James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936), known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in films including Gidget (1959) and its sequels, The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Diamond Head (1962). As a teen pop singer, he achieved hit singles including "Goodbye Cruel World" in 1961. He later became more active in television, starring as Dr. Anthony Newman in the science fiction series The Time Tunnel (1966–1967). He appeared in the regular role of Officer James Corrigan in the police drama T. J. Hooker (1983–1986) and in the recurring role of Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–1999).
Early life
Darren was born in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of Philadelphia, on June 8, 1936. He is of Italian descent.
He wanted to be an actor and studied in New York City with Stella Adler for a number of years. He would also occasionally sing although he later said "I wasn't really a singer. I was a kid in Philly whose dad would take
Columbia signed Darren to a long-term contract in July 1956. A few weeks later he was filming his first film, Rumble on the Docks (1956), a low-budget "B" movie produced by Sam Katzman, where Darren played the lead. Darren's appearance was well received and he got a lot of fan mail – second at the studio only to Kim Novak.
Darren guest starred on an episode of TV's The Web ("Kill and Run") then Columbia gave him a support role in an "A" picture, the comedy Operation Mad Ball (1957), starring Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs.
He had support roles in two films directed by Phil Karlson: The Brothers Rico (1957), a film noir, playing the brother of Richard Conte; and Gunman's Walk (1958), a Western with Van Heflin and Tab Hunter. In between he was second billed in another movie for Katzman, The Tijuana Story (1957), although his role was relatively small.
TV guest star
In the 1970s, Darren performed regularly in night clubs. He focused on guest starring on TV series, such as Love, American Style; S.W.A.T.; Police Woman; Black Sheep Squadron; The Feather and Father Gang; Charlie's Angels; Police Story; Hawaii Five-O; Vegas; The Love Boat; and Fantasy Island.
He had a role in the TV movie The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975) and the film The Boss' Son (1978).
In the early 1980s Darren appeared on Scruples (1981), and One Day at a Time.
In 1955, Darren married Gloria Terlitsky, his sweetheart since 1953. Her father opposed their marriage because Terlitsky was Jewish while Darren was Catholic. Darren and Terlitsky had son James Jr. ("Jimmy"), and divorced in 1958. Jimmy was adopted by Gloria's third husband, and is now known as journalist and TV commentator Jim Moret.
Two years after the divorce, Darren married Evy Norlund, Miss Denmark 1958. They had two sons, Christian (born c. 1960) and Anthony (born c. 1964).
- MAKES
- 6 stuffed pepper halves
- COOK TIME
- 45 Min
We like to call these Old-Fashioned Stuffed Peppers. That's because these taste just like the way that Mom used to make 'em. It's a hearty and beefy dinner recipe that you'll want to keep forever.
- 1 (26-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce, divided
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup uncooked instant rice
- 1 1/2 cup (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 large bell peppers, washed, tops removed, sliced in half, and seeded
- Preheat oven to 400º. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup spaghetti sauce, the water, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper; mix well.
- Stuff each bell pepper half with an equal amount of meat mixture and place in prepared baking dish. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce evenly over stuffed peppers.
- Cover and cook 40 to 45 minutes, or until no pink remains in meat and rice is tender. Remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Bake 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. Spoon sauce over peppers, and serve.
1972 – Sofia Vergara, Colombian actress
- There’s an application process. Read through it and understand it. The guidelines are for the safety of the animals, the employees, and you.
- Ask questions. It’s important there’s an understanding between you and the shelter. Most shelters have volunteers and paid employees. However, they work on a very tight budget. Please don’t expect any special accommodations.
- A good shelter will place the interests of the animal first. They want the cat to have a successful placement. Some animals have anxiety while others get along with anyone and every type of animal.
- Consider the size of your home and where you live – an apartment or house.
- Who lives with you? That includes people and pets – does everyone get along and does anyone have allergies?
- How much time do you have for a pet?
- So you’ve spotted the kitten for you. Be sure to make several visits to the shelter. Play with the kitten. Spend time grooming them. See how the kitten reacts to other cats. Learn the kitten’s behavior.
