November 22, 2017, - 8:38 am
David Cassidy, RIP: I Was a Fan, Then a Critic
Some words about David Cassidy, who died yesterday at the relatively young age of 67. It made me sad because, while I later became a critic, I was a huge fan of his as a kid and got to meet him.
I was a baby when The Partridge Family–based on the family band The Cowsills–had its first run on TV in the early ’70s. But later in that decade and in the early ’80s, reruns of the show were on after I got home from school, and I watched religiously. Not that I liked the show–it was cheesy. But, like many American girls, I had a crush on the good-looking star, David Cassidy. Not only was he good-looking, but he was talented. He could act, sing, and play the guitar decently. (I also liked his half-brother, Shaun Cassidy, who starred in “The Hardy Boys.”)
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RIP David Cassidy of the Partridge Family. Met him once backstage in Detroit when he starred in "Little Johnny Jones." Was a supernice guy and a class act. So young, so sad #davidcassidy #partridgefamily #MAGA #tcot #foxnews
— Debbie Schlussel (@DebbieSchlussel) November 22, 2017
Had the hugest crush on David Cassidy as a kid. Used 2 watch Partridge Family reruns after school every day. Then I met him backstage in Detroit when he starred in musical "Little Johnny Jones." He was so nice, so classy, a mensch. This is so sad #DavidCassidy #RIPDavidCassidy
— Debbie Schlussel (@DebbieSchlussel) November 22, 2017
David Cassidy was so popular in the early ’70s that, sadly, a teen girl died in a stampeded at one of his UK concerts. His name and face continued to sell out teen magazines, such as 16, Teen Beat, and Tiger Beat, pop publications that essentially lived off of his image.
Later, Cassidy’s real star turn was as a gritty undercover police officer on a couple of shows. He was nominated for an Emmy playing Officer Dan Shay on Police Story. He got so much critical acclaim that NBC bet its money on Cassidy, giving him his own show as Shay on David Cassidy – Man Undercover. But it only lasted ten episodes. In those days, Americans were less willing to see their teen idols as serious police detectives in a darker story and setting.
Also loved watching David Cassidy as Officer Dan Shay on Police Story and spin-off David Cassidy – Man Undercover. Now, THAT was my kinda show. And he was very good on it. #DavidCassidy #RIPDavidCassidy #PartridgeFamily Partridge Family #MAGA @shaunpcassidy #MAGA #foxnews
— Debbie Schlussel (@DebbieSchlussel) November 22, 2017
So, when I was in college at The University of Michigan, I drove home to see Cassidy as the star of the touring company of the patriotic musical Little Johnny Jones at midtown Detroit’s Fisher Theater. As a kid and into my college years, my parents were season ticket holders and “patrons/sponsors” of the theater, so they regularly got center front row seats (or seats pretty close to that) to most plays and musicals that played there. They often took us kids, to teach us appreciation for the stage. My parents knew the theater owners and often took us backstage to meet the actors. I had front row seats to see Cassidy in the play, and I met him backstage after the show. He was super nice and a class act, spending a lot of time talking to me, a total stranger and fan. I really appreciated it. In those days–before the internet and smart phones (or cell phones at all for anyone but the truly super rich)–nobody took selfies. Instead, we got autographs, and Cassidy signed my autograph book (which I still have somewhere). Cassidy was a total mensch.
Fast forward a couple decades later, and while I was once a fan of Cassidy, I became a critic who got attacks and death threats from his now-middle-aged fans. Cassidy never quite reclaimed his career from teen idol status, and part of that was because he was a raging, lifelong alcoholic. He also did some really weird, disturbing things. In 2009, I wrote about a weird interview Cassidy did with his daughter, actress Katie Cassidy, who had brief success on teen shows on CW. David Cassidy did not raise his daughter, who was the product of a relationship with model Sherry Benedon. In the interview, Cassidy talked about how he liked his daughter doing lesbian kissing scenes on one of her shows. It sounded like he was turned on by this. That creeped me out and reminded me of showbiz’s other warped Hollywood pimp dads, like Billy Ray Cyrus (who encouraged and excused his meal-ticket daughter Miley’s gross hyper-sexualization; Sean Hannity calls him “a Great American”).
After I criticized Cassidy and the weird stuff he said in the interview–very inappropriate for a dad talking about his own flesh and blood–I heard in droves from crazed David Cassidy fans. They left comments, and they sent e-mail messages, some of which were death threats and wishes. These are grown women who were already in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Apparently, they never grew up. I also heard from Cassidy’s babymama, Sherry Benedon, who wrote comments on this site agreeing with me.
