David Cassidy | |
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.jpg) Cassidy in 1973 | |
| Born | David Bruce Cassidy (1950-04-12)April 12, 1950 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 2017(2017-11-21) (aged 67) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1968–2017 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingKatie Cassidy |
| Parents | |
| Family |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels |
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| Website | davidcassidy |
Musical artist | |
David Bruce Cassidy[1] (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his real-life stepmother, actressShirley Jones), in the 1970s musical-sitcomThe Partridge Family. This role catapulted Cassidy toteen idol status as a superstar pop singer of the 1970s.
Raised primarily by his maternal grandparents inWest Orange, New Jersey, Cassidy was later informed of his parents' divorce, which had happened two years prior without his knowledge. After completing high school, Cassidy pursued acting and music, moving into his father and stepmother's home inIrvington, New York. His career took off after signing withUniversal Studios in 1969, leading to roles in several TV series. His major breakthrough came in 1970 as Keith Partridge onThe Partridge Family, which propelled him to teen idol status. Despite the show's success, Cassidy sought to break free from his idol image, leading to a diverse solo music career with hits in the UK and Australia, and a tumultuous life marked by public and personal challenges.
Cassidy's personal life was complex, with multiple marriages, children from relationships, and struggles with alcohol. He became an advocate forAlzheimer's disease research, inspired by his family's history with the condition. Despite facing health and legal issues later in life, Cassidy continued performing until announcing his retirement in 2017, before his death later that year.
Cassidy was born atFlower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City, the son of singer and actorJack Cassidy and actressEvelyn Ward.[1][2] His father was of halfIrish and halfGerman ancestry, and his mother was descended mostly fromColonial Americans, along with having some Irish andSwiss roots.[3] His mother's ancestors were among the founders ofNewark, New Jersey.[3]
As his parents were frequently touring on the road, he spent his early years being raised by his maternal grandparents in a middle-class neighborhood inWest Orange, New Jersey.[4] In 1958, he found out from neighbors' children that his parents had been divorced for more than two years and had not told him.[5]
In 1956, Cassidy's father married singer and actressShirley Jones. They had three children, David's half-brothersShaun (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 into the rental home of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones in Irvington, New York, where his half-brothers also lived.[6] David remained there, seeking fame as an actor/musician, while simultaneously working half-days in the mailroom of a textile firm.[7] 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 withUniversal Studios in 1969, Jack introduced him to former table tennis champion and close friendRuth Aarons, who later found her niche as a talent manager, given her theater background.[8] Aarons had represented Jack and Shirley Jones for several years and later represented Cassidy's half-brother Shaun. Aarons became an authority figure and close friend to Cassidy and was the driving force behind his on-screen success. After Cassidy made small wages from Screen Gems for his work onThe Partridge Family during season one, Aarons discovered that he had been underage when he signed his contract; she then renegotiated the contract with far superior provisions and a rare four-year term.[9]
On January 2, 1969, Cassidy made his professional debut in the Broadway musicalThe Fig Leaves Are Falling. It closed after four performances,[10] but a casting director saw the show and asked Cassidy to make a screen test. In 1969, he moved toLos Angeles.[10] After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Cassidy was featured in episodes of the television seriesIronside,Marcus Welby, M.D.,Adam-12,Medical Center, andBonanza.[11]
In 1970, Cassidy took the role of Keith Partridge on the musical television showThe Partridge Family produced byScreen Gems. After demonstrating his singing talent, Cassidy was allowed to join the studio ensemble as the lead singer. (He and Shirley Jones were the only TV cast members to appear on any Partridge Family recordings.)[12]
The show proved popular, but the fame took its toll on Cassidy. In the midst of his rise to fame, Cassidy felt stifled by the show and trapped by the mass hysteria surrounding his every move.[12]: 92–95 In May 1972, to alter his public image, he appeared nude on the cover ofRolling Stone in a croppedAnnie Leibovitz photo;[12]: 167 among other things, the accompanyingRolling Stone article mentioned that Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk."[13]
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, includingCherish andRock Me Baby, both released in 1972. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, a cover ofThe Association's "Cherish" (from thealbum of the same title); the song reached number nine in the United States, number two in the United Kingdom (adouble A-side with "Could It Be Forever"), and number one in Australia and New Zealand. He began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits.
