Actor and singer James Darren, best known for Gidget, T.J. Hooker, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has died at 88. According to TMZ, he passed away in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, after recent heart issues and a failed attempt at an aortic valve replacement.
Darren rose to fame as surfer Moondoggie in Gidget (1959) and its sequels, later starring as Officer Jim Corrigan in T.J. Hooker. He also had a successful singing career, performing the Gidget theme, and went on to direct episodes of Melrose Place, 90210, and The A-Team. His son, Jim Moret, remembered him as “always cool.”
