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Latest Celebrity 'Obit' posts

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An Ohio boy who became a legend in American talk show television

From USA Today:

Daytime talk show legend Phil Donahue, whose pioneering "The Phil Donahue Show" revolutionized TV with studio audience participation on topical social issues, has died. He was 88.

Donahue's death was confirmed Monday by a family spokesperson, Susie Arons, who said Donahue died "peacefully following a long illness," surrounded by family members and "his beloved Golden retriever, Charlie."

Donahue, who was married to actress Marlo Thomas for more than 40 years, hosted more than 6,000 episodes of his game-changing "The Phil Donahue Show" (later shortened to "Donahue") from 1967 to 1996.

At the peak of Donahue's nationally syndicated TV reign, the silver-haired host was a familiar TV presence, charging across the studio with his cordless microphone to allow audience members to weigh in on the discussions.

Talk show host Phil Donahue in the audience of his daytime talk show.


"Donahue" kicked open the doors for similar daytime talk shows, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," hosted by eventual ratings rival Oprah Winfrey, as well as more tabloid-style competitors like Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer and Geraldo Rivera.

"He may not have invented talking to people on television, he just did it better than anyone who came before him. All of us who came after Phil Donahue owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude," Winfrey has said. "Had there not been a Phil Donahue, there could not have been an Oprah."
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www.cbsnews.com

James Darren, "Gidget" actor, singer and director, dies at 88

The teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a handsome beach boy in the "Gidget" movies, James Darren has died at 88.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

James Darren, "Gidget" actor, singer and director, dies at 88​



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 confirmed to CBS News.

Moret told CBS News that Darren was admitted to the hospital last week for an aortic valve replacement, but he was unable to receive one due to his strength at the time. He was then rushed back to the hospital on Sunday.
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In his long career, Darren acted, sang and built up a successful behind-the-scenes career as a television director, helming episodes of such well-known series as "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place." In the 1980s, he was Officer Jim Corrigan on the television cop show "T.J. Hooker."

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But to young movie fans of the late 1950s, he would be remembered best as Moondoggie, the dark-haired surfer boy in the smash 1959 release "Gidget." Dee starred as the title character, a spunky Southern Californian who hits the beach and eventually falls in love with Moondoggie.

"I was in love with Sandra," Darren later recalled. "I thought that she was absolutely perfect as Gidget. She had tremendous charm."

The film was based on a novel that a California man, Frederick Kohner, had written about his own teenage daughter and helped spur interest in surfing — one that influenced pop music, slang and even fashion.

For Darren, his success with teen fans led to a recording contract, as it did with many young actors at the time, among them Tab Hunter and Annette Funicello. Two of Darren's singles, "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Her Royal Majesty," reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Goodbye Cruel World" also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2022 semi-autobiographical film, "The Fabelmans."Other singles included "Gidget" and "Angel Face."

Darren was the only "Gidget" cast member who appeared in both its sequels, 1961's "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" and 1963's "Gidget Goes to Rome." Dee was replaced by Deborah Walley in the second film and Cindy Carol in the third. "Gidget" later became a television show, launching the career of Sally Field.
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R.I.P.
 
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