David Cassidy in the News
On Partridges, sex food and Danny Bonaduce
It's been more than 25 years since The Partridge Family first aired, but David Cassidy is still singing, touring and getting asked: What is your favorite food?
October 11, 2001
By Gina Vivetto
St. Petersburg Times
It's been more than 25 years since The Partridge Family first aired, but David Cassidy is still singing, touring and getting asked: What is your favorite food?
Former teen heartthrob David Cassidy, still best known to some as television's Keith Partridge, rolls in to perform hits from his solo career, his hit shows on Broadway and in Las Vegas and, of course, The Partridge Family. From a tour bus, on his way to see his race horses in Ocala, Cassidy, 51, tackles 10 Pressing Questions about world peace, doughnuts and nutty TV sibling Danny Bonaduce.
(1) On a television talk show this morning you discussed the terrorism of Sept. 11, mentioning the peace and love messages of the 1960s. How is that resonating with you now?
I was brought up in an era that promoted those values. It was about people's rights and personal freedom. I think it was spawned from a sense of, "We don't want to go and blow each other up. We want to try to promote brotherhood and love." All of the things that people in the 1980s and 1990s sort of scoffed at, like, "Oh, isn't that lightweight?"
Well, suddenly we've had a very rude and horrifying awakening. Now, as we have gone through something that none of us could imagine, suddenly the values that were promoted by that generation don't seem so hokey.
(2) If David Cassidy and Keith Partridge were in the same bar trying to pick up the same woman, who would win?
Well, Keith would be way too concerned about his hair. (laughs.) The comedy of the character, for me, was to make Keith an airhead. I was also making fun of myself. Self-deprecation is really important. I tried to be the brunt of the jokes. It felt good to make people laugh.
(3) Which was the show's silliest episode?
On one show we had been sold down the river by either Reuben (Kincaid, the band's manager) or Danny -- it's been so long, I can't remember -- we had been railroaded into doing a television commercial or we were going to get sued. The Partridges had to do something for this chicken company. We had to wear chicken costumes. We were all sitting around the living room, pissed off. Keith had a line, (in character, annoyed) "Hmm, here we are -- six lunks in chicken suits. Perfect."
Any time life gets really bad, you gotta go, "Here we are, six lunks in chicken suits."
(4) Describe to an ordinary person what it's like to have your image on so many lunch boxes.
(Laughs.) I can't actually articulate what that feels like. But, ahh, they sold millions of them. Today I saw something I had never seen before: a View Master toy of the Partridge Family, in pristine condition . . . I signed it for the person. I said, "I want you to hold on to this. If things get bad, this is the kind of memorabilia that goes for a fortune, because it's rare. Someday you can put your kid through college with this."
(5) How many times a week do you hear the phrase, "You were my first crush!"?
I hear it often enough. But, I also hear, "You're the reason I became a musician, or an actor." That's still very significant to me. I get it back from people all the time. I'm very grateful for that.
You probably never wake up and feel like an ugly old slob, with women constantly saying that.
Well, I never want to think of myself as an ugly old slob, no (laughs). But honestly, I do the work. That's what has always driven me.
(6) You co-wrote a successful musical, The Rat Pack Is Back, that's still playing in Vegas. Do you have a soft spot in your heart for that era?
It's set in 1961, a very significant year for me. I was 11 years old, in New York and on my way to California. My dad (late actor Jack Cassidy), wasn't around a lot, but, when I was with him, he was big time into Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. Bobby Darin was the thing we both agreed upon. That era for me was the coolest era ever.
(7) What's your favorite kind of doughnut?:
I don't eat doughnuts. Never. (Violently) In fact, I hate doughnuts. I hate them. Doughnuts make me sick.
Whoa, okay, your favorite food?
Oh, come on. People don't want to know that s--. I did all that. I can't remember (laughs). Believe me, when I was 19: "What's your favorite drink? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite food?" I can't remember what I said . . . (finally) All right, raw clams and oysters. Sex food.
(8) Tell me about the horses in Ocala.
They're in training. Then they'll go on to New York to race. Hopefully, they'll run well, then come down to race in Gulfstream (Park, in south Florida). Horses are my other passion. I love racing. I've been a fan since I was a little tiny boy. I used to ride all the time.
(9) Are you still tight with Danny Bonaduce?
We're not tight, but I see him. He's a very funny guy. He's out of his mind. He's doing really well. He's on morning radio in Los Angeles. I played the Greek Theater in July. Danny asked me to be on his show, and I did. We had a wonderful time.
I saved his life, he'll tell you. When he got busted for buying crack, he got fired from a radio station. He was in jail -- this was 10 years ago. I called his parole officer and offered him an opportunity to go out and do standup. He had never done it. He opened up for me on the last concert tour I did. He was fantastic.
He says I saved his life. I felt he deserved a second chance, and God bless him, he's gotten it.
(10) Do you have a favorite holiday?
I'd have to say the Fourth of July. Because of all the times when I was a kid. The summertime has always been my favorite time of year. It represents the outside, and being free and happy. I remember the summers as a kid growing up around New York.
Picnics and barbecues?
All that stuff, just hanging out with my friends. I was happy. I think a lot of what we draw from is what we grew up with, all of us. To me, that was the happiest holiday of the year.
At a glance
David Cassidy performs 8 p.m. Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. Tickets are $45-$50. (813) 287-8844 or (727) 791-7400.
