James Darren, the teen idol who famously played dreamy surfer Moondoggie in the “Gidget” films of the 1950s and 1960s and segued into roles behind the camera, has died. He was 88. Darren died ...

James Darren, who found teen heartthrob fame as Moondoggie in the 1959 surfer film “Gidget” and whose scenes of sun-kissed beaches with star Sandra Dee helped launch the California surfing ...

James Darren, best known for a wide range of television ... Darren acted in the role of Moondoggie and sang the title track ...

James Darren’s breakout role as Moondoggie in Gidget Born James Ercolani on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Darren’s journey to stardom began when a talent scout in New York discovered him ...

NPR's Elizabeth Blair has an appreciation. ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: As the surfer Moondoggie, James Darren rescues a struggling Sandra Dee on his surfboard. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GIDGET") JAMES ...

Darren died on Monday in his sleep at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 88 years old. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation. ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: As the surfer Moondoggie, James Darren ...

Actor and singer James Darren, who became famous after starring ... but he rose to prominence when he starred as Moondoggie in 1959’s surf movie, Gidget, co-starring Sandra Dee.

James Darren, who went from teen idol status acting ... He reprised his role as Moondoggie in “Gidget Goes Hawaiian” and again in “Gidget Goes to Rome,” though he was tired of the ...

James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the ... But to young movie fans of the late 1950s, he would be remembered best as Moondoggie, the dark-haired surfer boy in the smash 1959 release ...