James Darren 1936 - 2024

Deep Space Nine has lost a crew member as James Darren died at 88 on September 2nd. The news was shared by his friend Nancy Sinatra who wrote "One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away. Godfather to my daughter, AJ. Wishing him a fast and beautiful journey through the Universe and beyond. Godspeed, sweet Jimmy. My heart is torn but full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony and Jimmy, Jr."

For Star Trek fans he is forever Vic Fontaine, the holodeck club owner who was available to offer advice or a quiet place for the crew during the Dominion War. For others, he was the partner to William Shatner in the TV series TJ Hooker. His other work includes being the lead in Gidget series of films, All the Young Men, The Guns of Navarone, and other movies. For TV he was in Hawaii Five-O, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and more. He also directed with credits on The A-Team, Walker Texas Ranger, Beverly Hills 90210 and more. He had a long and good career that touched onto a lot of today's pop culture milestones. 

As William Shatner wrote, "What a wonderful man - so talented; so loving. I had the best time with him. The world is less because of his loss." You can find a two hour interview with the actor from last year on The Shuttlepod Show.

He is survived by his wife Evy, three sons, five grandchildren and 1 goddaughter. Condolences to his family for their loss.