James Darren

James Darren

Birth name:

James William Ercolani

Date of birth:

8 June1936

Place of birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of death:

2 September2024

Place of death:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Roles:

Actor

Character(s):

Vic Fontaine;
Vic Fontaine (mirror)

James Darren (8 June1936–2 September2024; age 88) was an actor, director, and singer who played the holographic lounge singerVic Fontaine in thesixth andseventh seasons ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also played themirror universeVic Fontaine in the seventh season episode "The Emperor's New Cloak".

He was probably best known for his regular roles in the television seriesThe Time Tunnel andT.J. Hooker withWilliam Shatner.

Personal[]

Darren, bornJames William Ercolani, was originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and moved to New York City to fulfill his dream to become a singer and actor. After a short time taking acting lessons he metColumbia Pictures talent agent Joyce Selznick who gave him a seven year contract with Columbia. In 1955 he moved to Hollywood, California and stood in front of the camera for nineteen Columbia films. The following year he took his stage name James Darren, named after the Kaiser-Darrin sports car.

In 1955 Darren and his first wife Gloria Terlitsky married. They later divorced in 1959. Terlitsky is also the mother of Darren's first son, James "Jim" Jr. During his early years he was friends with the famous Rat Pack, which includedFrank Sinatra,Dean Martin,Sammy Davis, Jr., andPeter Lawford. He was also chosen to be the godfather of Angela Jennifer Lambert, daughter of Frank Sinatra's daughterNancy.

From 1960 until his death, Darren was married to Evy Norlund, Miss Denmark 1958, the actress who played Suzanne Fontaine in the 1959 movieThe Flying Fontaines. The couple had two sons.

Darren died on 2 September 2024, aged 88.[1]

Acting career[]

After Darren received his seven year contract with Columbia he starred and co-starred in films such asRumble on the Docks (1956, withCelia Lovsky),Operation Mad Ball (1957, withDick Crockett andRoy Jenson),The Brothers Rico (1957),The Tijuana Story (1957),Gunman's Walk (1958), andThe Gene Krupa Story (1959, withSusan Oliver,Yvonne Craig,Lawrence Dobkin, an uncreditedStanley Adams and Celia Lovsky). Other appearances includeThe Web (1957, withDeForest Kelley),The Donna Reed Show (1959, withTed Knight), andThe Lineup (1959).

In 1959 Darren appeared inGidget, which also featuredYvonne Craig. Darren would reprise his role forGidget Goes Hawaiian (1961, with music byGeorge Duning) andGidget Goes to Rome (1963).

Other acting credits in the '60s include the dramaBecause They're Young (1960),All the Young Men (1960, withPaul Baxley),Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960, withRicardo Montalban and uncredited appearances byPeter Brocco andRoy Jenson),The Guns of Navarone (1961) (withWalter Gotell),Diamond Head (1963, withFrance Nuyen),For Those Who Think Young (1964),The Lively Set (1964, withCharles Drake),Venus in Furs (1969), and an episode ofVoyage to the Bottom (1966, withSeymour Cassel).

Parallel toStar Trek: The Original Series, Darren portrayed the leading role of Dr. Anthony Newman inThe Time Tunnel (1966-1967). FellowTrek actorsWhit Bissell andLee Meriwether were part of the main cast whileTrek stunt performersCharles Picerni andDavid Sharpe served as stunt doubles for Darren. The series featured fellow Trek alumniJohn Winston,Bart La Rue,Warren Stevens,Paul Fix,Paul Carr,Torin Thatcher,Victor Lundin,Joseph Ruskin,Abraham Sofaer,Paul Comi,Lawrence Montaigne,Bruce Mars,Perry Lopez,Theo Marcuse,David Opatoshu,Nehemiah Persoff,Michael Ansara,Dick Geary,Elizabeth Rogers,Malachi Throne,Peter Brocco,Dick Dial,John Crawford,Vince Howard,John Hoyt,Arnold Moss,Rhodes Reason,Anthony Caruso,Robert Walker,Arthur Batanides,Chuck Hicks andGil Perkins in guest roles. Writers includedCarey Wilber andRobert Hamner, and the show also featured music byGeorge Duning. AfterThe Time Tunnel was cancelled, producerIrwin Allen cast Darren in the titular role of the sci-fi pilotThe Man From the 25th Century, which also featuredJohn Crawford, however the project was not picked up as a series.

