Tall, good-looking James Darren was a student of acting coach Stella Adler and made his name in the s in a series of teenage-themed films. A better actor than most of his contemporary teenage heartthrobs, he nevertheless found it difficult to escape the teen-idol image he got in pictures like Gidget and Gidget Goes Hawaiian He also gained fame in the early and mids as a singer, with several hits to his credit, including "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Her Royal Majesty". His film work tapered off in the s, but he did much TV work and had two hit series, The Time Tunnel in the s and T.
Recording star, actor, and director — and now a new octogenarian senior citizen — James Darren nee James Ercolani was born June 8, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. James Darren was interested in acting from an early age, and began steadily dating girlfriend Gloria Terlitsky as a young teenager. At age 16, young James dropped out of school, began traveling back and forth from Philadelphia to New York City to study acting with Stella Adler, and changed his last name to Darren for professional reasons. She arranged for him to meet casting director Joyce Selznick niece of legendary movie producer David O. Selznick ; a week later James Darren had a contract with Columbia Pictures.
Hooker," has a complicated relationship with his son Jim Moret. James started his career in the entertainment industry in when Columbia Pictures signed him. His first film was "Rumble on the Docks," where he got the leading role. Apart from taking an acting role in the movie, James also recorded the title song, which became a hit for the teenagers at that time. Portrait of James Darren for "T.
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