James Darren, the former teen idol and pop singer who played the dreamy surfer Moondoggie in three Gidget movies before starring on television on The Time Tunnel and T.J. Hooker, died Monday.

James Darren, who became an instant teen idol as the boyish surfer Moondoggie in the "Gidget" movies and went on to a prolific career in TV and music, has died. He was 88.

James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday at 88. This video aired on the ...