I felt bad for Cassidy, but not that bad. He was a tremendous talent and had it all because it was handed to him (he was from a showbiz family and lucky to be blessed with good looks; his half-brother, Shaun Cassidy of “The Hardy Boys” TV fame, was another of my teen idols). Yet, he threw it away in a very sad existence. Hollywood is fickle, and you have to strike quickly while the iron is hot. Cassidy did, but screwed it up. I do think he suffered a little from being typecast as a teen idol and not a serious actor or musician. But, also, he was clearly an alcoholic. He had multiple arrests for drunk driving and incidents related to drunk driving (such as hit-and-run/leaving the scene of an accident). And he acted erratically at concerts, forgetting words to songs, exhibiting drunkenness on stage, and disappointing fans who paid their hard-earned money to see him. His good looks faded quickly, as they often do with alcoholics. And he was yesterday’s news, struggling to survive financially, and having to file for bankruptcy. He performed in small clubs and had endured multiple failed marriages and relationships (a)mong his wives was Kay Lenz of “Rich Man, Poor Man” TV miniseries fame. I pitied him. It was sad and hard to see someone I had admired as a kid sink so low. (Contrast his career with that of his equally good-looking Partridge Family co-star, the stunning Susan Dey. She had a long successful run as a TV star in shows like “L.A. Law” and TV movies.)
What a classic couple that was. And both good actors, too. (@TheRealKayLenz, Loved u in Rich Man Poor Man) #DavidCassidy #KayLenz #RIPDavidCassidy #PartridgeFamily https://t.co/xj3WsT5ztw
— Debbie Schlussel (@DebbieSchlussel) November 22, 2017
Time to go WAY back! #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/NCIo3M9nFz
— Kay Lenz (@TheRealKayLenz) July 7, 2017
Then, early this year, Cassidy announced to the world that some of his more recent erratic concert displays were due to dementia, which ran in his family and struck his mother. I felt even sadder for Cassidy. Most Americans know someone who has been stricken by this condition. My maternal grandmother died of it a year after my late father died of cancer. But my grandmother was out of it for decades, having been mentally scarred by the Holocaust (in which almost all of her family was murdered by the Nazis) and then afflicted by dementia for a very long time. So, I was saddened when I heard Cassidy’s announcement that he had the disease, too. It’s painful to watch it claim a person. And 67 is relatively young, today.
Last week, when I heard Cassidy was stricken with liver failure and in the hospital awaiting a liver transplant, I knew it was probably his end. I had mixed feelings because, while this was someone of whom I was once a fan, I oppose alcoholics getting liver transplants. There are many people who need new livers because of illness and disease that is not of their own doing. They are innocent victims of poor health. They are the ones who are worthy of liver transplants. Alcoholics, on the other hand, actively destroy their own livers with every drink they take. And since there aren’t enough livers available for everyone, we need to put a priority on those who don’t actively destroy their organs.
After having admired Cassidy and met him, after having been treated so well by this super nice guy, I’m sad to hear that Cassidy has passed. But, hopefully, he is now at peace, after a life of so much turbulence and misfortune, some of it of his own doing. I will remember him as the talented, good-looking, super nice, menschy guy I once met. And I’ll remember him as the guy who sang “I Think I Love You” and “Come On, Get Happy” making millions around the world happy, even if he had little happiness himself.
David Cassidy, Rest In Peace.
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By the way, in case you’re wondering, Cassidy was a registered Democrat and a big liberal. As with other showbiz types, I wish he would have kept his mouth shut on politics. Though I was never a fan of Mitt Romney (“Mitt Happens”) and lost my respect for Newt Gingrich during the 2012 Presidential race, I scratched my head, when I learned Cassidy said this on “The Colbert Report”:
I believe the both of them are the most embarrassing, sad, pathetic … I mean, really, this is the best we can do?[
One might say, Look in the mirror. (Shaun Cassidy is also very liberal, by the way.)
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Cassidy’s former Partridge Family co-star, Danny Bonaduce, FYI, is a lot more conservative (and I believe he’s a Republican). I used to know him when he lived in and hosted a morning radio show in Detroit and was on his shows in Detroit and Los Angeles a few times. He understood the dangers of Islamic terrorism and jihad.
Tags: Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, David Cassidy death, David Cassidy RIP, Partridge Family, Susan Dey, The Cowsills, The Partridge Family
Yup, just a few years older than me, not a whole lot. And having known a number of alcoholics, including now, one who may in fact die very soon of cirrhosis, I have to agree with Debbie about the liver transplant thingy. And the one I know now, like so many others, WILL NOT stop drinking, so . . .
hard to put someone like that high on a list for a liver transplant.
Very sad about Mr. Cassidy. I enjoyed the early songs, the campy nature of the Partridge Family show, even in my young adult years. David Cassidy was indeed talented, and I was chagrined to read of some of the episodes of the past several years as they hit the news. That’s what living a depraved life will do to you.
The strength and comfort of The Lord Jesus Christ to all his loved ones and fans everywhere.
Alfredo from Puerto Rico on November 22, 2017 at 9:30 am