The Partridge Family (1970-1974) as Keith Douglas Partridge
Popstar (2005) as Grant
The Spirit of '76 (1990) as Adam-11
David Cassidy Live in Glasgow (2003) as Actor
Short Info
Date Of Birth
April 12, 1950
Spouse
Sue Shifrin, Meryl Tanz, Kay Lenz
Mark
Played the roles that were members in a rock band
Fact
His acting mentor was Shirley Jones, who was his former real-life stepmother.
David Cassidy is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s television series The Partridge Family. He has also appeared in numerous films and television shows.
Cassidy was born in New York City, New York on April 12, 1950. His parents were actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. He has three siblings: Patrick, Ryan and Shaun. Cassidy was educated at the Roselle Park High School in Roselle Park, New Jersey.
Cassidy began his acting career in 1966 with a guest appearance on the television series The Donna Reed Show. He went on to appear in a number of other television shows and movies including, The Mod Squad, Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Bonanza, Medical Center and Police Woman. In 1970, he was cast as Keith Partridge in The Partridge Family. The show was a huge success and made Cassidy a household name.
After The Partridge Family ended in 1974, Cassidy continued to act and sing. He appeared in a number of stage musicals including, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie Get Your Gun and Blood Brothers. He also released several solo albums including, Cherish (1972), David Cassidy (1974) and Romance (1979).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Cassidy appeared in a number of made-for-television movies and guest-starred on such television shows as Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hotel and Murder, She Wrote. In 2000, he made a cameo appearance in the film Ready to Rumble.
In recent years, Cassidy has appeared on reality television shows such as Celebrity Wife Swap and The Celebrity Apprentice. He has also toured with his own stage show called David Cassidy: The Last Session.
Cassidy has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Kay Lenz from 1977 to 1983. His second marriage was to model Sue Shifrin from 1991 to 2006. He has been married to his third wife, Julie Cohen, since 2014. He has two children from his first marriage, a son named Beau and a daughter named Katie.
General Info
Full Name
David Cassidy
Date Of Birth
April 12, 1950
Height
1.73 m
Profession
Guitarist, Writer, Actor, Singer, Songwriter
Nationality
American
Family
Spouse
Sue Shifrin, Meryl Tanz, Kay Lenz
Children
Katie Cassidy, Beau Cassidy
Parents
Jack Cassidy, Evelyn Ward
Siblings
Shaun Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy, Ryan Cassidy
Accomplishments
Awards
TV Land Favorite Fashion Plate - Male Award
Music Groups
The Partridge Family
Nominations
TV Land Favorite Singing Siblings Award, TV Land Quintessential Non-Traditional Family Award, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Movies
The Spirit of '76, Popstar, Instant Karma, David Cassidy: Live in Concert, David Cassidy: Greatest Hits Live, One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps, Glam Rock
TV Shows
Ruby & The Rockits, I Love the '70s, Ask Harriet, David Cassidy: Man Undercover, The Partridge Family, The Apprentice
Frequently works with 'Shirley Jones' and/or her family
Quotes
#
Quote
1
(Of Shirley Jones): It was great. She's such a terrific role model for me. How she handled being the star of the show. Even though I emerged as the star of the show in some respects, I never ever assumed that role around her or our family or people who worked on the show. To me, she always set the tone and was always very willing to do and be a great role model. (She was) completely professional. Sweet and kind as can be. A lot of what she comes across as her television persona on that show really wasn't far from who she was and is. Strong and yet kind. Talented and caring. I love her. She is my brothers' mom and she was married to my father. She was a great help to me in my difficult relationship with my Dad and served as a great buffer. In the end he found it more and more difficult to cope with my fame and success and he was very tortured by her fame and success, as well as mine, and that he had not achieved a higher level. I loved him and admired him but I just couldn't find a way to have it be okay for him. It was a rough one for us. I forgive him for all of it. We are all flawed. Somehow or another, we all get through it. I worshipped him and loved him and I loved all of the things he gave me in my life as a human being.
2
(Of his on- and off-screen professional relationship/friendship with Shirley Jones, who played Shirley Partridge): Shirley Jones is one of the best people I've ever known, and so talented, what a professional, was married to my dad, and she taught me really so much about how to deal with fame and success, because, she won an Academy Award, and was such a great influence on me, such a great role-model for me on how to deal with fame and deal with the success, because I was very young. She was 18, when she did Oklahoma! (1955), I was 19 when I did the pilot for The Partridge Family (1970), and 20, when I was doing the series, and I became very close friends with her. She still is to this day, to me, one of the greatest professionals, one of the most talented people, one of the best human beings I've ever known.
