James Darren, a film actor, TV star, singer, director, and spaghetti
sauce entrepreneur, was born James Ercolani in Philadelphia. A chance introduction
to the legendary producer/talent executive, Joyce Selznick, led to Darren's
signing a seven year contract with Columbia Pictures. During his Columbia
years, Darren made 19 films including Gidget. Darren was rich-kid
surfer, Moondoggie, and returned to star in two of the sequels before going
on to other projects.
In Gidget, Darren sang two songs: the title tune and There's
No Such Thing As the Next Best Thing To Love. Almost without intending
to, he became a recording star. In the early 60's his hits included Goodbye
Cruel World, which became number one in the country, as well as Angel
Face, Conscience, and Her Royal Majesty - every one of
which made the Top Ten List.
Darren continued to make films and in 1966 starred in his first TV series,
The Time Tunnel. When The Time Tunnel ended, Darren decided
to concentrate on his singing. He teamed with comedian Buddy Hackett for
what would become a ten year partnership touring the country. In 1983,
Darren was offered the role of Jim Corrigan on the ABC-TV series T.J.
Hooker. He directed the final episode of T.J. Hooker which led to multiple
TV directing jobs including Hunter, The A-Team, Hardball,
and Police Story.
