in addition to an actor and director.
In 1961, his song Goodbye Cruel World peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His song Her Royal Majesty, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, also made it into the top 10 the next year.
He didn’t start singing professionally again until the late 1990s, when he was cast in the syndicated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series.
For the 1999 CD This One’s From the Heart, he played a hologram lounge singer, a part he termed “one of the most enjoyable” he had ever played. He recorded multiple Frank Sinatra-inspired performances.
After that, Darren lived a long time in the background before making a comeback to Hollywood for Harry Dean Stanton’s last movie, Lucky, which came out in 2017.
From 1955 until their divorce in 1958, he was wed to Gloria Terlitsky, his childhood sweetheart. He wed Evy Norlund, a former Miss Denmark, in 1960.
Three sons and Norlund survive Darren. Apart from Christian and Anthony, he leaves behind grandkids Amanda, Carly, Matthew, Natalie, and Nicholas; he also leaves behind a goddaughter, A.J. Lambert, who happens to be Nancy Sinatra’s daughter.