Cassidy achieved far greater solo chart success in the UK than in his native America, including a cover ofThe Young Rascals' "How Can I Be Sure" and thedouble 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 1972–73 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'sfan club was larger than that of any other musical group or pop star, includingThe Beatles orElvis Presley.[14] A fictionalized version of him starred in thefan magazineDavid Cassidy. Many of its issues were signed by Turkish comics creator Su Gumen.[15] In a 1993 interview, Cassidy said that he was frustrated by his portrayal in the magazines, which sanitized his image. His fanclub nicknamed a star after him in theInternational Star Registry in 1983.[16] 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."[17]
Though he wanted to become a respected rock musician along the lines ofMick Jagger, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks ofteen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life, when he managed to come to terms with his pop idol beginnings. Ten albums byThe Partridge Family and five solo albums by Cassidy were produced during the series, with most selling more than a million copies each.
Internationally, Cassidy's solo career eclipsed the already phenomenal success ofThe 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 HoustonAstrodome in Texas over one weekend in 1972.[18] His concert in New York'sMadison Square Garden sold out in one day and resulted in riots after the show.[19] His concert tours of the United Kingdom included sellout concerts atWembley Arena in 1973.[9] 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 atMelbourne Cricket Ground.[20][21]
A turning point in Cassidy's live concerts (while still filmingThe Partridge Family) was a gate stampede at the penultimate show on a world tour, in London'sWhite City Stadium on May 26, 1974, when nearly 800 people were injured in a crush 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.[22]
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 the girl's funeral into a media circus, Cassidy did not attend the service, although he spoke to Whelan's parents and sent flowers. Cassidy stated at the time that this would haunt him until the day he died.[23][24][25]
I'm exploited by people who put me on the back of cereal boxes. I asked my housekeeper to go and buy a certain kind of cereal and when she came home, there was a huge picture of me on the back. I can't even eat breakfast without seeing my face.—New Musical Express, October 1972.[26]
By this point, Cassidy had decided to quit both touring and acting inThe Partridge Family, 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 onRCA 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 becameBarry Manilow's signature tune. Cassidy co-produced the recording with the song's author-composer,Bruce Johnston ofThe Beach Boys. The two artists collaborated on two of David's mid-70sRCA Records albumsThe Higher They Climb andHome Is Where the Heart Is.
In 1978, Cassidy starred in an episode ofPolice Story titled "A Chance to Live", for which he was nominated for anEmmy Award.[27]NBC created a series based on it, calledDavid Cassidy: Man Undercover, but it was cancelled after one season. A decade later, the successfulFox series21 Jump Street used the same plot, with different youthful-looking police officers infiltrating a high school.[citation needed]
Cassidy later stated he was broke by the 1980s, despite being successful and highly paid.[28] In 1985, music success continued with theArista release of the single "The Last Kiss" (number six in the United Kingdom), with backing vocals byGeorge Michael, which was included on the albumRomance. These went gold in Europe and Australia, and Cassidy supported them with a sellout tour of the United Kingdom, which resulted in theGreatest Hits Live compilation of 1986. Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield'sRitz Newspaper.[29]
Cassidy performed in musical theater. In 1981, he toured in a revival of a pre-Broadway production ofLittle Johnny Jones, a show originally produced in 1904 with music, lyrics, and book byGeorge M. Cohan. (The show is excerpted in the biographic filmYankee Doodle Dandy [1942], whenJames Cagney 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,[30] before the show reached Broadway.[31] Cassidy, in turn, was himself a replacement for the lead in the original 1982 Broadway production ofJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.[32] Cassidy also appeared in London's West End production ofTime and returned to Broadway inBlood Brothers alongsidePetula Clark and David's half-brother Shaun Cassidy.[33]
Cassidy returned to the American top 40 with his 1990 single "Lyin' to Myself", released onEnigma Records, from his 1990 albumDavid Cassidy, followed by the 1992 albumDidn't You Used to Be... onScotti Brothers Records.[citation needed] In 1998, he had anadult contemporary music hit with "No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross" from his albumOld Trick New Dog on his own Slamajamma Records label.[34]
Along with his single "Lyin' to Myself", 1990 was also the year he starred in the motion picture comedy,The Spirit of '76, where he was the main character as a man from the future who arrived in the US in the year 1976 on a mission to find the US Constitution.[35] It was also the year he was a main character in the romantic dramaInstant Karma.[36]
