David Cassidy

David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. While he was best known in the United States for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, he was an international success in his solo career as a singer. For a period, he was the highest paid entertainer in the world, played sold-out concerts, and had a larger fanbase than Elvis Presley had.

After completing high school, Cassidy pursued acting and music. His career took off after he signed with Universal Studios in 1969, and he received roles in several TV series. Cassidy's major breakthrough came in 1970 with his portrayal of Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family, which brought him stardom and made him a 1970s teen idol. Cassidy also pursued a solo music career that led to international acclaim; his hit singles included "Cherish" and "How Can I Be Sure". Cassidy also acted in film, on television, and in musical theater.

Early life

File:Jack Cassidy, Shirley Jones and David Cassidy.jpg

Cassidy (right) with his father, actor Jack Cassidy (left) and his stepmother Shirley Jones (center) in 1971

David Bruce Cassidy<ref name=TCM /> was born at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City, the son of singer and actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward.<ref name=TCM>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="biography.com">Template:Cite web</ref> His father was of half Irish and half German ancestry, and his mother was descended mostly from Colonial British Americans, along with having some Irish and Swiss roots.<ref name="hdugdp">Template:Cite news</ref> His mother's ancestors were among the founders of Newark, New Jersey.<ref name=hdugdp/>

As his parents were frequently touring 'on the road,' Cassidy was raised in his early years by his maternal grandparents Frederick and Ethel Ward. They lived in a middle-class neighborhood in West Orange, New Jersey.<ref name="Get Happy">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1958, he learned from neighbor children that his parents had been divorced for more than two years and had not told him.<ref>C'mon, Get Happy, p. 4</ref>

In 1956, Cassidy's father had married singer and actress Shirley Jones. They had three children together. David's half-brothers are Shaun (b. 1958), Patrick (b. 1962), and Ryan (b. 1966).

In 1968, after completing one final session of summer school to obtain credits necessary to get a high school diploma, David moved in with his father and Shirley Jones, and their three sons, in their home in Irvington, New York.<ref>C'mon, Get Happy, p. 35</ref> Cassidy lived there, seeking work as an actor/musician, while simultaneously working half-days in the mailroom of a textile firm.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He moved out when his career began to flourish.

Cassidy's father, Jack, is credited with setting his son up with his first manager. After David Cassidy signed with Universal Studios in 1969, Jack introduced him to former table tennis champion and close friend Ruth Aarons, who had a theater background and had found her niche as a talent manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Aarons had represented Jack and Shirley Jones for several years and later also represented Cassidy's half-brother Shaun.

Aarons became an authority figure and close friend to Cassidy and he credits her as the driving force behind his on-screen success. After Cassidy made small wages from Screen Gems for his work on The Partridge Family during season one, when it became a grest success, Aarons discovered that he had been underage when he signed his contract. She renegotiated the contract with far superior provisions and a rare four-year term.<ref name="Cassidy 2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

1960s

On January 2, 1969, Cassidy made his professional debut in the Broadway musical The Fig Leaves Are Falling. It closed after four performances,<ref name=happy43>C'mon, Get Happy, p. 43</ref> but a casting director saw the show and asked Cassidy to make a screen test. In 1969, he moved to Los Angeles.<ref name="happy43" /> After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Cassidy was featured in episodes of the television series Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12, Medical Center, and Bonanza.<ref name="TVGuide">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1970s

File:The Partridge Family David Cassidy 1970.jpg

David Cassidy in a publicity photo for The Partridge Family in 1970

The Partridge Family, season 1. L-R: Shirley Jones, Jeremy Gelbwaks, Suzanne Crough, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce and Cassidy.

