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Actor who played ‘Gidget’ surfer Vic Fontaine on ‘Star Trek’ dies at 88
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Actor who played ‘Gidget’ surfer Vic Fontaine on ‘Star Trek’ dies at 88

James Darren, a former teen idol and pop singer known for his roles in films and television shows such as “Gidget,” “Star Trek” and “TJ Hooker,” died Monday, Sept. 2, The Hollywood Reporter reported. He was 88.

Darren died in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, his son Jim Moret told the newspaper.

Darren went to the hospital for an aortic valve replacement, but was deemed too weak for the surgery, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“He was a good man. He was very talented,” Moret said, according to Variety. “He was forever young.”

Darren first rose to fame as surfer Moondoggie in the 1959 teen film “Gidget,” which also starred Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson. Darren also sang the title track for the Malibu-set film and appeared in sequels “Gidget Goes Hawaiian” and “Gidget Goes to Rome.”

Darren was a regular on “TJ Hooker,” playing Officer Jim Corrigan opposite William Shatner and Heather Locklear in the 1980s television series. In later years, he memorably played Vic Fontaine, a holographic lounge singer, on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

Other notable credits include “The Guns of Navarone”, “Venus in Furs”, “The Gene Krupa Story”, “The Love Boat”, “Fantasy Island”, “Melrose Place”, “All the Young Men”, ” Beverly Hills 90210″ and “Because They’re Young”.

Darren was also known as a singer, releasing more than a dozen albums and scoring a gold record with “Goodbye Cruel World” in the 1960s. He also sang in many of his acting roles, performing standards such as “Come Fly With Me” and “Let’s Fall in Love.”

Darren is survived by his wife, sons and five grandchildren.