James Darren Biography
James William Ercolani, 8 June 1936, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. This photogenic actor/singer was signed to Columbia Pictures in the mid-50s, his first movie being Rumble On The Docks in 1956. He first sang in Gidget in 1959, from which the title song made the US chart. Other notable starring roles include Because They're Young in 1960 and the epic The Guns Of Navarone in 1961. In 1962 he reached the US Top 5 with his lucky 13th single "Goodbye Cruel World" and followed it with two more transatlantic hits "Her Royal Majesty", a Carole King song, and "Conscience", written by Barry Mann. Darren later recorded with little success on Warner Brothers Records in 1965, Kirshner in 1969, Buddah Records in 1970, MGM Records in 1973, Private Stock in 1975 (where he returned briefly to the US Top 100 in 1977 with "You Take My Heart Away", from the hit movie Rocky) and RCA Records in 1978. Darren is now best known for his television roles, playing the role of Dr. Tony Newman in the popular and often re-run 60s television series The Time Tunnel, Officer James Corrigan in T.J. Hooker, the singing hologram Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Tony Marlin in Melrose Place. During the 90s he established himself as an in-demand television director. The memorable fairground atmosphere of "Goodbye Cruel World" remains his finest moment on record, although he made a welcome return to recording in 1999 with an album of jazz standards for Concord.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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