James Darren, who became an instant teen idol as the boyish surfer Moondoggie in the “Gidget” films and had a prolific career in television and music, has died. He was 88.

Darren went to a Los Angeles hospital last week for a planned heart procedure, but was deemed too weak to continue and was sent home, his son Jim Moret told multiple outlets. But his failing health forced him to return to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died in his sleep surrounded by his family.

Born James Ercolani in Philadelphia, Darren was already using a stage name when he starred in “Gidget” and its sequels in 1959. His fame was secured immediately by the 1950s surf culture hit, and he quickly capitalized on that fame with a number three hit single with “Goodbye Cruel World” in 1961.

Darren scored several other pop hits, including “Her Royal Majesty” and “Conscience”, but soon made the transition to television, starring in the science fiction series “The Time Tunnel” from 1966 to 1967, as a police officer in “T.J. Hooker” from 1983 to 1986, and as Vic Fontainel in the 1998-1999 spin-off “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.

Darren continued to maintain his acting and singing career while transitioning into directing television episodes, including episodes of “Hunter”, “The A-Team” and “Silk Stalkings”.

Darren married Gloria Terlitsky in 1955 and the couple had one son, James Jr., before divorcing in 1958. Two years later, he remarried Evy Norlund, the former Miss Denmark, and they had two sons, Christian and Anthony.

The post James Darren, Teen Idol and Singer Who Starred in ‘Gidget’ and ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,’ Dies at 88 appeared first on TheWrap.