In 1970, Cassidy took the role of Keith Partridge on the musical television show The Partridge Family produced by Screen Gems. After demonstrating his singing talent, Cassidy was allowed to join the studio ensemble as the lead singer. (He and his stepmother Shirley Jones, who portrayed his on-screen mother Shirley Partridge, were the only TV cast members to perform on any Partridge Family recordings.)<ref name="Cmon">Template:Cite book</ref>

Cassidy's work on The Partridge Family made him a teen idol,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but stardom took a toll on him. In the midst of his rise to fame, Cassidy felt stifled by the show and trapped by the constant attention surrounding his every move.<ref name="Cmon" />Template:Rp In May 1972, to alter his public image, he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in a revealing photo by Annie Leibovitz.<ref name="Cmon" />The accompanying Rolling Stone article mentioned that Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Once "I Think I Love You"—the first single released by The Partridge Family pop group—became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums. These included Cherish and Rock Me Baby, both released in 1972. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, a cover of The Association's "Cherish" (from the album of the same title); the song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, number two in the United Kingdom (a double A-side with "Could It Be Forever"), and number one in Australia and New Zealand. He began tours that featured The Partridge Family tunes and his own hits.

Cassidy achieved far greater solo chart success in the UK than in his native America, including a UK #1 cover of The Young Rascals' "How Can I Be Sure" and the double A-side single "Daydreamer" / "The Puppy Song" – a UK number one which failed to chart in the States. In Britain, Cassidy the solo star remains best known for "Daydreamer", "How Can I Be Sure", and "Could It Be Forever" (UK number 2/US number 37), all released during his 1971–75 solo chart peak.

After launching his solo musical career, he was for a short time the highest paid entertainer in the world. At the peak of his career, Cassidy's fan club was larger than that of any other musical group or pop star, including The Beatles or Elvis Presley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A fictionalized version of him starred in the fan magazine David Cassidy. Many of its issues were signed by Turkish comics creator Su Gumen.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In a 1993 interview, Cassidy said that he was frustrated by his portrayal in the magazines, which sanitized his image. His fan club nicknamed a star after him in the International Star Registry in 1983.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his autobiography, Cassidy said that he felt overwhelmed by his fanbase, and said that "it became impossible for me to go in a store or even walk down the street without being stopped by people."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Cassidy was best known for his work on The Partridge Family,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which aired until March 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Though he wanted to become a respected rock musician along the lines of Mick Jagger, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks of teen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life when he came to terms with his pop idol beginnings. Ten albums by The Partridge Family and five solo albums by Cassidy were produced during the series, with most selling more than a million copies each.

Cassidy performing in 1975

Internationally, Cassidy's solo career eclipsed the phenomenal success of The Partridge Family. He became an instant drawing card, with sellout concert successes in major arenas around the world. These concerts produced mass hysteria, resulting in the media coining the term "Cassidymania". For example, he played to two sellout crowds of 56,000 each at the Houston Astrodome in Texas over one weekend in 1972.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> His concert in New York's Madison Square Garden sold out in one day and was followed by riots after the show.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His concert tours of the United Kingdom included sellout concerts at Wembley Arena in 1973.<ref name="Cassidy 2007"/> In Australia in 1974, the mass hysteria was such that calls were made to have him deported from the country, especially after the madness at his 33,000-person audience concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

A turning point in Cassidy's career occurred at the penultimate show on a world tour in London's White City Stadium on May 26, 1974. On that date, nearly 800 people were injured in a stampede at the front of the stage. Thirty were taken to the hospital, and a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Whelan, died four days later at London's Hammersmith Hospital without regaining consciousness.<ref>C'mon, Get Happy, pp. 188–190</ref> A deeply affected Cassidy faced the press, trying to make sense of what had happened. Out of respect for the family and to avoid turning Whelan's funeral into a media circus, Cassidy did not attend the service. He spoke privately to Whelan's parents and sent flowers. Cassidy stated at the time that the girl's death would haunt him until the day he died.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Quote box By this point, Cassidy had decided to quit touring, concentrating instead on recording and songwriting. International success continued, mostly in Great Britain, Germany, Japan and South Africa, when he released three well-received solo albums and several hit singles on RCA in 1975 and 1976. Cassidy became the first recording artist to have a hit with "I Write the Songs", peaking at No. 11 in the Top 30 in Great Britain before the song became known as Barry Manilow's signature tune. Cassidy co-produced the recording with the song's author-composer, Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys. The two artists collaborated on two of Cassidy's mid-70s RCA Records albums The Higher They Climb and Home Is Where the Heart Is.

