Bio
David Cassidy was an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the musical sitcom The Partridge Family, from 1970-1974.
Cassidy returned to series television in 2009 for a season of Ruby & the Rockits, in which his brother Patrick co-starred along with Alexa Vega.
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 The Partridge Family.
When ABC cast Cassidy in the show, one of the most spectacular careers in the entertainment industry was launched. Before the end of 1970, the year the show premiered, David had the #1 selling single of the year and record of the year, garnered multiple Grammy nominations and won a Golden Apple Award.
Those were only the first of many records Cassidy broke in his career. He became the first personality to be merchandised 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's highest paid performer by the age of 21. He broke box office records around the globe.
His records sold well over 30-million copies worldwide and were recognised with over 24 gold and platinum recordings, including four consecutive multi-platinum LPs.
Cassidy was responsible for seven chart-topping Partridge Family singles including I Think I Love You, the best-selling record of 1971. As a solo artist, Cassidy had hit singles, and his 2004 CD Then and Now was in the Top Five and reached platinum status.
His credits, from the phenomenal success of The Partridge Family, also include the telefilm A Chance to Live, which earned him an Emmy nomination as Best Dramatic Actor.
He went to Broadway, where he starred in the original production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. London beckoned Cassidy, and he starred at the prestigious West End in Time with Sir Laurence Olivier.
In 1994, he once again broke box-office records in the lauded production of Blood Brothers on Broadway, working for the first time with his brother Shaun.
In 1996, Cassidy moved to Las Vegas to star at the MGM Grand in the $75-million extravaganza EFX. It became the most successful production in Las Vegas. Within four months of opening, the show was voted Best Production Show in Las Vegas, and Cassidy was voted Best All-Around Performer and Best Singer.
In 1999, Cassidy was again named Best All-Around Performer, Entertainer of the Year and Show Star of the Year for The Rat Pack Is Back! - the first original production paying tribute to the legendary quartet, which he created and produced with Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Don Reo.
Simultaneously, Cassidy and Reo created At the Copa, which Cassidy wrote, co-produced and starred in.
In addition to performing, producing, writing and recording, Cassidy's passion and avocation lay with the thoroughbred horses the breeds and races throughout the country.
He was one of the contestants on The Celebrity Apprentice, in 2011.
Cassidy lived in Florida with his wife, songwriter Sue Shifrin-Cassidy, and their son Beau. His daughter, Katie Cassidy, is a successful actress.
He died of liver failure on 21 November, 2017, at the age of 67.