James Darren, the former teen idol and pop singer who played the dreamy surfer Moondoggie in three Gidget films before appearing on television in The Time Tunnel And TJ Whoredied Monday. He was 88.

Darren died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Jim Moret, a correspondent for Within editiontold The Hollywood ReporterHe was taken to hospital for an aortic valve replacement, but was deemed too weak to undergo the operation. He went home, but had to return later.

“I always thought he would make it,” Moret said, “because he was so cool. He was always cool.”

Early in his career, the dark-haired Darren received excellent reviews for his role in Let no man write my epitaph (1960) — portrays the son of a villain who is defended by Humphrey Bogart’s character in 1949 Knock on every door — and for playing the Greek soldier Spyros Pappadimos in The guns of Navarone (1961).

Even though he couldn’t surf, the Philadelphia native landed the role of Moondoggie (real name: Jerry Matthews) opposite three actresses as the precocious Malibu teen: Sandra Dee in Candy (1959), Deborah Walley in Gidget goes Hawaiian (1961) and Cindy Carol in Gidget goes to Rome (1963).

Darren then took a spiral journey through history as the quirky Dr. Tony Newman, an electronics genius, in the 1966-67 ABC adventure series The Time Tunnelstarring Robert Colbert. (Tom Hanks once said this was his favorite show as a child.)

In an interview with Tom Weaver for the 2008 book I spoke to a zombieDarren said he wasn’t interested in television or science fiction before he agreed to meet with the creator of The Time TunnelIrwin Allen.

Allen told him, “This is something you have to do. I know you don’t want to do it, but I think you’re perfect for this role, and he convinced me,” Darren recalled. “Irwin was one of the best salesmen of our time. I accepted the role because of my meeting with him.”

Fifteen years later, Darren joined the William Shatner ABC action drama TJ Whore in the second season, which pits Agent Jim Corrigan opposite Heather Locklear as his inexperienced partner, Stacy Sheridan.

Darren first directed in 1986 as a replacement during the final season of TJ Whoreand he went on to direct the episodes of Hunter, Silk stalking, Melrose Place, Werewolf, The A-Team And Beverly Hills, 90210.

He also played the wealthy Tony Marlin on Fox’s Melrose Placewhere he was reunited with Locklear.

Darren’s biggest success as a singer came with the Gloria Shayne-penned “Goodbye Cruel World,” which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. (Darren sang a version of the song, about a man whose heart is broken by a “mean, volatile woman,” on an episode of The Donna Reed Show that year.)

He cracked the Top 10 again in 1962 with “Her Royal Majesty”, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. And in the early ’70s he sang and played the straight man in a lounge act with comedian Buddy Hackett.

Darren revived his singing career in the late 1990s when he appeared in several episodes of the syndicated series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine, a role he described as “one of the most fun” he’s ever played.

Several of his Frank Sinatra-style performances were recorded for the 1999 album This one comes from the heart.

After many years out of the spotlight, Darren made an impression as the husband of a bar owner in Harry Dean Stanton’s final film, Happy (2017).

James William Ercolani was born on June 8, 1936. He grew up on South 10th Street in South Philadelphia and was inspired to become a singer and actor by fellow Philadelphian Eddie Fisher, so he traveled to New York to take acting lessons with Stella Adler.

While in town, the owner of a photo shop put him in touch with talent scout Joyce Selznick (David O. Selznick’s niece) of Columbia Pictures, and he signed a contract with the studio.

Darren made his film debut as a high school senior and gang member opposite Robert Blake in the crime drama Rumble on the docks (1956), followed by roles in Operation Mad Ball, The Rico brothers And The Tijuana Story in 1957 and Shooting walk from ’58.

The Gidget movies made him extremely popular with young ladies.

“The defining moment was when I was in a studio in San Francisco and the news got out that I was there,” he recalled in a 2015 interview with Los Angeles magazine. “Thousands of girls were screaming outside. When I had to leave the building, they knocked me to the ground and pulled clumps of my hair out. The police had to rescue me and took me to the roof until everything calmed down.”

To land the Gidget gig, Darren had to convince producers he could sing a song. “They were going to use someone else’s voice, but I said I could sing,” he said. “We went into one of the recording studios with a pianist and I sang the song and they said, ‘He can do it.’ Then they signed me to their label, Colpix.”

Darren was also heard performing in All young men (1960), Diamond head (1962), Under the Yum Yum tree (1963) and For those who think young (1964).

He sang “Almost in Your Arms” at the 1959 Academy Awards and “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” during the 1964 Oscar telecast; appeared as Yogi Bear in a 1964 animated film; and did a song in a 1965 episode of The Flintstones.

He also played the best friend opposite Sal Mineo in The Story of Gene Krupa (1959), played the role of a car mechanic in The lively set (1964) and ventured to Italy to determine the top line Venus in fur (1969) with Barbara McNair.

Darren was married to his high school sweetheart Gloria Terlitsky from 1955 until their divorce in 1958, and to Evy Norlund, a former Miss Denmark, from 1960 until his death. He lived for decades in a house on Kimridge Road in Beverly Ridge Estates that was owned by Audrey Hepburn.

In addition to his wife and Moret, he is survived by his other sons Christian and Anthony, as well as his grandchildren Amanda, Carly, Matthew, Natalie and Nicholas and his godson AJ Lambert, the daughter of Nancy Sinatra.

Over the years, Darren met many fans of his music, some unexpectedly.

“I was in a pizza place one day with a friend of mine. I heard a motorcycle pull up and Bruce Springsteen came in with his little motorcycle cap, like Brando in The Wild — I think he left his helmet outside,” he recalled in his conversation with Weaver. “I said, ‘Oh, I have to say hi to him.’

“I walked up to him and said, ‘Hi, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but my name is James Darren. I just want to tell you that I’m a huge fan. I love all your stuff.’ And he said, ‘James Darren? I bought ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ in Freehold, New Jersey.’ Isn’t that sweet?”

Duane Byrge contributed to this report.