James Daren actor singer and gig heartrob dies at 88 his role as a surfer in that Trend setting hit movie led to success on television shows like The Time Tunnel and TJ hooker and on the pop charts James Daren an actor and singer whose starring role as a California surfer in the gig movies made him one of the most popular heartthrobs of the late 1950s and early 60s died on Monday in Los Angeles he was 888 his son Jim morit said the cause of his death in a hospital was congestive heart failure Mr Daren a Philadelphia native who didn't Surf and wasn't even a particularly strong swimmer had been a contract player with Colombia pictures when he was cast as an aspiring surf bum in git which also starred Sandra d in the title role in Cliff Robertson as the Big Kahuna the leader of a surfing gang released in 1959 the movie told the story of a high school girl who befriends that gang in Malibu and develops a crush on Mr Darren's character moond doggy it was a hit and it became one of the first signs of the surfing craze that would soon include the music of the Beach Boys and the beach party films Mr Daren went on to play the character into more gigg films gig goes Hawaiian with Deborah Wally in the title role and gigit goes to Rome with Cindy Carroll land a roll in the acclaimed 1961 World War to drama The Guns of naon carve out a long career in Prime Time television including a starring role on the 1, 1966-67 time travel series The Time Tunnel and release a number of singles and albums first as a purveyor of lightweight pop tunes and later as a lounge singer whose repertoire consisted mostly of Standards before he was cast as moond doggy a character with a prominent singing role Mr Daren had never sung professionally at first the studio considered having him lips sync to someone else's voice