TLDR: David Bruce Cassidy was born April 12, 1950, in New York City, became the defining teen idol of the early 1970s as Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family, and spent the rest of his life trying to escape what that fame had made him. He was married three times, had four DUI arrests, filed for bankruptcy in 2015, fabricated a dementia diagnosis to hide his alcoholism, and died of liver and kidney failure on November 21, 2017. His last words were “so much wasted time.” His estate of $150,000 went entirely to his son Beau. His daughter Katie was explicitly cut from the will.
There is a famous moment in David Cassidy’s story that says everything about what his life became. In February 2017, after falling on stage and forgetting lyrics during a concert, he told the press he had been diagnosed with dementia.
In a recorded phone conversation released after his death, he admitted the truth: “There is no sign of me having dementia at this stage of my life. It was complete alcohol poisoning. And the fact is, I lied about my drinking. I did this to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness.”
He was the biggest teen idol in the world in 1971. He died with $150,000 to his name in 2017. The distance between those two facts is the actual story.
Where He Came From
Cassidy was born into a performing arts family that was glamorous on the surface and deeply troubled underneath.
His father was Jack Cassidy, a Tony Award-winning stage actor who suffered from severe bipolar disorder and chronic alcoholism, and who watered his lawn naked, told people he was Jesus Christ, and died in an apartment fire at 49 after falling asleep drunk with a lit cigarette.
His mother was Broadway actress Evelyn Ward.
His parents divorced when he was six, and he learned about it at age eight while playing with neighborhood children. Nobody had told him.
He was raised primarily by his maternal grandparents and then, in adolescence, moved into the rental home of his father and new stepmother, Shirley Jones, where he worked in the mailroom of a textile firm while trying to break into acting.
He got the role of Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family in 1970. What followed was a level of fame his family could not have prepared him for and that he was not remotely equipped to handle.
What He Actually Did on The Partridge Family
He sang. That part was real. When producer Wes Farrell heard Cassidy’s vocal range, he permitted him to record his own lead vocals, making him and Shirley Jones the only cast members whose actual voices appeared on the records.
His voice drove “I Think I Love You” to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
He did not play guitar on the recordings, despite what the television screen showed.
The actual guitars were played by session musicians Tommy Tedesco, Louie Shelton, and Dennis Budimir of the Wrecking Crew.
Every other instrument on every record was played by session professionals. Danny Bonaduce, Susan Dey, and the younger cast members mimed everything.
Cassidy was a proficient guitarist in real life, having played in garage bands since adolescence, which made faking it on screen a particular frustration.
He idolized Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and had to spend four years pretending to strum bubblegum pop while audiences screamed.
Susan Dey and the Book That Ended Everything
Susan Dey developed an intense, unrequited crush on Cassidy during production.
Shirley Jones, who was Cassidy’s real-life stepmother and Dey’s on-screen mother, warned both of them, telling Cassidy he was breaking Dey’s heart and telling Dey that Cassidy was too consumed by his career and not sensitive enough for her devotion.
After the show ended in 1974 they briefly dated. Cassidy ended it, saying he viewed her as a sister. They remained on speaking terms for twenty years.
In 1994 he published his autobiography, C’mon, Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus.
In it he disclosed intimate details of their relationship and wrote that Dey “lacked the slutty aspect of a female that I always found so attractive.”
Dey told TV Guide the publication was “a tremendous, terrible violation. And tacky. Real tacky.”
She never spoke to him again and refused to participate in any Partridge Family reunion for the rest of her life.
When Cassidy died in 2017, Dey made no public statement. But Cassidy’s nephew Jack confirmed that she visited the family privately to grieve and celebrate his life away from the press.
His Daughter and the Will
Katie Cassidy, now a well-known actress, was born in 1986 from an extramarital affair between Cassidy and model Sherry Williams. She was raised primarily by her mother and stepfather and only began building a relationship with her biological father when she was in fourth grade.
The relationship was unstable throughout her adult life.
By February 2017, Cassidy publicly confirmed they were entirely out of touch, saying “I wasn’t her father. I was her biological father but I didn’t raise her.”
When he was hospitalized with organ failure that November, Katie rushed to his bedside. They reconciled in his final hours.
The will, originally drafted in 2004 during a period of deep estrangement, had already been written. It stated explicitly: “All references in this trust to my ‘child or children’ are to Beau Devin Cassidy and such references shall not include Katherine Evelyn Cassidy nor any descendant of Katherine Evelyn Cassidy…
It is my specific intent not to provide any benefits hereunder to Katherine Evelyn Cassidy.” His estate of $150,000 went to his son Beau. His music memorabilia went to his three half-brothers.
The Four DUIs and the Collapse
Cassidy’s alcoholism began around 2005 when his mother Evelyn Ward started succumbing to dementia.
He admitted drinking heavily in his car before visiting her, eventually drinking around the clock during her final week of life in December 2012.
Between 2010 and 2015 he accumulated four DUI arrests across Florida, New York, and California, with blood alcohol levels as high as 0.19%.
He filed for bankruptcy in 2015 listing debts of up to $10 million. His South Florida home was auctioned.
His best friend throughout his life, more consistent than any of his three wives, was Sam Hyman, whom he met in seventh grade in 1962.
They formed a garage band together called The Pains of Glass. Hyman traveled with him, managed his merchandise, and served as a buffer between Cassidy and the world for five decades. He was, as one account put it, “the Charlie Hodge to his Elvis Presley.”
His Last Words
On November 18, 2017, Cassidy was rushed to a Fort Lauderdale hospital with acute liver and kidney failure.
His final days were spent in a medically induced coma. He died on November 21, 2017, the exact 47th anniversary of “I Think I Love You” reaching number one.
Before losing consciousness, he spoke to his ex-wife Sue Shifrin, bringing a measure of closure to their complicated 23-year marriage.
To his nurse, watching his younger self perform on a televised holiday special, he reflected on the loss of the life he had wanted. His last documented words were four: “So much wasted time.”
He had no funeral. His family chose not to hold one.
For the full story of the show and cast, see our Partridge Family cast where they are now.
David Cassidy: Frequently Asked Questions
What were David Cassidy’s last words?
David Cassidy’s last documented words before slipping into unconsciousness were “So much wasted time.” He died on November 21, 2017, of liver and kidney failure caused by alcoholism, on the exact 47th anniversary of I Think I Love You reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Why did David Cassidy leave Katie Cassidy out of his will?
David Cassidy’s will, originally drafted in 2004 during a period of deep estrangement from his daughter, explicitly excluded Katie Cassidy and any of her descendants from his estate. His $150,000 estate went entirely to his son Beau Cassidy. Although Katie rushed to his bedside when he was hospitalized and they reconciled in his final hours, the 2004 will remained unchanged.
Did David Cassidy actually have dementia?
No. In February 2017 Cassidy publicly announced a dementia diagnosis, but a recorded phone conversation released after his death in a 2018 A&E documentary revealed he fabricated the diagnosis to conceal his alcoholism. He said: “There is no sign of me having dementia at this stage of my life. It was complete alcohol poisoning. And the fact is, I lied about my drinking.”
