David Cassidy was , at one time in a very checkered career, one of the biggest Teen Idols to come down the pike. Cassidy, whose parents Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward, were both stage performers and, as a result, were always on the road, leaving David to stay behind with his maternal grandparents.

David's fortunes changes greatly in 1969 when he landed a role in the Broadway musical The Fig Leaves Are Falling. The show closed after only 4 performances, but he did catch the eye of a casting director and that lead to Cassidy being cast as Keith Partridge on the TV series by the same name.

Cassidy became an overnight teen idol and his fame spread around the country like wildfire. When he was first signed to do the show, the producers had hired him solely on his looks and they weren't concerned about whether he could sing or not. Cassidy proved he was up to the task and was declared the lead singer for imaginary band.

After the Partridge Family was canceled, Cassidy's fortunes changed rapidly and his decline into depression and substance abuse was well documented. Most of Cassidy's problems were drug and alcohol related but in February of this year, Cassidy announced that he was fighting a battle with dementia. Cassidy's mom had died of complications from the same disease.

Our prayers go out to Cassidy as well as to his friends, family and fans. While he may not have been viewed as a serious musician, Cassidy, in his tenure as the leading pop star in the country brought a lot of people much happiness.

 

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