David Cassidy on the Web
Davy Jones dies: Friend David Cassidy remembers
March 1, 2012
By Ben Crandell
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com
A young, top-hatted Davy Jones appears as the Artful Dodger on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Jones told his friend David Cassidy that "The Monkees" ruined his acting career.
The death of actor, musician and pop icon Davy Jones on Wednesday reverberated with a unique poignancy in the Fort Lauderdale home of David Cassidy.
"I lost a very good friend today," said Cassidy, whose posters may have replaced Jones' on many a young girl's bedroom wall in the early 1970s. "We lost a true talent, one that the world really didn't understand. He was much more than just a Monkee."
Jones and Cassidy, who gained fame as Keith Partridge in the made-for-TV-band The Partridge Family, were scheduled for a double-bill on April 14 at Magic City Casino in Miami.
An emotional Cassidy, speaking by phone on Wednesday, said the show will go on.
"The show will be dedicated to him. I'll do some of his songs, tell stories of how we became friends," said Cassidy, pausing. "I truly loved him."
Jones, 66, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at his Martin County horse ranch.
Cassidy was unsure about funeral arrangements but hopes to deliver a eulogy at the memorial service, wherever it turns out to be. Jones, born in England, had homes in Florida and Pennsylvania; his wife, Jessica, is from Miami.
Cassidy (left) said he first became acquainted with Jones as most people did: Watching him perform on TV with The Monkees. Cassidy was in high school then, and shortly after graduation he went to Broadway, then to Los Angeles to become part of "The Partridge Family," which debuted in 1970 and turned him into a teen idol.
With The Monkees, androgynous good looks, stylish hair and a British accent had already made Jones, five years older, a teen idol for many young American girls. Cassidy said they both struggled with this superficial brand of stardom.
"People forget, he was a very good actor," Cassidy said, citing Jones' Tony Award-nominated role as the Artful Dodger in the 1963 Broadway version of "Oliver!" "He said to me once, '… This Monkeys thing ruined my acting career.' "
Cassidy said the two met in the early 1970s when Jones, whose agent had a home right above Cassidy's in the Hollywood Hills, just knocked on the door one night.
"He just wanted to see what I was about. He wanted to know who I was," said Cassidy, his voice echoing the metaphysical zen of the era. "He was not egocentric or arrogant," Cassidy said. "He was a very loving and caring guy."
Later in life, the two shared many parallels, he said, including homes in Florida and a love of horses: Jones raised equestrian horses, Cassidy has thoroughbreds.
Cassidy said the two would reconnect every couple of months. "We'd talk on the phone … Should we do something together [onstage]? What should we sing together? Who should go on first? And we'd talk about … his jump horses," Cassidy said.
The April 14 concert in Miami will be difficult, Cassidy admits, and he's not sure exactly how he'll remember his friend, but said he has a special song in mind for the show. He wants it to be a surprise.
"Sometimes we'd be working, and I'd just lean over and sing into his ear, 'Cheer up, sleepy Jean…'," Cassidy sang, a slight break in his voice. "You must know he touched millions of people all over the world."
