James Darren

Actor, director, and singer James Darren – born James Ercolani on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – was best known for his string of acting roles in films and television from the mid-1950s and well into the 1960s. His charm and good looks made him a natural teen idol, which led to a recording contract and a series of singles including the theme to the 1959 motion picture Gidget, which was his commercial breakthrough on the big screen and on the radio. While his film and television career continued to prosper, James Darren continued to release a series of singles and albums, finally scoring a huge hit with “Goodbye Cruel World” (1961), taken from his third album James Darren Sings for All Sizes. “Goodbye Cruel World” climbed to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting the top of the singles chart in Canada. His next two singles – “Her Royal Majesty” and “Conscience” – were also hits and were taken from the 1963 album Teenage Triangle, which was a teen idol album that also included songs from Shelley Fabares and Paul Peterson, both from the hit TV series The Donna Reed Show. However, the hits began to dry up once the British Invasion took over the charts in early 1964. In 1967, he had a brief dalliance with the charts again when his single “All” was a sizable hit in the US and Canada in 1967. More singles followed with very little success. During the disco era, James Darren released “You Take My Heart Away,” which climbed to number 57 on the Hot 100. His acting career continued, and he appeared on many TV shows including T.J. Hooker, a series starring William Shatner. James Darren appeared on the series from 1982 until 1985. His music career had slowed down considerably after 1972, releasing only two albums at the turn of the millennium. James Darren died on September 2, 2024, at the age of 88.

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