A former teen idol known for roles in movies and TV shows like "Gidget," "Star Trek" and "T.J. Hooker" is dead at age 88.

Variety reports James Darren died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. A cause of death was not announced, but his son Jim Moret said Darren was being treated in the L.A. facility's cardiac unit.

"He was a good man. He was very talented," Moret said. "He was forever young."

Darren first rose to fame as the surfer Moondoggie in the 1959 teen movie "Gidget," also starring Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson. Darren also sang the title track for the Malibu-set film and appeared in sequels like "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" and "Gidget Goes to Rome."

Darren was a regular on "T.J. Hooker," playing Officer Jim Corrigan opposite William Shatner and Heather Locklear on the 1980s television series. In later years, he memorably played Vic Fontaine, a holographic lounge singer on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Other notable credits included "The Guns of Navarone," "Venus in Furs," "The Gene Krupa Story," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Melrose Place," "All the Young Men," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "Because They're Young."

Darren was also known as a singer, releasing more than a dozen albums and scoring a gold record with "Goodbye Cruel World" in the 1960s. He also sang in many of his acting roles and performed standards like "Come Fly With Me" and "Let's Fall in Love."

Survivors include his wife Evy, sons Jim Moret, Christian Darren and Tony Darren, and five grandchildren. Moret is known as a correspondent for "Inside Edition" and has contributed to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.