David Cassidy Still Going Strong

[Zoneboy]

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Former heartthrob David Cassidy who shot to fame on TV's "The Partridge Family -- knows what the Jonas Brothers and Zac Efron are going through today.


Camera-chasing paparazzi, "Tiger Beat" magazine covers, shrieking girls, sold-out concerts, whirlwind life: been there, done that for Cassidy, now 59. He says teen-pop madness is no more insane today than it was for him in the early 1970s.


"No, no. You have to remember there are 140 or 280 channels now. We had three, and the impact was so dramatic," Cassidy said during a phone interview.


"The Jonas Brothers are great; I'm thrilled for them. And people keep asking me, in terms of media, about this young guy Zac Efron, comparing me to him. As long as they are talented and decent people, I'm flattered, but I've gone on and done so much other work."


Cassidy successfully transcended his pinup past by branching out. He acted on Broadway and created and wrote Las Vegas shows. He also continued to record and, after a lengthy break from touring, began hitting the road again in earnest in 2001. On March 27, he'll perform a rare, intimate show at Franklin's Barrow-Civic Theatre.


Cassidy was shocked to learn just how small the theater is.


"500 seats! That is the smallest place I've ever played," he said. "This should be like being in our living room. Wow! I have to tell you, that's really exciting."


Cassidy, with his band, will play songs from throughout his career, including solo hits ("Cherish," "Could It Be Forever") and Partridge Family smashes like "I Think I Love You" and "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted."


"I'll be taking people on a bit of a musical journey," Cassidy said. "When the Beatles broke out, I was 13 and saw them on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and grabbed an electric guitar the next day. Me and 2 million other kids all did that. And I just kept going and playing."


Unlike most, though, Cassidy later became friends with John Lennon, who experienced a little shrieking in his day, too. He fondly recalls hanging out with John and Yoko at their Dakota apartment.


Lennon also visited him during the making of the ex-Beatle's "Rock and Roll" album in Los Angeles.


"The first time he came over was New Year's Eve, I think in 1974 or 1975, and we'd both been drinking too much. He came over with a mutual friend and we headed to the music room off my bedroom. I picked up a guitar and started playing some of the early Beatles' stuff, and he'd forgotten a lot of it.


"So, here I was like reteaching him and I got to sing the Paul parts. It was just so awesome, so inspirational for me. A lot of people have said, 'Oh my God, what if you had recorded it?' It's not about putting it up on e-Bay. That's not my style."


Lennon, he said, taught him the value of staying true to yourself.


"I was inspired by his music and just that he was so stunningly honest," he said. "He inspired me with his voice, his commitment for things he believed in and nonviolence. His lyrics were so revealing about his life. He was truly open and honest about his frailties and weaknesses."


Cassidy has opened up, too, writing a pair of revealing autobiographies, including 2007's UK-only "Could It Be Forever." He even admitted to the Globe that he once slept with his "Partridge Family" sister Susan Dey.


Since "Partridge Family," Cassidy eschewed regular TV work but that's about to change. He'll appear in "Ruby and the Rockits," a new ABC Family show developed and written by half-brother Shaun Cassidy.


His other half-brothers are also involved. Patrick Cassidy co-stars; Ryan Cassidy will work as set decorator.


"The only reason I'd go back and do TV again and move back to Los Angeles, for at least half the year, would be to do this project with my brothers," Cassidy said.


"For all of us to work together is such an amazing opportunity because we're very, very close but we never had the same agents. From a professional standpoint, we have always gone our own way.


"The only time we ever worked together was when I twisted Shaun's arm to do 'Blood Brothers' with me on Broadway because it's such a great piece of work. As actors, that was one of the highlights of our lives."


In "Ruby," David and Patrick play brothers who were rock stars in a 1980s band. David has continued to tour and shows up at Patrick's with his daughter, played by Alexa Vega ("Spy Kids"), hoping he'll help take care of her.


"I actually use some of my performance outfits from the mid-80s, which are really funny," Cassidy said. "I can still get into them, which is a good thing. They have the big hair, big shoulders. It's just a very funny, smart show."


Might Mrs. Partridge, aka Shirley Jones -- David's stepmom, and mother of Shaun, Patrick, and Ryan -- make a cameo on the show?


"Yes, I would think," said Cassidy.


Cassidy said the show will hit the air this summer and he smells a hit.


"I'm really as excited about this as I have been about anything since 'Blood Brothers,'" he said. "When you've done a lot of work, you know if it's there or not and it is there in spades."


Cassidy recently completed a UK tour, where he remains popular. His 2001 CD "Then and Now" made the Top 5 in England. Through April 1, he's also a judge every Wednesday for the Singing Family Face Off contest on CBS "The Early Show."


He might be nearly 60 but he's busy as ever.

[tv star collector]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting.

[AB]

Enjoyed the article!

[catlover79]

Great article! The new show sounds fun.

[Marvo301]

Keith Partridge is nearly 60? Suddenly I'm feeling old.