In 1978, Cassidy starred in an episode of Police Story titled "A Chance to Live", for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series at the 30th Primetime Emmy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NBC created a series based on it, called David Cassidy: Man Undercover, but it was cancelled after one season.Template:Citation needed

1980s

Cassidy later said that he was broke by the 1980s, despite being successful and highly paid.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In 1985, music success continued with the Arista release of the single "The Last Kiss" (number six in the United Kingdom), with backing vocals by George Michael, which was included on the album Romance. These went gold in Europe and Australia, and Cassidy supported them with a sellout tour of the United Kingdom, which resulted in the Greatest Hits Live compilation of 1986. Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's Ritz Newspaper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cassidy performed in musical theater. In 1981, he toured in a revival of a pre-Broadway production of Little Johnny Jones, a show originally produced in 1904 with music, lyrics, and book by George M. Cohan. (The show is excerpted in the 1942 biographic film Yankee Doodle Dandy, when James Cagney as Cohan sings "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "The Yankee Doodle Boy".) However, Cassidy received negative reviews, and he was replaced by another former teen idol, Donny Osmond,<ref>C'mon, Get Happy, p. 221</ref> before the show reached Broadway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cassidy, in turn, replaced Doug Voet as the lead character Joseph in the original 1982 Broadway production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cassidy also appeared in London's West End production of Time and returned to Broadway in Blood Brothers alongside Petula Clark and his half-brother Shaun Cassidy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1990s

Cassidy returned to the American top 40 with his 1990 single "Lyin' to Myself", released on Enigma Records, from his 1990 album David Cassidy, followed by the 1992 album Didn't You Used to Be... on Scotti Brothers Records.Template:Citation needed In 1998, he had an adult contemporary music hit with "No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross" from his album Old Trick New Dog on his own Slamajamma Records label.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Along with Cassidy's single "Lyin' to Myself", 1990 was also the year he starred as the lead of the motion picture comedy, The Spirit of '76, where he played Adam-11, a man from the future who arrived in the US in the year 1976 on a mission to find the US Constitution.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> It was also the year he appeared as a main character in the romantic drama Instant Karma.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

From November 1996 to December 1998, Cassidy starred in the Las Vegas show EFX at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later career

In 2000, Cassidy wrote and appeared in the Las Vegas show At the Copa with Sheena Easton, as both the young and old versions of the lead character, Johnny Flamingo.Template:Citation needed His 2001 album Then and Now went platinum internationally and returned Cassidy to the top five of the UK album charts for the first time since 1974.Template:Citation needed

In 2005, Cassidy played Grant, the manager of Aaron Carter's character J.D. McQueen in the film Popstar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He co-starred alongside his half-brother Patrick in a short-lived 2009 ABC Family comedy series titled Ruby & the Rockits, a show created by their brother Shaun.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cassidy was one of the contestants on the fourth season of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As the days of "Cassidymania" subsided, Cassidy regularly addressed fans at his concerts in question-and-answer sessions. In August 2016, Cassidy performed in The Villages, Florida, and brought multiple attendees to the side of the stage, asking and answering questions and engaging with members of the community who had been fans for nearly half a century.<ref name="Villages-News.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Cassidy moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2002.<ref name="southfloridasun-sentinel">Template:Cite web</ref> He filed for bankruptcy in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marriages and children

Cassidy's first wife was actress Kay Lenz, whom he married on April 3, 1977.<ref>Nevada, Marriage Index 1956–2005</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They divorced on December 28, 1983.<ref>California, Divorce Index 1966–1984</ref><ref name="people.com">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=biography.com />

Cassidy married again in 1984, to Meryl Tanz, a horse breeder.<ref name="filmref">Template:Cite web</ref> They met in 1974 at a horse sale in Lexington, Kentucky.<ref name="people.com"/> This marriage ended in divorce in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cassidy's daughter, actress Katie Cassidy, was born in 1986 from an extramarital affair with fashion model Sherry Williams.<ref name="tvguide">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Katie was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Richard Benedon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, Cassidy noted, "Because I didn't raise her, I didn't have to parent her. I'm always here and totally nonjudgmental". Katie Cassidy added, "To be able to go to someone I'm genetically linked to, tell them anything and know that they're not going to judge me—it's unbelievable. It's nice when your dad can be your friend". While Cassidy was estranged from Katie as of February 2017,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> she was with him prior to his death in November 2017.<ref name="wasted" />

