DAVID CASSIDY
1950-2017
Teen idol of the ’70s tried to establish his artistry after skyrocketing to fame in “The Partridge Family.”
David Cassidy, a child of show business who rose to the heights of pop stardom, only to spend much of the rest his life struggling against his teen idol past, died Tuesday, Nov. 21. He was 67.
Mr. Cassidy was hospitalized last week near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with multiple organ failure. In recent days, he was said to have been conscious and surrounded by family and friends, but then slipped into a coma and was moved to the hospital’s ICU.
“On behalf of the entire Cassidy family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, our uncle, and our dear brother, David Cassidy,” his family said in a statement Tuesday. “David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years.”
Mr. Cassidy’s life and career followed an almost mythic trajectory, as he became one of the biggest pop stars in the world on the basis of a manufactured image, and then fought for years trying to disown his past and establish himself for the man and the artist he believed himself to be. Later solo recordings proved him right, but he could never entirely shake his Keith Partridge image from the TV sitcom “The Partridge Family.”
Along the way, he battled drugs and alcohol, career ups and downs, and earlier this year, announced he was battling dementia. His mother, the actress Evelyn Ward, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and Mr. Cassidy recorded a public service ad about the illness in 2011. His father, actor-singer Jack Cassidy, battled bipolar disease and alcoholism and died in a fire in his West Hollywood home in 1976 after a night of heavy drinking.
David Bruce Cassidy was born April 12, 1950, in New York City. His parents were often on the road for work and largely left David Cassidy in the care of Ward’s parents to raise in suburban New Jersey.
After his parents divorced in 1956 and Jack Cassidy married actresssinger Shirley Jones, David Cassidy moved to their home in suburban Westchester, N.Y. Jack Cassidy and Jones had three sons of their own, including Shaun, who had his own acting and pop singing career before becoming a successful TV producer and screenwriter; Patrick, who has made a name for himself in Broadway musicals, and Ryan.
In 1970, Jones, an Oscar winner for “Elmer Gantry,” was cast as the mother of a family singing group in a new TV sitcom called “The Partridge Family.” David Cassidy was later cast as her eldest son, along with Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Brian Forster and Suzanne Crough, comprising a squeaky clean family who dressed alike and traveled around the country in a multicolored converted school bus singing chirpy soft rock songs in close harmony. Although the Partridge Family’s music was very middle of the road, it represented ABC’s attempt to reach a younger demographic. The show did that, thanks largely to Mr. Cassidy.
Mr. Cassidy proved he could sing and became a heartthrob, gracing the covers of endless magazines aimed primarily at teenaged girls. His concerts became mob scenes on the order of what , in a previous generation, Frank Sinatra encountered in the bobby soxer phase of his career.
Mr. Cassidy’s attempts to reinvent himself were somewhat successful. His new solo albums sold well, and he earned an Emmy nomination for an episode of “Police Story.” But in 1980, he revealed that in spite of the income from the TV show, his albums and his frequently sold-out tours, he was broke.
Mr. Cassidy was still in the news in recent years, but often because of various struggles in his life. He racked up four DUI’s in New York, Florida and California and was put on probation in 2014 in California for five years. A year later, his license was suspended for six months in Florida. He filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
Funeral arrangements are pending.