{"id":8,"date":"2011-07-30T17:07:52","date_gmt":"2011-07-30T17:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2024-04-27T03:15:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T03:15:58","slug":"biography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/biography\/","title":{"rendered":"Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Cassidy managed to stay at the top of his game for over five decades, with a unique ability to re-invent himself and adapt to numerous genres from concerts<\/a> to theater<\/a>, television<\/a> to Las Vegas, and even actor<\/a>\/singer<\/a> to producer<\/a>\/writer\/director with a demographic that crosses three generations. David rose to stardom in \u201cThe Partridge Family<\/a>\u201d and became the biggest TV and performing phenomenon in history by the time he was 20.<\/p>\n

From television to recording and record-breaking concert tours, from Broadway and London\u2019s West End to Las Vegas production shows, David Cassidy has made his mark and been lauded with nominations and awards<\/a> in each arena. David has certainly proven that it is talent, creativity and tenacity that keep people coming to shows, turning on the television, and buying his recordings.<\/p>\n

Hailing from a family of actors, mother Evelyn Ward and father Jack Cassidy, his fate as a performer was essentially seeded at a young age. It was by coincidence that he wound up starring with stepmother Shirley Jones in \u201cThe Partridge Family.\u201d When ABC cast DAVID CASSIDY as its juvenile star in what became an astonishingly successful series, one of the most spectacular careers in the entertainment industry was launched. Before the end of 1970, the year that \u201cThe Partridge Family\u201d premiered, David had the #1 selling single of the year and record of the year, and garnered multiple Grammy nominations and won a Golden Apple Award. Over the next five years, membership in his official fan club exceeded that of Elvis Presley and the Beatles.<\/p>\n

Those were only the first of many records David broke in his long and constantly evolving career. He became the first personality to be merchandised<\/a> globally. His likeness appeared on everything from posters to lunch boxes, comic books, toys, cereal boxes and almost anything else imaginable. His concerts sold out in the largest arenas and stadiums in the world which led him to be the world\u2019s highest paid performer by the age of 21. He broke box office records at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, London\u2019s Wembley Arena, Houston\u2019s Astrodome and New York\u2019s Madison Square Garden. His records have sold well over 30 million copies worldwide and have been recognized with over 24 gold and platinum recordings including four consecutive multi-platinum LP\u2019s.<\/p>\n

David was responsible for seven chart-topping Partridge Family singles including \u201cDoesn\u2019t Somebody Want To Be Wanted,\u201d \u201dI Woke Up In Love This Morning,\u201d \u201dBreaking Up Is Hard To Do,\u201d and of course, \u201cI Think I Love You\u201d, the best selling record of 1971. As a solo artist, David has had hit singles including \u201cCherish,\u201d \u201dCould It Be Forever,\u201d \u201dHow Can I Be Sure,\u201d \u201dRock Me Baby\u201d and \u201cLyin\u2019 to Myself.\u201d His 2004 CD, \u201cThen and Now,\u201d was in the Top Five and reached platinum status.<\/p>\n

In addition to the superstardom he has enjoyed as a singer, songwriter and producer, David still thought of himself as an actor. His credits, from the phenomenal success of \u201cThe Partridge Family\u201d also included the telefilm \u201cA Chance to Live\u201d the highest rated \u201cPolice Story\u201d in its seven year history, which earned him an Emmy nomination as Best Dramatic Actor.<\/p>\n

Never one to rest on his laurels, he went to Broadway where he starred in the original production of \u201cJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.\u201d<\/p>\n

London beckoned to David, and he starred next at the prestigious West End in \u201cTime\u201d with Sir Laurence Olivier. In 1994, he once again broke box office records in the stunning and highly lauded production of \u201cBlood Brothers\u201d on Broadway, working for the first time with Shaun. The subsequent tour of the United States and Canada was also SRO.<\/p>\n

Despite the peaks and valleys of his professional and personal life, David was always\u00a0 able to regenerate his success by keeping his perspective and acute sense of humor.\u00a0 David once said: \u201cI\u2019m an optimist. I mean, you have to be with my career. I\u2019ve never gone out and changed my style to suit the times. I have always stayed true to myself by using the work ethic my father instilled in me, to strive for the best musically, theatrically, as well as in producing and writing. He taught me to be fearless about revealing the frailties and strengths of the human experience. Bringing that human element to my work is the most important thing I can do as an entertainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1996, David took on his next challenge and moved to Las Vegas to star at the MGM Grand in the $75 million extravaganza \u201cEFX<\/a>.\u201d Under David\u2019s creative direction and by entirely re-vamping the show, it became the most successful production in Las Vegas. The MGM acknowledged that he was singularly responsible for bringing over 1 million paid customers to see \u201cEFX\u201d. Within four months of opening, the show was voted \u201cBest Production Show\u201d in Las Vegas, and David was voted \u201cBest All Around Performer\u201d and \u201cBest Singer.\u201d In 1999, David was again named \u201cBest All Around Performer,\u201d \u201cEntertainer of the Year\u201d and \u201cShow Star of the Year\u201d for \u201cThe Rat Pack Is Back!<\/a>\u201d, the first original production paying tribute to the legendary quartet, which he created and produced with Emmy Award winning writer-producer Don Reo. The musical played to sold-out audiences first at the Desert Inn, then at the Sahara Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Simultaneously, David and Reo created \u201cAt the Copa”<\/a>, which David wrote, co-produced and in which starred. He returned to performing in concert subsequently and toured worldwide.<\/p>\n

He returned to series television in 2009 for \u201cRuby & the Rockits<\/a>\u201d (ABC Family), in which his brother, Patrick, co-stars along with Alexa Vega (\u201cSpy Kids\u201d). His brother Shaun was executive producer and writer, and youngest brother, Ryan, was the set designer. David said at the time: \u201cThis was the first time that all three of my brothers and I ever worked together. It has been our dream and desire to do this for many years and it couldn\u2019t have been more fun. I wouldn\u2019t trade that experience for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to performing, producing, writing and recording, David became an active spokesperson and advocate<\/a> for various Alzheimer\u2019s organizations since his mother suffered and ultimately died from severe dementia. He travelled the country speaking on the subject when not touring and performing in concert. David\u2019s other passion, and avocation, was with the thoroughbred horses<\/a> that he bred and raced.<\/p>\n

David died on November 21, 2017.\u00a0 He is survived by his son, Beau, who is a talented musician, songwriter and performer in his own right, and Katie Cassidy, a beautiful actress who starred in \u201cArrow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Cassidy managed to stay at the top of his game for over five decades, with a unique ability to re-invent himself and adapt to numerous genres from concerts to theater, television to Las Vegas, and even actor\/singer to producer\/writer\/director … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidcassidy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}