Biography David Cassidy

Evelyn Ward

Evelyn Ward (May 21, 1923 – December 23, 2012) was an American actress known from her stage musical performances and television appearances. Her son was the actor/singer David Cassidy.

Evelyn Ward and David

Background

Evelyn Ward was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Frederick and Ethel Laurinda (née Wheeler) Ward. She was of Colonial American, Irish, and Swiss descent. Her ancestors were among the founders of Newark, New Jersey.

Career

Evelyn Ward began her performing career as a teenager dancing with the Roxyettes at the Roxy Theater. After understudying Mary Martin in the musical Dancing in the Streets, which closed "out of town" in the spring of 1943, Evelyn made her Broadway debut that summer in the musical Early to Bed. Her subsequent Broadway musical credits include The Firebrand of Florence (1945), Spring in Brazil (1945), Billion Dollar Baby (1946), and Along Fifth Avenue (1949).

Her subsequent theatrical credits were mostly in regional theater, but she did return to the Broadway musical stage in the spring of 1958, replacing Gwen Verdon in the lead role in New Girl in Town. In 1967, Evelyn appeared in the play And So to Bed at the LA Theater Center), and her son David Cassidy also was featured in the cast. In 1996, she left retirement to co-star in Such a Pretty Face.

She also performed in nightclubs in New York City and Boston, and in 1954 performed in a Las Vegas revue.

In 1949, Evelyn Ward was a regular on the CBS game show Hold It Please and in 1950-1951, she was a regular on the ABC variety series The College Bowl (also known as The Chico Marx Show). Her other television credits include Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, Mike Hammer, The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen, and Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Evelyn Ward married actor Jack Cassidy on June 28, 1948: the couple had met in 1945 while appearing in the Broadway musical The Firebrand of Florence. Evelyn Ward and Jack Cassidy had one son, David Bruce Cassidy, born on April 12, 1950 and died on November 21, 2017. The family resided in Evelyn's native West Orange. The marriage of Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward ended in a Mexican divorce in July 1956.

In August 1956, Jack Cassidy married actress Shirley Jones, with whom he had been romantically involved since the previous summer. According to Jones, Jack Cassidy and Evelyn had been separated twice and then got back together prior to her meeting Jack Cassidy, and their marriage had remained rocky.

After her divorce from Cassidy, Evelyn and the couple's son, David, resided with Evelyn's parents in West Orange until 1961, when she married film director Elliot Silverstein.

Evelyn had known Elliot Silverstein for several years, as she had acted in Boston-area stage productions directed by Elliot Silverstein in 1955 and 1957. She and Elliot Silverstein divorced in 1968.

Evelyn Ward and David

Death

Evelyn died on December 23, 2012, from dementia. Her son, David, died from liver failure on November 21, 2017. She is survived by two grandchildren, Katie Cassidy and Beau Cassidy.

Television

  • Manhattan Showcase (1949)
  • The Adventures of Ellery Queen - Death Spins a Wheel (1951) ... Janine Carr
  • The Mercer Girls (1953)
  • Omnibus - The American Musical Comedy (1956) ... Singer (segment)
  • The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen - Castaway on a Nearby Island (1959) ... Vanessa Harvey
  • Mike Hammer - Save Me in San Salvidor (1959) ... Inez
  • Dr. Kildare - A Million Dollar Property (1961) ... Margaret Vale
  • Perry Mason - The Case of the Capricious Corpse (1962) ... Nurse Evelyn King
  • Kraft Mystery Theater - The Problem in Cell Block 13 (1962) ... Sabrina
  • A Public Affair (1962) …Mary Sinclair
  • Breaking Point- A Pelican in the Wilderness (1963) ... Mrs. Berens
  • Vacation Playhouse - The Big Brain (1963)… Adele Weston
  • Ben Casey - Use Neon for My Epitaph (1963) ... Kay Lemming
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Discotheque Affair (1965) ... Farina
  • Dr. Kildare - The Time Buyers (1965) ... Mabel Volk

Soundtrack

  • The Adventures of Ellery Queen - Death Spins a Wheel (1951) ... (performer: "They Say It's Wonderful", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me")

Guest Appearance as herself

  • The College Bowl - Episode dated 26 March 1951 (1951) ... Herself
  • Omnibus - The Big Wheel - The Burlesque Entertainment of Yesterday (1957) ... Herself - Performer (segment "The Big Wheel")
  • This Is Your Life - David Cassidy (1994) ... Herself
Evelyn Ward and David
David Cassidy