|  Moondoggie
Does Vegas
By Bobbie Katz
For many years, James Darren has been a familiar
face on TV and in movies as well as a formidable presence
behind the scenes as a director. But these days, the handsome
entertainer has gone back to singing for his supper.
Lucky thing, too, since he says that performing live definitely
brings out the “ham” in him.
After the stress of directing for so many years, Darren, who
will be appearing at the South Point October 5-6,, is thoroughly
enjoying the fun of being back on stage,
A couple of years ago, he made his first appearance
in Las Vegas in 24 years at the Suncoast. The singer/actor/director
returned to singing via a two-year stint on the “Star
Trek” TV series in which he played a hologram singer
named Vic Fontaine. Having been a director for TV for several
years previously, singing may have been a bit alien to him
at the time but now when he sings “Fly Me To The Moon,”
he really means it – in a different sense than he did
then. No matter what his field of endeavor, Darren has always
played among the stars.
“I hadn’t played Vegas since I stopped playing
with Buddy Hackett in 1980,” Darren says. “I worked
here for the first tune in 1966 with Joey Bishop at the Sands
then worked with Buddy for 12 consecutive years. I learned
a lot from him and it helped me grow as a stage performer.
 But
I got my role in “T.J. Hooker” in 1980. There
was one episode that was not assigned to a director, so I
asked if I could direct it and they said yes. After “T.J.
Hooker,” I directed from 1986-1998 and did shows such
as ‘Hunter,’ ‘Wise Guy,’ ‘Hardball,’
‘Raven,’ ‘Melrose Place,’ Walker Texas
Ranger,’ ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ and a Movie
of the Week called ‘Gladiator School’ starring
Robert Conrad.”
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“I directed about 60 shows, then in 1998, I met a guy
named Ira Behr at a function,” he continues. “He
told me I’d be perfect for a part in ‘Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine,’ a TV series that he had created. I
didn’t want to do it because I’d be playing a
singer and that was too on the nose. I turned down the role
three times then my agent asked me to give them the courtesy
of reading the script. I read it and I loved it. The character,
Vic Fontaine, was a singer in the Rat Pack era and he wasn’t
real -- he was a hologram –and I knew I was right for
it.”
Darren found that when he sang on the set, the crew would
come out and applaud. It was Ira Behr who finally told him
that he would have to start singing again because he was having
too much fun with it. The “Star Trek” gig led
to a record contract with Concord Jazz and took Darren back
out on the road in 1999..He currently plays casino dates in
the U.S. and Canada as well as symphony dates in several cities,
spending about 20 weeks touring.
The road from the “Gidget” movies that made him
famous at age 22 to this point has been a long one but what
has sustained Darren through the years has been his Italian
family upbringing.
He
has been married to his wife, Evy Norlund, for 45 years and
has three sons. Grateful for his success and many reincarnations
in the business, Darren has no regrets about the things he
could have done but didn’t. He says he is getting to
a point in his life where he finds himself wanting to spend
more time with his family and would consider retiring if he
thought that he wouldn’t crave performing. And he would
still like to direct or act in a film that would give him
considerable notoriety as well as acknowledgement from his
peers.
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“My outlook has always been that show business is something
I’ve wanted to do with my life as far back as I can
remember, but it’s still a job and not as important
as my family,” Darren acknowledges. “My family
always comes first just like I came first in my family. Growing
up in my home, I learned that the value of life is in family,
friends, trust and loyalty. I always knew that they were the
best things to hang my heart on, so to speak.”
Darren relates that he came from a family of lower wage earners,
many of whom worked in the sweatshops in Philadelphia, the
city in which he was born and raised. His dad was a pipe fitter
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and in the summers his family
would go to the farms in Woodstown, Salem and Paulsboro, New
Jersey and do migrant work. Darren remembers being a young
child of 4 or 5 playing in the fields while the elders cut
asparagus.
“They picked berries, tomatoes, potatoes and mostly
asparagus,” Darren recalls. “We’d put mattresses
down and all load into the truck. We’d live in little
shacks on the farms that had no floors. My grandfather would
make a sawbuck table so that we could eat outdoors and Mom
would dry clothes on the grass. It gave my brother, who is
18 months younger, and me values. It was my mom, my brother
and I and my mom’s family – my Aunt Theresa, my
Aunt Sarah, my Uncle Dominique, my Uncle Manny, my Uncle Izzy
and my grandmother and grandfather. We were together constantly
and the migrant work allowed my grandfather to buy the house
in Philly, which cost $2,500 at the time.”
Nine family members lived in that four-bedroom brownstone
at 10th and Ritner, including Darren, his brother, his parents,
his grandparents, Uncle Izzy, Uncle Manny and Aunt Sarah.
Darren jokes that most of his family has Jewish names –
the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish and Italian and
his grandmother’s friend, Goldie, named some of the
kids.
“Today I probably couldn’t tolerate all that closeness,”
Darren laughs. “I need my space. But back then, it was
expected. I grew up in a warm and loving environment and I
know nothing different. There was always food on the table,
the door was never locked, people came in all the time and
the neighbors were close friends.”
“I think when you live with a larger family, especially
a hard-working family, and your values are on the right track
because you see what works – loyalty, closeness, love,
people struggling to make a better life for their families
– it never leaves you. You go through your life with
that embedded in you and you pass it on to your own kids.
My advice to anyone would be to do the things you really love
to do and hopefully you’ll catch a break. And make good
friendships and enjoy family and work”
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BOBBIE KATZ
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