David Cassidy was cast as Keith Partridge for his “androgynous good looks,” this, according to the producers. He was born in NYC to actor parents Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. Growing up, he spent a lot of time at his grandparents’ house in Jersey while his parents toured. His acting premiere was in the Broadway musical “The Fig Leaves Are Falling.” It was to be his path to the Partridges. On the way, he appeared in TV shows like Ironside, Marcus Welby, Adam-12, and Bonanza. As we know, he didn’t handle fame well.
After he quit the Partridge Family, he focused on recording and songwriting. International success followed him, but he was flat broke by the ’80s. And, sadly, in his older days, he revealed that he suffers from dementia.
Everyone Believed the Kids were Great Musicians
It was confusing for fans. The line between fiction and reality was blurred. When fans bought a Partridge Family album, with the family pictured on the cover, it seemed fairly obvious that all five kids and mom were belting out Partridge Family tunes. But the fact was the kids were not singing.
They did not even know how to play the instruments they held. It was all a show that David and Shirley led. David was the only cast member who played an instrument. The rest lip-synched and played their roles as musicians quite well.
Susan Dey
Susan Dey got her start in Hollywood with The Partridge Family. At 17, it was her first gig. She had no acting experience, but she landed the role of Laurie Partridge because her beautiful face was spotted in her budding modeling career. Screen Gems execs discovered her lovely visage on the cover of an ad booklet for a tampon brand, actually. Her career shot to fame with the TV series.
She’s known as the Partridge star who refuses to reunite. But, if you heard her side of the story, you might feel the same. Intimidate details of her relationship with Cassidy were exploited in his 1994 tell-all memoir, and since then, she’s refused to join reunion shows. And anyway, she’s retired from acting.
Susan Dey Dealt with Body Image Issues
Like many models in the celebrity world, body image is a pesky problem. She was very young when her career exploded overnight with the weekly primetime TV show. To manage overweight worries, she began dieting to an extreme.
When she wasted away down to 92 pounds, she still didn’t realize she had a problem until Danny Bonaduce spotted her in a swimsuit and blurted out that she looked like a skeleton. Luckily, it caught her attention before weight loss issues developed into a devastating disease.
Life After ‘The Partridge Family’ for Susan Dey
Susan Dey went on to have a successful career in television. Most notably, she had a starring role in the popular 1980s drama series L.A. Law. She also appeared in films Echo Park and Bed of Lies. Nominated for three Emmy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards, she won the 1988 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
This went to her portrayal of D.A. Grace Van Owen in L.A. Law. Other TV shows she appeared in were Hawaii Five-O and Third Watch.