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James Darren’s Son Jim Moret Recalls His Time With His Dad: ‘I Think Joy Is His Legacy’
“My father was on The Flintstones [in 1965,] and he sang a couple songs,” James Darren’s son Jim Moret – then around 9 – tells Closer. “It was kind of like your dad was in the Beatles! I thought it was the coolest thing in the entire world.”
When James next appeared in Irwin Allen’s 1966 sci-fi series The Time Tunnel, Moret began to truly comprehend his father’s fame.
“To be in sixth grade and your dad is starring in a primetime show was pretty close to being a rock star!”
James had rocketed to stardom playing the surfing-singing heartthrob Moondoggie in three Gidget movies, as well as a WWII soldier in 1961’s The Guns of Navarone, a Golden Globe Best Picture winner. Still, Moret, now 67 and a broadcast journalist, insists it’s the humblest memories he cherishes most after his father’s September 2 death at 88.
“We’d run errands in Hollywood and go to a hardware store, and we’d stop at this place on Fountain and get Yoo-hoos. It was kind of boring stuff, but it was just alone time for the two of us,” recalls Moret, who cherished weekends and summers with his dad after his parents divorced when he was 2.
There were wilder moments, too, thanks to James’ wicked sense of humor and love of adventure.
“He had a dune buggy we’d ride – the coolest dune buggy you ever saw,” Moret recalls. “It was so loud and so fun. Like my dad said, he was just this kid from South Philly who made it big, but he had very simple tastes. I always think of him wearing jeans and just a pullover shirt, nothing fancy.”
Moret also admired his father’s determination to keep growing as an artist – from teen idol to starring on the 1980s cop drama T.J. Hooker and directing episodes of popular TV shows, including The A-Team and Melrose Place.
“He said, ‘Never count on anything to last forever because it won’t,’” recalls Moret, noting how his dad became a master of reinvention.
James’ one constant was his love for his fans and family.
“I must have gotten hundreds of messages after he passed,” Moret shares, which proves “he never let them down. He just brought this innocent joy, and I think joy is his legacy. I know that sounds trite, but that’s what I’m most proud of.”
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