From November 1996 to December 1998, Cassidy starred in the Las Vegas showEFX at theMGM Grand Las Vegas.[37] In 2000, Cassidy wrote and appeared in the Las Vegas showAt the Copa withSheena Easton, as both the young and old versions of the lead character, Johnny Flamingo.[citation needed] His 2001 albumThen and Now went platinum internationally and returned Cassidy to the top five of the UK album charts for the first time since 1974.[citation needed]
In 2005, Cassidy played the manager ofAaron Carter's character in the filmPopstar.[38] He co-starred alongside his half-brother Patrick in a short-lived 2009 ABC Family comedy series titledRuby & the Rockits, a show created by Shaun.[39][40]
Cassidy was one of the contestants onCelebrity Apprentice in 2011.[41]
As the days of "Cassidymania" subsided, Cassidy regularly addressed fans at his concerts in question-and-answer sessions. In August 2016, Cassidy performed inThe 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.[42]
Cassidy's first wife was actressKay Lenz, whom he married on April 3, 1977,[43][44] and divorced on December 28, 1983.[45][46][2]
Cassidy married his second wife, horse breeder Meryl Tanz, in 1984.[47] They met in 1974 at a horse sale inLexington, Kentucky.[46] This marriage ended in divorce in 1988.
Cassidy's daughter, actressKatie Cassidy, was born in 1986 from an extramaritalaffair with fashion model Sherry Williams.[48] After David and Williams ended their relationship, Katie was raised by her mother and her stepfather, Richard Benedon. David spoke of his absence from Katie's life: in February 2017, he said, "I've never had a relationship with her. I wasn't her father. I was her biological father but I didn't raise her. She has a completely different life. I'm proud of her. She's very talented. It's hard for me to even accept how old she is now."[49]
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,[50][51] in 1991.[52][53] In August 2013, Cassidy's Los Angeles publicist confirmed that the couple had separated, with Shifrin filing for divorce in February 2014.[52][53]
Cassidy moved toFort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2002.[54] He filed for bankruptcy in 2015.[55][56][57]
In 2011, Cassidy recorded apublic service announcement forAlzheimer's disease research and prevention – because his mother, Evelyn Ward, suffered with the condition[58] – and said that he would campaign for that cause whenever possible.[59] He planned to address Congress in 2012.[60]
Cassidy was a long-time registeredDemocrat. During a 2012 guest appearance onThe Colbert Report he expressed his views on the leadingRepublican candidates for president,Mitt Romney andNewt Gingrich. Cassidy stated, "I believe both of them are the most embarrassing, sad, pathetic ... I mean, really, this is the best we can do?"[61]
Cassidy was arrested fordriving under the influence (DUI) in Florida on November 3, 2010.[62]
Cassidy was arrested for DUI inSchodack, New York, in the early hours of August 21, 2013.[63] 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 afield sobriety test, Cassidy was subjected to analcohol breath test, returning a blood alcohol level of 0.10%, which was above the New York legal limit of 0.08%.[64] The arresting officer, one Tom Jones, reported that Cassidy was polite and courteous; in reference to a 1965hit song by singerTom Jones, Cassidy jokingly asked the officer, "What's New, Pussycat?"[64] 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.[65][66]
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,[67] ordered to undergo inpatient rehabilitation, and placed on probation for five years.[68][69]
On September 9, 2015, Cassidy was cited inFort Lauderdale, Florida, on charges of leaving the scene of a car accident, improper lane change, expired plates and driving on a suspended license.[54][70][71]
In 2008, Cassidy publicly admitted he had an alcohol problem.[64]
On February 20, 2017, following a performance inAgoura 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 withdementia and was retiring from all further performing.[72][73] He said that his mother and grandfather had also suffered from dementia at the end of their lives, and that "I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming."[72]
Later in 2017, Cassidy fell ill at a recording studio and was hospitalized. In a later phone conversation with anA&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.[74] 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."[74] Cassidy said, "You know, I did it to myself, man. I did it to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness."[74] Cassidy had told his family and others that he had given up drinking.[74]
On November 18, 2017, Cassidy was hospitalized withliver and kidney failure, and was critically ill in amedically induced coma.[75] He came out of the coma two days later, remaining in critical but stable condition.[76] Doctors hoped to keep Cassidy stable until a liver became available fortransplant, but he died of liver failure on November 21, 2017, at the age of 67.[77][78] According to his daughter,Katie Cassidy, his final words were "So much wasted time."[79]
In 1994, Cassidy, in collaboration withChip Deffaa, wrote his autobiographyC'mon, Get Happy ... Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus.[4] In December 2019,C'mon, Get Happy was published as an E-book (by Open Road Media,ISBN 0446395315) with a new afterword by Chip Deffaa, covering the rest of Cassidy's life.
