James Darren, who has died aged 88, was a toothsome and tanned American actor who became a teen idol in his early twenties as singing surfer Jeff “Moondoggie” Matthews in Gidget (1959), a film that ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday at 88. Darren died in ...

When Hollywood released "Gidget" in 1959 it unleashed one of the first waves of mainstream attention and popularity for surfing in America. All of a sudden, that young teenage girl from Malibu was ...

James Darren, a former teen idol and pop singer known for his roles in movies and TV shows like “Gidget,” “Star Trek” and “T.J. Hooker,” died Monday, Sept. 2, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He was ...

LOS ANGELES -- 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.

James Darren, who went from teen idol status acting in youth-oriented movies like “Gidget” to becoming an actor in TV shows such as “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “T.J. Hooker” and a singer and ...