Cassidy married songwriter Sue Shifrin on March 30, 1991. It was Cassidy's third marriage and Shifrin's second marriage. They had one child, Beau,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in 1991.<ref name="sentinel">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TMZ">Template:Cite news</ref> Beau Cassidy is a singer-songwriter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2013, Cassidy's Los Angeles publicist confirmed that Cassidy and Shifrin had separated, with Shifrin filing for divorce in February 2014.<ref name=sentinel/><ref name=TMZ/> The divorce was finalized on April 27, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Activism

In 2011, Cassidy recorded a public service announcement for Alzheimer's disease research and prevention. His mother, Evelyn Ward, suffered from the condition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cassidy said that he would campaign for that cause whenever possible.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He planned to address Congress on the issue in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cassidy was a long-time registered Democrat. During a 2012 guest appearance on The Colbert Report, he expressed his views on the leading Republican candidates for president, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Cassidy said, "I believe both of them are the most embarrassing, sad, pathetic  ... I mean, really, this is the best we can do?"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Alcohol-related driving incidents and criminal charges

Cassidy was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Florida on November 3, 2010.<ref>Martinez, Edecio. (November 4, 2010) David Cassidy Arrested: "Partridge Family" Star Accused of Drunk Driving in Fla. – Crimesider Template:Webarchive. CBS News. Retrieved on March 27, 2011.</ref>

Cassidy was arrested for DUI in Schodack, New York, in the early hours of August 21, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was pulled over after failing to dim his headlights as he passed a police car going in the opposite direction. After performing poorly on a field sobriety test, Cassidy was subjected to an alcohol breath test, returning a blood alcohol level of 0.10%, which was above the New York legal limit of 0.08%.<ref name="Times Union Article"/> The arresting officer, named Tom Jones, reported that Cassidy was polite and courteous. Referring to a 1965 hit song by singer Tom Jones, Cassidy jokingly asked the officer, "What's New, Pussycat?"<ref name="Times Union Article"/> Cassidy was charged, taken to jail, and released several hours later on $2,500 bail. On May 12, 2015, Cassidy was sentenced to community service, a fine, and a six-month license suspension.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cassidy was arrested on suspicion of DUI in California on January 10, 2014, after he made an illegal right turn against a red light. He was held overnight in jail,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> ordered to undergo inpatient rehabilitation, and placed on probation for five years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On September 9, 2015, Cassidy was cited in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on charges of leaving the scene of a car accident, improper lane change, expired plates and driving on a suspended license.<ref name="southfloridasun-sentinel"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Illness and death

Cassidy performing in 2007

In 2008, Cassidy spoke at a fundraiser for the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council of Saratoga County, New York, where he publicly disclosed his issues with alcoholism for the first time.<ref name="Times Union Article">Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 20, 2017, following a performance in Agoura Hills, California, in which Cassidy had difficulty remembering the lyrics of songs he had been performing for nearly 50 years, and appeared to fall off the stage, he announced that he was living with dementia and was retiring from all further performing.<ref name=NBCdementia>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He said that his mother and grandfather had also suffered from dementia at the end of their lives. He said, "I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming."<ref name=NBCdementia/>

Later in 2017, Cassidy fell ill at a recording studio and was hospitalized. In a later phone conversation with an A&E producer, he stated that he had just met with his doctor, that he had liver disease, and that his life had "changed dramatically." Cassidy added that he had been unconscious and near death for the first few days after the incident, but that his memory had returned. Cassidy also acknowledged that there was "no sign of [dementia] at this stage of [his] life," adding that "[it] was complete alcohol poisoning—and the fact is, I lied about my drinking." Cassidy said, "You know, I did it to myself, man. I did it to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness." Cassidy had told his family and others that he had given up drinking.<ref name=PeopleNever>Template:Cite news</ref>

