James Darren
b. James Ercolani, 3 October 1936, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The photogenic actor/singer was signed to Columbia Pictures in the mid-50s, his first film being Rumble On The Docks in 1956. He first sang in the film Gidget in 1959 and the title song made the US chart. He starred in Because They're Young in 1960 and the epic The Guns Of Navarone in 1961. In 1962 he debuted in the US Top 20 with his lucky 13th single Goodbye Cruel World and followed it with two more US Top 20 and UK Top 40 hits Her Royal Majesty, a Carole King song and Conscience, written by Barry Mann. Darren later recorded with little success on Warner Brothers in 1965, Kirshner in 1969, Buddah in 1970, MGM in 1973, Private Stock in 1975 (where he returned briefly to the US Top 100 in 1977) and RCA in 1978. This distinctively-voiced pop/MOR singer is perhaps now best remembered for playing the role of Tony Newman in the popular and often re-run '60s television series The Time Tunnel, although the memorable fairground atmosphere of Goodbye Cruel World probably was his finest moment on record.