James Darren, who died Monday, is shown in character in a 1963 photo with his “For Those Who Think Young” co-stars Nancy Sinatra, center, and Claudia Martin. James Darren, the teen idol who famously played dreamy surfer Moondoggie in the “Gidget” films of the 1950s and 1960s and segued into roles behind the camera, has died. Darren rose to fame …
It was a Saturday afternoon in January in Hollywood. My high school years involved drying my armpits under the restroom’s hand dryers after a class presentation and dancing around the sofa at home to “Les Misérables’” “On My Own.” Instead of dates, I went to slumber parties where we sat in a remodeled basement to watch Gidget woo Moondoggie. The …