While touring through the United States, Darren participated in a few film projects such asCity Beneath the Sea (1971, with Whit Bissell),The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975, withPercy Rodriguez,Paul Carr,Rod Arrants, andAlan Oppenheimer), and the dramaThe Boss' Son (1978). He was also more prominently seen as guest actor in a few television series includingS.W.A.T. (1976, withDavid Opatoshu andPaul Sorensen),Police Woman (1976, withCharles Dierkop),Baa Baa Black Sheep (1977, withJoey Aresco andJohn Larroquette),Charlie's Angels (1977, starringKate Jackson, withPatty Maloney),Hawaii Five-O (1978-1979, withNehemiah Persoff andBrian Tochi),Vegas (1980, withWilliam Lucking),The Love Boat (1981, withGina Hecht), andFantasy Island (1979-1982, starring Ricardo Montalban, and withWendy Schaal).

Between 1982 and 1986 he returned to a regular role and starred as Officer Jim Corrigan inT. J. Hooker along withWilliam Shatner as the title character andRichard Herd as police chief. Beside Shatner himself,Winrich Kolbe,Cliff Bole, Charlie Picerni, andRichard Compton directed him in several episodes.

After the end ofT. J. Hooker, Darren made only a few guest performances inRaven (1992, withPaul Collins),Renegade (1992, withBranscombe Richmond andTracy Scoggins),Silk Stalkings (1994, with Charlie Brill,Gary Frank, andJon Rashad Kamal), andDiagnosis: Murder (1997, withDarwyn Carson). He also portrayed the cruel Tony Marlin in five episodes ofMelrose Place in 1999, along withTrek performersMark L. Taylor,Dey Young,Kathleen Garrett,Susan Savage, andDavid Doty.

AfterDeep Space Nine, Darren rarely acted. He played the role of Allen in the dramaRandom Acts (2001), and Paulie inLucky (2017, withEd Begley, Jr. andBertila Damas).

Music career[]

ForGidget he performed the title song "Gidget" and the song "The Next Best Thing to Love", the previous one became a successful release the same year.

In 1961 his song "Goodbye Cruel World" stepped on position three of the US music charts and one year later his song "Her Royal Majesty" was voted into the top ten and he also lent his voice and likeness to an episode ofThe Flintstones (1965), with his character called "Jimmy Darrock". He also performed two times at theAcademy Awards; 1959 the song "Almost in Your Arms" and 1964 the song "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World".

After his television experience withThe Time Tunnel, which was cancelled after one season, Darren formed a duo with comedianBuddy Hackett and the two toured about ten years through the country. During this time he only stopped the tour for a few film breaks.

In 1999 Darren released the album "This One's From The Heart" with songs he performed as Vic Fontaine onDeep Space Nine, his first album after twenty years. The album included the following seventeen songs:

Also in 1999 he performed on stage in Atlantic City after a fourteen year break. After this album, Darren released another studio album, "Because of You", in 2001. Other songs of his can be heard in the moviesDown to You (2000),Hearts in Atlantis (2001), andChooch (2003).

Director[]

Darren made his directing debut during his performance inT.J. Hooker and directed the fifth season episodeInto the Night in 1986.Star Trek performers in this episode include Shatner,Marc Alaimo,Rhonda Aldrich, andPhilip Weyland.

Darren's directorial experience was built up with directing jobs in the following years, including episodes ofThe A-Team (1986, starringDwight Schultz),Stingray (1987),Werewolf (1987-1988, starringLance LeGault and withBrian Thompson,Ethan Phillips, andTodd Bryant),Tequila and Bonetti (1992, withCharles Rocket andErick Avari),Walker, Texas Ranger (1993, starringClarence Gilyard, Jr. andNoble Willingham),Renegade (1994),Nowhere Man (1995, starringBruce Greenwood and withDeep Space Nine co-starMike Starr),Silk Stalkings (1994-1995, withCharlie Brill,Gina Ravarra, andNicolas Surovy), andSavannah (1996, starringRay Wise andBeth Toussaint).

His most recent directing jobs include episodes ofBeverly Hills, 90210 (1996, withSteven Culp) andMelrose Place (1996-1997, withLily Mariye).

Appearances as Vic Fontaine[]

External links[]

• JamesDarren.com – official site
• James Darren at theInternet Movie Database
• James Darren atAllMusic.com
• Forever Fontaine - An Interview with DS9's James Darren atStarTrek.com
• James Darren atWikipedia
• James Darren @T.J. Hooker wiki
• Irwin Allen News Network - The Time Tunnel