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.

Darren died in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital, his son Jim Moret told news outlets.

Moret told The Hollywood Reporter that Darren was supposed to have had an aortic valve replacement but was too weak for the surgery. I always thought he would pull through, his son told the entertainment trade, because he was so cool. He was always cool.