James William Ercolani (June 8, 1936 – September 2, 2024), known by his stage name James Darren, was an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in films including the youth and beach-culture film Gidget (1959) and its sequels. He also appeared in The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Diamond Head (1962). As a teen pop singer, he sang hit singles including "Goodbye Cruel World" in 1961. He later became more active in television, starring as Dr. Anthony Newman in the science fiction series The Time Tunnel (1966–1967). He had the regular role of Officer James Corrigan in the police dramaT. J. Hooker (1982–1986) and performed as Vic Fontaine, a recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–1999).[1]
Early life
James William Ercolani was born in Philadelphia, on June 8, 1936.[2][3] He was of Italian descent[4] and grew up in South Philadelphia near where Fabian and Frankie Avalon lived.[5][6] In an interview with the News Press of Fort Myers, Florida he said that the area where he lived was "a real neighborhood. It made you feel that you could be successful, too." He mentioned that Al Martino and Eddie Fisher were from the neighborhood.[6]
Darren wanted to be an actor and studied in New York City with Stella Adler for a number of years. He also occasionally sang although he later said "I wasn't really a singer. I was a kid in Philly whose dad would take him to bars and nightclubs and I would get up and sing two songs."[7][8]
Career
Darren was discovered by talent agent and casting director Joyce Selznick after he got some photographs taken by Maurice Seymour to show potential agents:
His secretary, a woman by the name of Yvonne Bouvier, asked me if I was interested in getting into film. I said yeah, I was. She said I know someone you should meet. She set up a meeting between me and Joyce Selznick, who worked for Screen Gems. I went down to 1650 Broadway, the Brill Building. On my way to a meeting with Joyce, we just happened to get on the elevator at the same time. She kept staring at me. I never met her. She never met me. We got off at the same floor and walked to the same office. That was our meeting. Joyce brought me over to Columbia Pictures about a week later and got me a contract there.[9]
Columbia
Columbia signed Darren to a long-term contract in July 1956. A few weeks later he was filming his first film, Rumble on the Docks (1956), a low-budget "B" movie produced by Sam Katzman, where Darren played the lead.[10][11] Darren's appearance was well received and he got a lot of fan mail–second at the studio only to Kim Novak.[11] He guest starred on an episode of TV's The Web ("Kill and Run") and then Columbia gave him a support role in an "A" picture,[citation needed] the comedy Operation Mad Ball (1957), starring Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs.[2]
Darren was third billed in the surf film, Gidget (1959), starring Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson, playing Moondoggie, essentially the film's leading man. He also sang the title track. "They were thinking about having someone do the vocal and I would lip sync", he recalled. "I told them I could do it. So we went into one of the sound stages and I sang 'Gidget'. They said, 'He sings fine,' then I did all the other songs."[2][7]
The film was a hit with teen audiences and so was the song. Darren wound up recording a string of pop hits for Colpix Records, the biggest of which was "Goodbye Cruel World" (No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[12] He also recorded this song in Italian, as "Addio Mondo Crudele", which was very successful in Europe. His follow-ups also became hits: "Her Royal Majesty" (No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962) and "Conscience" (No. 11, 1962). He is also featured in one of the Scopitone series of pop-music video jukebox films ("Because You're Mine").
Darren had a supporting role in the World War II film The Guns of Navarone (1961), a huge hit at the box office. However, he later said "The people handling my career at that point didn't really take advantage of it."[15] Also popular was Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) where Darren reprised his role as Moondoggie; he had a new Gidget (Deborah Walley) and was given top billing.[2]
Darren had a good support role in a melodrama, Diamond Head (1962) with Charlton Heston.[2] He played Moondoggie a third time in Gidget Goes to Rome (1962) which he later said he "hated... I didn't want to do it. I thought that I'd be doing those for the rest of my life."[2][15] He told Entertainment Weekly in 2024, "They (Columbia Pictures) had me under contract; I was a prisoner. But with those young ladies (Sandra Dee, Deborah Walley, and Cindy Carol), it was the best prison I think I'll ever be in."[6]
He sang the title track for Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963). He also did voice-over work for Screen Gems' Hanna-Barbera animation unit. He was caricatured as teen idol "Jimmy Darrock" on an episode of The Flintstones, and was the singing voice of Yogi Bear in the theatrical feature, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (released 1964), on the song "Ven-e, Ven-o, Ven-a".[2][additional citation(s) needed] Darren's seven-year contract with Columbia expired in 1963, and he did not renew it. His recording agreement with Colpix remained in force, and Colpix issued new records into 1965. In the same year he changed labels, signing with Warner Bros. Records where he had a Top-40 hit ("All", No. 35, 1967).
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Darren was the host of Portrait of a Legend, a weekly show in which he conducted an interview with a popular musician about their career interspersed with classic performance footage of that artist. Artists who appeared included Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Sly Stone, and Herb Alpert. The show appeared mostly on PBS.[18]
TJ Hooker and directing
From 1983 to 1986 Darren had a regular role as Officer James Corrigan on the television police drama T. J. Hooker.[5] "Every career has its hills and valleys", Darren said in 1983. "The most important thing is that you are happy with you. Not anybody's career, no one that I know of, has always been climbing. It always levels out and you want to make sure you have good investments and financial security and bread on the table. If projects aren't coming to you, then you seek them out and you try to develop and put projects together."[19]
In 1998, Darren achieved popularity anew as a singer through his appearances on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the role of holographiccrooner and adviser Vic Fontaine.[2] His role in Deep Space Nine inspired his return to singing.[21] Many of his vocal performances on the show were re-recorded for the album This One's from the Heart (1999).[22] The album shows Darren, a close friend of Frank Sinatra,[23] singing in the Sinatra style.[2] The 2001 follow-up Because of You showed similar inspiration from Tony Bennett.
Darren's later appearances include Random Acts (2001)[24] and Lucky (2017).[5]
Personal life and death
James Darren with Gloria Terlitsky and son James Jr.
In 1955, Darren married Gloria Terlitsky, his sweetheart since 1953. Her father opposed their marriage because Terlitsky was Jewish while Darren was Roman Catholic. Darren and Terlitsky had a son, James Jr. ("Jimmy"), and divorced in 1958. Jimmy was adopted by Gloria's third husband and is now known as Jim Moret, a journalist and television commentator.[25][2]
Two years after the divorce, Darren married Evy Norlund, Miss Denmark 1958. They had two sons, Christian (born c. 1960) and Anthony (born c. 1964).[26][27]
Darren died from congestive heart failure in his sleep, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on September 2, 2024. He was 88.[2][28] In the weeks before his death, Darren was experiencing issues relating to the function of his aortic valve. His doctors judged his condition too fragile to undergo surgery and repair it.[29]
Selected discography
Singles
Year
Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated
^Purcelli, Marion (December 9, 1967). "From streetcorner to stardom in one easy elevator ride". Chicago Tribune. p. E3.
^ abScott, John L. (April 27, 1958). "James Darren well on way to hitting jackpot of stardom: Fair-haired boy Darren getting big buildup". Los Angeles Times. p. E1.
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