David Bruce Cassidy was born in April 12, 1950 to actors-singers, Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. He spent his early childhood years in West Orange, New Jersey, with his maternal grandparents and his parents. His maternal grandparents did not have a son, so they asked Evelyn if they could live together and make up for the son they did not have. Evelyn and Jack agreed to live together and started David's life in a crowded, but loving household.
David had been very determined from the beginning. Whenever something came wrong, he let out a very loud noise to make sure that his voice was heard. In a 16 magazine article in 1970, David stated that his earliest childhood memory was when he a baby in the buggy. His babysitter talked with her boyfriend or somebody when he noticed that her face started to disappear and his buggy rolled down the hill. He let out a very loud scream and his babysitter panicky ran down the hill to get him. In his autobiography, David claimed that his earliest childhood memories was when he was 5 or 6. His father gave him a ride to Brooklyn, New York and told him that his parents were divorced. He was very crushed that he had trouble trusting people for years. In 16 magazine articles, his mother said frequently that David was always set apart from others in that he was very determined. She always asked him if there were something he was thinking of when he was not smiling or not talking to other children.
David was a teen in the 1960's. Thus he had exposure to the hippies movement. Since he was always a non-conformist and he loved the radicalism of the hippies movement, he went with his friend to ride to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. He remember the drugs, loose lifestyle and protest. He came back home in time to finish his high school education. He graduated from private school, Rexford High School, near Beverly Hills in 1968. After high school, he moved in with his father and stepmother-actress, Shirley Jones (Yes! the one who played his mother in the Partridge Family), to New York City. He wanted to learn his craft in acting as his father advised him to. He planned on being a serious actor in the same league as Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino or Harrison Ford. He had the talent, determination and the discipline to make it as a big league actor. Unfortunately, the world did not cooperate and we lost out on seeing him in good movies.
After he moved to New York, he worked as a mailroom clerk for awhile, but did not see his future in it. He quit telling his boss to keep his last $38 check and pursued training for his acting career. David Cassidy started out in Broadway plays and guest roles in several tv series before he launched his famous role as Keith Partridge. He acted in Partridge Family tv show for four years, but did not like it. He started singing solo before the second season of PF. He has been singing regularly for years off and on.
After his Partridge Family days ended in 1974, he took a big break for 2 1/2 years. His 18 hour/day work and his responsibilities to his fans took toll on him. Unfortunately, his father died before he decided to come back to work. His father's death was hard on him, because they never had chance to have healing relationships before he died. It took hime many years and therapy to bounce back from his disappointment. During his hard years, he continued to act and sing, but not anywhere were he was in his heydays.
He was less visible in the 1980's and most of us fans wondered what happened to him. He came back in the early 1990's doing Broadway shows and singing again. He became more visible to American fans in 1990 , and his fans came back to him more loyal than ever. We are happy to have him back. Today, he lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Sue Shifrin-Cassidy, and son, Beau. He is currently performing "David Cassidy at the Copa" in the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. This show went off to a rough start but is doing well and people who saw his show are pleased with it. In June 2000, there will be another DAvid Cassidy Celebrity Golf Tournament to help support Special Olympics and other charitable organizations. |
