Family members of actor James Darren rushed to pay their tributes after news broke of his passing on 3 September.
But who is James’ wife Evy Norlund, who the star was married to for over six decades prior to his death at age 88?
Model and performer Evy Norlund was born in 1938 in Denmark.
In her youth, she was a fashion student and trainee hairdresser, before befriending Danish actor, director and producer Klaus Pagh, who she later became engaged to.
Klaus encouraged Evy to start modeling and in 1958, she was voted Miss Denmark.
The following year, she moved to Hollywood to compete as the Danish entry in the Miss Universe contest.
Though she didn’t win, Evy landed a short-term contract with Columbia studios, appearing in the 1959 circus film The Flying Fontaines as a trapeze artist.
While trying to pursue her acting career – which never quite got off the ground – Evy met James, before swiftly returning to Denmark to break things off with Klaus.
The pair dated for a year before getting married.
James and Evy got married in 1960, shortly after Evy’s split with Klaus and James’ divorce from Gloria Barbara Terlitzsky.
James and Gloria, his childhood sweatheart, had got married in 1955 and had a child together – James “Jim” Moret – before divorcing in 1958.
After Evy and James’ marriage, the pair settled down in an estate in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, once owned by Audrey Hepburn.
James had two children with Evy – Christian and Anthony.
He also leaves behind five grandchildren – Amanda, Carly, Matthew, Natalie and Nicholas – and goddaughter A.J. Lambert, daughter of Nancy Sinatra.
Nancy, daughter of Frank Sinatra, shared James’ obituary on her X account, along with a broken heart emoji as the caption.
However, it was his first son Jim Moret, who he shared with Gloria, who announced the news of the actor’s death.
He told the Hollywood Reporter that James passed away in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
He had been admitted to hospital for an aortic valve replacement, but was later deemed too weak for the operation.
Jim said: “I always thought he would pull through because he was so cool. He was always cool.”
Jim is the chief correspondent for Inside Edition, a television news magazine, and a former CNN anchorman.
