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| Cassidy in 1974 |
David Bruce Cassidy[1] (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother Shirley Jones), in the 1970s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to his becoming one of popular culture's teen idols and pop singers of the 1970s. He later had a career in both acting and music.
Early life
Cassidy was born at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City, the son of singer and actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward.[1][2] His father was of half Irish and half German ancestry, and his mother was decended from Colonial Americans of Irish and Swiss origin.[3] Some of his mother's ancestors were among the founders of Newark, 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 in West Orange, New Jersey.[4] In 1956, he found out from neighbors' children that his parents had been divorced for over two years and had not told him.[5] David's parents had decided because he was at such a young age, it would be better for his emotional stability to not discuss it at that time.[citation needed] They were gone often with theater productions and home life remained the same.
In 1956, Cassidy's father married singer and actress Shirley Jones. They had three children: David's half-brothers Shaun (1958), Patrick (1962), and Ryan (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 resided.[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 signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Jack introduced him to former table tennis champion and close friend Ruth 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 prior, 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 making small wages from Screen Gems for his work on The Partridge Family during season one, Aarons discovered a loophole in his contract and renegotiated it with far superior terms, and a four-year duration, a rare stipulation at the time.[9]
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,[10] but a casting director saw the show and asked Cassidy to make a screen test. In 1969, he moved to Los Angeles.[10] After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Cassidy was featured in episodes of the television series Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12 and Bonanza.
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| Publicity photo for The Partridge Family, 1972 |
1970s
In 1970, Cassidy took the role of Keith Partridge, son of Shirley Partridge, who was played by Cassidy's real stepmother and series lead Shirley Jones. The Partridge Family series creator Bernard Slade and producers Paul Junger Wittand Bob Claver did not care whether Cassidy could sing, knowing only that his androgynous good looks would guarantee success.[citation needed] Shortly after production began, though, Cassidy convinced music producer Wes Farrell that he was good enough, and he was promoted to lead singer for the series' recordings.
Once "I Think I Love You" became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums, as well. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, "Cherish" (from the album of the same title), which reached number nine in the United States, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one in Australia and New Zealand. He began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits. 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 managed to come to terms with his bubblegum pop beginnings.[citation needed]
Ten albums by The Partridge Family and five solo albums were produced during the series, with most selling more than a million copies each. Internationally, Cassidy's solo career eclipsed the already phenomenal success of The Partridge Family. He became an instant drawcard, with sellout concert successes in major arenas around the world. These concerts produced mass hysteria, resulting in the media coining the term "Cassidymania". By way of example, he played to two sellout crowds of 56,000 each at the Houston Astrodome in Texas over one weekend in 1972.[11] His concert in New York's Madison Square Garden sold out in one day and resulted in riots after the show.[12] His concert tours of the United Kingdom included sellout concerts at Wembley Stadium in 1973.[citation needed] 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.[13][14]
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