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Artist News Obituaries
David Cassidy dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 22 November 2017
Actor and musician David Cassidy has died, aged 67. He was admitted to hospital last week following organ failure.
Cassidy retired from performing earlier this year, revealing that he had been living with a diagnosis of dementia. He was admitted to hospital on Saturday, following liver and kidney failure and remained in a coma for two days. He regained consciousness and was in a critical but stable condition by Monday, with hopes that he would be able to receive a liver transplant. However, it was announced that he passed away yesterday.
In a statement, his family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, our uncle, and our dear brother, David Cassidy. David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years”.
Cassidy first found fame in US musical sitcom ‘The Partridge Family’ in the early 1970s. Although originally chosen for the show for his looks rather than his voice – he was expected to lip-sync, like the other children on the programme – he quickly launched a concurrent career as a pop star, performing lead vocals on 1970 hit ‘I Think I Love You’. Released as The Partridge Family, the record only featured one other cast member, his on-screen mother and real-life stepmother Shirley Jones.
He soon moved on to a solo career, and had his first hit in his own right with ‘Cherish’, the title track from his debut solo album. The TV show and his pop releases quickly launched him as a teen heartthrob – something he apparently struggled with, hoping to be seen as a more credible musician – and he released three solo albums, as well as eight with Jones as The Partridge Family, during the programme’s three and a half year run.
Cassidy quit the show and touring its music following an incident at a show in London in 1974, where a crowd surge led nearly 800 fans being injured in the crush. Thirty were taken to hospital, and one fourteen year old girl, Bernadette Whelan, died four days later.
He continued to enjoy success as a solo artist and actor through the 70s and 80s, although it never again reached the heights of the ‘Cassidymania’ seen in the early 70s. He released his final album, ‘Old Trick New Dog’, in 1998, and continued to perform up until February of this year.
Complaining of money problems at various points in his career, Cassidy declared himself bankrupt in 2015. In 2008 he publicly admitted that he had issues with alcohol and he was subsequently arrested for drink driving in 2010. He was married three times during his life, divorcing his most recent spouse, Sue Shifrin, last year.
He is survived by his two children, Beau and Katie, his stepmother Shirley Jones, and three half-brothers Shaun, Ryan and Patrick.
