James Darren

James William Ercolani (June 8, 1936 – September 2, 2024), known by his stage name James Darren, was an American actor, singer, and television director. 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 on the science fiction series The Time Tunnel (1966–67). He had the regular role of Officer James Corrigan on the police drama T. J. Hooker (1982–86) and had a recurring role as Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–99).

James William Ercolani was born in Philadelphia, on June 8, 1936. He was of Italian descent and grew up in South Philadelphia near where Fabian and Frankie Avalon lived. 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.

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."

Darren was discovered by talent agent and casting director Joyce Selznick after he got some photographs taken by Maurice Seymour to show potential agents:

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.