On November 18, 2017, Cassidy was hospitalized with liver and kidney failure, and was critically ill in a medically induced coma.<ref name="Ill">Template:Cite news</ref> He came out of the coma two days later, remaining in critical but stable condition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Doctors hoped to keep Cassidy stable until a liver became available for transplant, but he died of liver failure on November 21, 2017, at the age of 67.<ref name=nytobit>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to his daughter, Katie Cassidy, his final words were "So much wasted time."<ref name="wasted">Template:Cite news</ref>

Memoirs

In 1994, Cassidy, in collaboration with Chip Deffaa, wrote his autobiography C'mon, Get Happy ... Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus.<ref name="Get Happy" />

Cassidy also wrote a memoir, Could It Be Forever? My Story, published in the United Kingdom in March 2007, which gives further details about his personal life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference
1969	The Survivors	Mike	Episode: "Chapter Seven"	<ref name="filmreference">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Ironside	Danny Goodson	Episode: "Stolen on Demand"	<ref name="AllMovieFilm">Template:Cite web</ref>
1970	Adam-12	Tim Richmond	Episode: "Log 24 A Rare Occasion"	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
	Bonanza	Billy Burgess	Episode: "The Law and Billy Burgess"	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Michael Ambrose	Episode: "Fun and Games and Michael Ambrose"	<ref name="filmreference" />
	Medical Center	Rick Lambert	Episode: "His Brother's Keeper"	<ref name="filmreference" />
	The Mod Squad	Brad Johnson	Episode: "The Loser"	<ref name="filmreference" />
	The F.B.I.	Larry Wentworth	Episode: "Fatal Impostor"	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
1970–74	The Partridge Family	Keith Partridge	96 episodes	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
1978	Police Story	Officer Dan Shay	Episode: "A Chance to Live"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1978–79	David Cassidy: Man Undercover	Officer Dan Shay	10 episodes; also composer of theme music	<ref name="filmreference" />
1980	The Love Boat	Ted Harmes	1 episode	<ref name="filmreference" />
	The Night the City Screamed	David Greeley	TV movie	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
1980/83	Fantasy Island	Jeremy Todd / Danny Collier	2 episodes	<ref name="filmreference" />
1982	Matt Houston	John Gordon Boyd	Episode: "Joey's Here"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1983	Parade of Stars	George M. Cohan	TV movie	<ref name="filmreference" />
	Tales of the Unexpected	Donald / David	Episode: "Heir Presumptuous"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1988	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Joey Mitchell	Episode: "Career Move"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1990	Instant Karma	Reno		<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
	The Spirit of '76	Adam-11		<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
1991	Blossom	Himself	Episode: "A Rockumentary"	<ref name="filmreference" />
	The Flash	Sam Scudder/Mirror Master	Episode: "Done with Mirrors"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1992	The Ben Stiller Show	David Cassidy	Episode: "With Flea"	<ref name="filmreference" />
1993	Ein Schloß am Wörthersee	Patrick Riley	Episode: "Falsches Spiel mit Patrick"	<ref name="IMDB">Template:Cite web</ref>
1995	The John Larroquette Show	Jefferson Kelly	Episode: "Wrestling Matches"; also composer of theme music	<ref name="filmreference" />
2003	Malcolm in the Middle	Boone Vincent	Episode: "Vegas"	<ref name="RottenTomatoes" />
	The Agency	Everett Price	Episode: "War, Inc."	<ref name="TVGuide" />
	I Love the '70s	Himself
2004	Kim Possible	Roland Pond (voice)	Episode: "Oh Boyz"	<ref name="TVGuide" />
2005	Less than Perfect	Vince	Episode: "Playhouse"	<ref name="TVGuide" />
	Popstar	Grant		<ref name="RottenTomatoes" />
2009	Ruby & The Rockits	David Gallagher	10 episodes	<ref name="RottenTomatoes" />
2011	Celebrity Apprentice	Himself/contestant	2 episodes	<ref name="RottenTomatoes">Template:Cite web</ref>
2013	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Peter Coe	Episode: "Last Woman Standing"	<ref name="AllMovieFilm" />
2018	David Cassidy: The Last Session	Himself	TV special; posthumous release

External links

• David Cassidy's official web site
• Template:AllMusic
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Tcmdb name
• Template:IBDB name
• The David Cassidy Collection is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Department.