LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday at 88.

Actor and director James Darren, best-known for his role in the “Gidget” movies, has died, according to media reports Tuesday. He was 88. Darren died at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son Jim ...