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.[80]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Survivors | Mike | Episode: "Chapter Seven" | [81] |
| 1969 | Ironside | Danny Goodson | Episode: "Stolen on Demand" | [82] |
| 1970 | Adam-12 | Tim Richmond | Episode: "Log 24 A Rare Occasion" | [82] |
| 1970 | Bonanza | Billy Burgess | Episode: "The Law and Billy Burgess" | [82] |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Michael Ambrose | Episode: "Fun and Games and Michael Ambrose" | [81] |
| 1970 | Medical Center | Rick Lambert | Episode: "His Brother's Keeper" | [81] |
| 1970 | The Mod Squad | Brad Johnson | Episode: "The Loser" | [81] |
| 1970 | The F.B.I. | Larry Wentworth | Episode: "Fatal Impostor" | [82] |
| 1970–74 | The Partridge Family | Keith Partridge | 96 episodes | [82] |
| 1978 | Police Story | Officer Dan Shay | Episode: "A Chance to Live" | [81] |
| 1978–79 | David Cassidy: Man Undercover | Officer Dan Shay | 10 episodes; also composer of theme music | [81] |
| 1980 | The Love Boat | Ted Harmes | 1 episode | [81] |
| 1980 | The Night the City Screamed | David Greeley | TV movie | [82] |
| 1980/83 | Fantasy Island | Jeremy Todd / Danny Collier | 2 episodes | [81] |
| 1982 | Matt Houston | John Gordon Boyd | Episode: "Joey's Here" | [81] |
| 1983 | Parade of Stars | George M. Cohan | TV movie | [81] |
| 1983 | Tales of the Unexpected | Donald / David | Episode: "Heir Presumptuous" | [81] |
| 1988 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Joey Mitchell | Episode: "Career Move" | [81] |
| 1990 | Instant Karma | Reno | [82] | |
| 1990 | The Spirit of '76 | Adam-11 | [82] | |
| 1991 | Blossom | Himself | Episode: "A Rockumentary" | [81] |
| 1991 | The Flash | Sam Scudder/Mirror Master | Episode: "Done with Mirrors" | [81] |
| 1992 | The Ben Stiller Show | David Cassidy | Episode: "With Flea" | [81] |
| 1993 | Ein Schloß am Wörthersee | Patrick Riley | Episode: "Falsches Spiel mit Patrick" | [83] |
| 1995 | The John Larroquette Show | Jefferson Kelly | Episode: "Wrestling Matches"; also composer of theme music | [81] |
| 2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Boone Vincent | Episode: "Vegas" | [84] |
| 2003 | The Agency | Everett Price | Episode: "War, Inc." | [11] |
| 2003 | I Love the '70s | Himself | ||
| 2004 | Kim Possible | Roland Pond (voice) | Episode: "Oh Boyz" | [11] |
| 2005 | Less than Perfect | Vince | Episode: "Playhouse" | [11] |
| 2005 | Popstar | Grant | [84] | |
| 2009 | Ruby & The Rockits | David Gallagher | 10 episodes | [84] |
| 2011 | Celebrity Apprentice | Himself/contestant | 2 episodes | [84] |
| 2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Peter Coe | Episode: "Last Woman Standing" | [82] |
| 2018 | David Cassidy: The Last Session | Himself | TV special; posthumous release |
David Bruce Cassidy was born on April 12, 1950, at Manhattan's Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital (now the Terence Cardinal Cook Healthcare Center) on Upper Fifth Avenue.
Aside from a dash of Swiss and a little more Irish, this part of Cassidy's tree marches steadily back in New Jersey for generations. In fact, some of his ancestors were among the founders of Newark.
The interview between DAVID and GEORGE first took place over lunch at Pier 31 Restaurant, at which they both got rather inebriated...
...David Cassidy when they married in 1977, just 2½ months after meeting on a blind date.