3
(Who told about his real-life childhood that was absolutely from "Keith Partridge"): Oh, yeah. I grew up in Southern California in the 1960's. It was very different. I was an only child as opposed to having siblings. My brothers all lived with my step-mom. I am very close to them, but we were not raised in the same house. It was a very, I would say, turbulent, fantastic from a musical standpoint and a social standpoint, (time). The Beatles broke out when I was 13. I played in garage bands and rock and roll bands when I was in junior high and high school and saw some of the great talents of all time in the local area where I lived. They were not legends at the time, kind of hard to imagine. I went to school with the drummer of The Doors' younger brother and we went and saw The Doors at The Whiskey. Buffalo Springfield played at my high school at an assembly. That kind of world.
4
(On referring to young ladies who would push towards the stage to get closer to him): It scared a lot of people because there was so much hysteria surrounding my concerts, a lot of parents didn't want their daughters to come to the shows thinking that they were going to get hurt. Thank God it's not like that anymore. It's fun and it's very high energy, but it's not hysteria, thank God. People actually listen to the songs and it's great.
5
My father had a tremendous influence on me, and I think many children who come from broken homes, esp. when they're very early. My dad left when I was 3 1/2, and he left my mom and I. It was something in order to empower myself. I think all children, psychologically need to empower themselves, because they can't put their arms around, what it is. I made it my fault, there's something wrong with me, and it was spending time on the couch, and spending the time going through the process that I'm now the happiest ever been in my life, the most successful I've ever been in my life.
6
(On Shirley Jones) I can't ignore her. After all, she is the mother of my brothers.
7
(On reuniting with his ex-The Partridge Family (1970), series' star/real-life stepmother, Shirley Jones, who was asked to guest-star in Ruby & the Rockits (2009)): We paid her a lot of money. She is a wonderful actress. People forget she won an Academy Award. When I was young, she taught me a lot how to deal with the pressure and the fame, because she became a star when she was 18. I was 19.
Facts
#
Fact
1
Credits his stepmother, Shirley Jones, as his favorite acting mentor/best friend.
2
Surrogate son of his real-life stepmother - Shirley Jones.
3
Vowed not to tour the UK again in 2015 after his last tour made a profit of only £408.
Decided to quit The Partridge Family (1970), after the fourth season, because he was growing tired of playing the role and wanted to move on to other projects.
10
His mother, Evelyn Ward, died on December 23, 2012, at age 89.
His father was of half Irish and half German ancestry. His mother was of mainly Colonial American (English) descent, with a smaller amount of Irish and Swiss-German roots.
13
Co-host, with Erica Shaffer, of an infomercial for TimeLife's "Billboard #1 Hits of the 70s" music collection. [2009]
14
Before relocating to his present home in Las Vegas, NV, Cassidy & his family resided for several years in the Fairfield County town of Ridgefield, Connecticut. [January 2007]
15
He, Sue and Beau live in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. [January 2008]
Mentioned in the song "Jackie's Strength" by Tori Amos.
24
Best known by the public for his role as Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family (1970).
25
He was a close friend of John Lennon, whom he greatly admired.
26
His hit song "I Think I Love You" was featured and sung on the album "You and Me" by Declan Galbraith.
27
Ranked #98 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.
28
Claimed in his 1994 autobiography that he turned down an offer in the early '70s to record an album of songs written by Lou Reed and produced by David Bowie (who wanted to experiment with his teenybopper image).
29
Ranked #1 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (23 January 2005 issue).
30
Made his Broadway debut in 1969 in the musical "The Fig Leaves Are Falling" at the same time his father Jack Cassidy and stepmother Shirley Jones opened on Broadway in "Maggie Flynn". Both shows were notorious flops, the former closing after four performances.
31
Out of the approximate $500 million that The Partridge Family (1970) made, he was initially paid $600 per week, but commanded upwards of $50,000 per concert appearance. His renegotiated contract boosted his weekly salary to $6,000 per week plus some participation.
32
At his peak, Cassidy was the world's highest paid live entertainer, and his official fan club was the largest in pop history - exceeding Elvis Presley and The Beatles.
33
Allergic to garlic.
34
14 year-old fan Bernadette Whelan died of heart failure on 30 May 1974, from injuries sustained while attending a 26 May Cassidy show at London's White City Stadium. 650 fans were injured in a crush. Cassidy was so affected that he quit both touring and The Partridge Family (1970).
35
In an attempt to break from his Keith Partridge persona, he posed nude for Annie Leibovitz for a photo in the 11 May 1972 "Rolling Stone" magazine.
36
Daughter Katie Cassidy is a singer who recently covered her father's song "I Think I Love You." She was featured in a VH1 five-part documentary series on the last forty years of teen music performers, Bubblegum Babylon (2002).
37
Starred in the play "Time" in London with Laurence Olivier in 1987. It was Olivier's final stage performance (although he was only seen via a previously filmed segment).
38
Has a daughter, Katie Cassidy, a.k.a. Katherine Evelyn Benedon, born 25 November 1986, from a previous relationship.
He appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."
42
Had an operation at age 11 on his left optical nerve which was wrapped around a blood vessel, sometimes resulting in a "lazy" eye when he's over-tired, and had his gall bladder removed in 1972 after a concert in Wildwood, New Jersey.
