David Cassidy
He was the 1970s' ultimate teen idol, a pop phenomenon whose fame became a gilded cage he spent a lifetime trying to escape.
1950–2017 (age 67)·American actor and musician·Birthday: April 12·Baby Boomers
Biography
David Cassidy didn't find fame; it engulfed him. As Keith Partridge on 'The Partridge Family,' he was the sunny, shag-haired heartthrob for a generation, and the records he made—both with the TV family and as a solo artist—sold in the tens of millions. At his peak, his face was on every magazine cover, and his concerts sparked a frenzy rarely seen. But the machinery of teen idolatry grated against his aspirations to be a serious rock musician and actor. Cassidy actively rebelled against his own image, famously disavowing his fame in a 1972 Rolling Stone interview. The subsequent years were a struggle to redefine himself, marked by musical comebacks, stage work, and personal battles. His story is the quintessential, and often tragic, narrative of early superstardom—a blinding flash of adoration followed by a long, complicated shadow.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2017Died at 67
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
Key Achievements
- Became a global pop icon playing Keith Partridge on the hit musical-sitcom 'The Partridge Family.'
- As a solo artist, sold over 30 million records and had a number-one single with "I Think I Love You."
- Was reportedly the highest-paid entertainer in the world at the height of his fame in the early 1970s.
- His 1974 concert at London's White City Stadium was attended by over 50,000 fans.
Did You Know?
His father was actor Jack Cassidy, and his stepmother was singer Shirley Jones, who played his mother on 'The Partridge Family.'
He turned down the role of Danny Zuko in the film adaptation of 'Grease.'
Cassidy was a skilled thoroughbred horse breeder and owned a successful horse farm in Florida.
He publicly came forward about his diagnosis of dementia in 2017 to raise awareness.
“I was a product. I was a thing. I was not a human being.”
