David Cassidy, best known for playing Keith Partridge on the musical sitcom The Partridge Family, has died after suffering from organ failure. He had been admitted to the intensive care unit at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
His work on The Partridge Family earned the group a “Best New Artist” nomination at the 13th Grammy Awards. Their discography also included numerous singles that made it to the top of the Billboard charts. The most popular of these songs was called “I Think I Love You.” After the show, Cassidy began an incredibly prolific solo career, with both compilation and studio albums to his name.
Cassidy’s path to stardom may have been part of his heritage from the start. His parents were the actress Evelyn Ward and the actor and singer Jack Cassidy. It was Jack who encouraged David to pursue acting and singing. Later, Cassidy’s stepmother Shirley Jones starred alongside him on The Partridge Family as his mother, the widower Shirley Partridge.
The show would go on to run for four years on ABC. (Fans can also catch reruns on syndication.) Cassidy then continued his career onstage in Las Vegas. He featured in shows such as MGM Grand’s “EFX” and, later, “At the Copa,” which co-starred Sheena Easton.
The trajectory of Cassidy’s later years was one full of ups and downs. He was married three times, and struggled with alcoholism. Many of these issues are detailed in his 2007 autobiography, Could It Be Forever? My Story. Towards the end of his life, Cassidy began exhibiting signs of dementia. He had a family history of the disease: both his mother and grandfather were also afflicted with it.
Cassidy is survived by two children: his daughter, the actress Katie Cassidy, and his son Beau.
