What was James Darren's net worth?
James Darren was an actor, singer, and director who had a net worth of $9 million. James Darren was best known as an actor for his role as the dreamy California surfer "Moondoggie" in the 1959 teenage beach film "Gidget" and its sequels. As a singer, he was known as the heartthrob of teen girls, crooning hits such as "Goodbye Cruel World," which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 and sold over a million copies. He died on September 2, 2024, at the age of 88.
Early Years
James William Ercolani, otherwise known as James Darren, was born on June 8, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a child, he became interested in performing and began singing in clubs around his hometown. At the age of 18, he went to New York to study acting with legendary drama coach Stella Adler. During the summer of 1956, he was approached by a talent agent who asked him if he was interested in acting. He said yes and she set up an interview at Screen Gems, a television and film studio in New York. About a week later, he was contracted to Columbia Pictures.
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Film
James Darren's film debut was "Rumble on the Docks" in 1956. Darren played the leading role of Jimmy Smigelski in the film, which was based on the novel of the same name by Frank Paley. Audiences loved Darren, and he was soon cast in an episode of the American dramatic anthology series "The Web." In 1957, he was cast as Private Widowskas in the American military comedy "Operation Mad Ball," alongside Jack Lemmon and Mickey Rooney. Parts in the films "The Brothers Rico," "The Tijuana Story" and "Gunman's Walk" followed. Then, in 1959, he was cast as Jeffrey "Moondoggie" Matthews in the future hit film "Gidget" alongside blonde, award-winning actress Sandra Dee. Columbia Pictures had initially zeroed in on American singer and actor Elvis Presley to fill the role, but Presley was serving in the military at the time.
In 1959, Darren played Eddie Sirota in the biopic "The Gene Krupa Story" about American jazz drummer and bandleader Eugene Krupa. The film was followed by the Korean War feature film "All the Young Men" in 1960, the action-adventure war film "The Guns of Navarone" in 1961, and the romantic drama "Diamond Head" in 1962.
Darren returned to portraying the character of Moondoggie in the films "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" in 1961 and "Gidget Goes to Rome" in 1962.
In 1963, Darren did voice-over work as the singing Yogi Bear in the animated musical film "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!" That year, he signed a seven-picture contract with Universal. His last film of the decade was "Venus in Furs," in which he played a jazz musician obsessed with a mysterious woman later found dead on a beach. His next film was "The Boss's Son" in 1978, followed by "That's Life" in 1979.
Darren returned to film in 2001, playing the role of Allen in "Random Acts." In 2010, he played himself in the film "Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story." In his last film, "Lucky" – in 2017 – he worked alongside American actors Ed Begley Jr. and Harry Dean Stanton. The film garnered 15 award nominations and seven awards.
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Television
In 1959, James Darren appeared in two episodes of the American sitcom "The Donna Reed Show" and on the police drama "The Lineup." In 1963, he did voice-over work as teen idol Jimmy Darrock, a parody of himself, on an episode of the animated sitcom "The Flintstones."
From 1966 to 1967, Darren starred as Dr. Tony Newman in 30 episodes of the science fiction television series "The Time Tunnel." He went on to appear in episodes of "S.W.A.T.," "Charlie's Angels," "Police Story" and "Hawaii Five-O." During the 1980s, he appeared on "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "One Day at a Time" and, from 1982 to 1985, starred as Officer Jim Corrigan on the police drama series "T.J. Hooker." He also hosted the weekly television show "Portrait of a Legend," which allowed him to interview different celebrities about their careers.
Television appearances during the 1990s included five episodes of "Melrose Place" and eight episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
Directing
As a director, James Darren worked on popular television shows including "The A-Team," "Silk Stalkings" and "Beverly Hills 90210."
Vocals
After proving he had vocal talent by offering to sing the title track "You" in the 1959 film "Gidget" instead of lip-synching to the recording of a professional vocalist, James Darren recorded an album for Colpix Records, which included the single "Goodbye Cruel World." The song reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961 and sold over a million copies. The song was also successful in Europe, where it was released in Italian as "Addio Mondo Crudele."
In 1962, Darren's single "Her Royal Majesty" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while his song "Conscience" reached number 11. The following year, he sang the title track for the American sex comedy "Under the Yum Yum Tree" starring Jack Lemmon.
Darren's singles from the 1970s include "Mammy Blue," "Love on the Screen," "Let Me Take You in My Arms Again" and "The Next Time. The album "The Best of James Darren" was released in 1994. A collection of his songs was released on the album "This One's from the Heart" in 1999. In 2001, his album "Because of You" was released, and his "Live! For the First Time," album reached audiences in 2019.
Personal Life
James Darren married Gloria Terlitsky, his girlfriend of two years, in 1955. They had a son together, James Ercolani Jr., before divorcing in 1958.
Darren married Miss Denmark 1958, Evy Norland, in 1960. They had two sons together: Christian, born in 1960, and Anthony, born in 1964.
Darren died on September 2, 2024, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, due to congestive heart failure while he slept. He had been hospitalized as the result of a heart malfunction he had been experiencing several weeks before his death, which necessitated an aortic valve replacement. Doctors determined the condition was inoperable, however, due to his fragile health.
Darren served as godfather to Nancy Sinatra's daughter, Angela.
