David Cassidy on the Web
C'mon, get chatty: Q&A with David Cassidy
July 16, 2001
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Former "The Partridge Family" lead vocalist David Cassidy was the quintessential teen idol of the 1970s. His likeness was on posters, lunch boxes and magazine covers worldwide; the group's "I Think I Love You" was the best-selling record of 1971; membership of his fan club in the early '70s eclipsed that of Elvis Presley and the Beatles; and his records have sold more than 25 million copies, including four consecutive multiplatinum LPs. The Hollywood Reporter new media/technology editor Paul Bond spoke to Cassidy about how he's using the Internet to communicate with his loyal audience.
The Hollywood Reporter: Tell me about "The Partridge Family."
David Cassidy: It's got a life that goes on, and on, and on.
THR: Does that bother you?
Cassidy: No. It's a great thing when you do work that lives that long and has had an impact on the universe for 30 years. People have a misconception about me. I didn't want to go back and do it again because as an actor it's very hard to make "Hey, Mom, can I borrow the keys to the bus?" live with any depth. I had only done drama work on things like "Bonanza," "Medical Center," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "The FBI," "The Mod Squad." In a matter of months, like what happens a lot, all of a sudden you're a hot actor, and they sent me this script. I had eight lines. And I didn't want to do it. I thought, "I just don't get this." But I was 19. I moved out with a friend in this pad up in Laurel Canyon. I was doing OK. I didn't have to be a waiter. Who knew "Partridge Family" would turn into that? They didn't even ask me if I could sing. They didn't even care.
THR: What did you do after your four years on "Partridge Family"?
Cassidy: I toured around the world until 1975. Then I purposely did not work again until 1977, when I got nominated for an Emmy for a "Police Story" episode I did called "A Chance to Live." It was the highest-rated episode they ever did, so executive producer David Guber called me up and said, "We want to do a television series." Remember, this is NBC at their lowest, in 1978. So he starts pulling out old "Police Story" scripts and changes the Angie Dickinson character to me. And then -- the kiss of death is -- they don't have a title for it, and we're into shooting Episode 4. So they say, "We're gonna call it 'David Cassidy -- Man Undercover.' "
THR: Are you playing a character called David Cassidy?
Cassidy: No. I mean, what is this -- "The Loretta Young Theater"? What are we talking about here? It's 1978. "Yeah, but they want to see your name up there," they tell me. My God! And the show was not good. But one of the writers we had on the show became an executive producer on "21 Jump Street," and he told me that he got the idea from my show.
THR: When did you launch DavidCassidy.com?
Cassidy: A year and a half ago. But we really didn't start doing anything with it until three months ago. What I do is organic -- writing, producing, singing. But the Internet doesn't have anything to do with that. I kind of like the idea of being a dinosaur. But DavidCassidy.com has become this big thing. It gives me a chance to communicate with the fans. I asked them to give me their favorite five songs, and I was surprised to find out that two songs from my last album, "Old Dog New Trick," made the top five. The Internet has provided me with a real sense of what the audience wants. There were 350,000 people who gave us a list of their five favorite songs, and we put together a set that I play in concert. About 80% of the set the audience chose, and the other 20% is stuff I do because I love it.
THR: Is my favorite Partridge Family song, "Summer Days," in that set?
Cassidy: Yes. But it wasn't one of the top 10 fan favorites. But it's one of my personal favorites. So as long as I'm digging it, I'll play it.
THR: It's interesting that you're saying that, because there's been much made of you hating the music you were playing with the Partridge Family.
Cassidy: I never hated it. Some of those songs are pop classics. I just wanted the world to know that I was a very different guy musically than that character I was playing. After Album 4, I just didn't want to make the same record over and over again. And the record company didn't want me to make anything else. I think they wanted me to do "I Think I Love You" Part 5 and 6.
THR: What's KidsCharities.org?
Cassidy: My wife created it, runs it and has devoted her life to it. It's her full-time job that doesn't pay anything. We're doing Saratoga Day at the Races; it's a David Cassidy family day at the races. In this case, we're raising money for the Belmont Child Care Center. ... And we raise money other ways, like golf tournaments, online auctions and so forth. A hundred percent goes to children's charities.
THR: What is this letter at your site asking your fans not to buy unlicensed David Cassidy product?
Cassidy: We're policing it. The fans are the ones who want to buy the stuff, and I try to explain to them that stealing is stealing, and it's not just me you're ripping off. It's writers, artists, photographers, all the people who should be compensated, the people who make their living doing that. No one is making anything except the pirate and the bootlegger. If you call me, of course I might license it. But they've sold pictures, magnets, post cards by the tens of thousands that I haven't made a dime for. I'm constantly being handed pictures to autograph that people have bought in poster shops all over the world. Something is wrong here. I'm not greedy. I'm not in this to sell merchandise. I sold a half billion dollars in licensed merchandise in the '70s that's probably worth $10 billion now. I got $5,000 from that because production companies and studios owned my likeness.
THR: Has the letter been effective?
Cassidy: In the last month, since the letter's been up, we've busted about 20 people and have removed a lot of stuff from eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. To exploit from the people who wrote it, manufactured it and me, it's just not right. Some guy was selling clocks with my face on it out of his garage. I got fed up with it.
THR: So then it sounds like you're probably not a fan of Napster?
Cassidy: On the contrary, I don't mind Napster as long as the people trading music don't profit from it. It's about the music and the work. If you love my music, share it. Give it away. If you want to buy it, then please buy it. If you want to trade songs and not profit from it, do it all you want. I've taped things from the radio before, but I never profit from it. If you want to trade tracks, I encourage it. I'm happy to say that if no one is profiting illegally from it, enjoy it. Listen to it.
THR: Is your goal to make money with your Web site?
Cassidy: No. It's there to connect with the audience. If I break even, I'm a happy guy. It has to make sense though. It can't cost me a fortune. It provides fans with information that they want that comes directly from me, so they can forget about whatever else they read or hear.
THR: How do you feel about the many fan sites that have sprung up?
Cassidy: There's one, Cassidyland.com, that has been so helpful to me. I just recently sued Arista Records, Bell Records and (Bell's) parent, BMG, because of information Cassidyland provided. There have been at least seven greatest-hits albums repackaged, which breached my contract. I'll go all the way with this, and I'll win because I've got the merchandise in my hand. They can't tell me they didn't make it. This is my life and my career. I've got just one, but the record companies have 5,000. I'm suing for in excess of $1 million.
THR: Some of the fans online seem obsessed with you. How do you feel about that?
Cassidy: Ninety-nine percent of the fans are great. But there's 1% of America -- whether they are David Cassidy fans or not -- that is unbalanced. The reality they live in is twisted. Some of it gets scary. I've had kidnapping and death threats and bogus paternity suits -- thank God for the test now. It's a minefield out there. I've become highly sensitive to it. When I see that crazy look in the eye, I say: "See ya, gotta go. I'm not your puppet. I'm not your David Cassidy doll. You can't take a piece of me home and hang it on the wall. I won't wake up next to you in my pajamas."
THR: What's one of the worst online frauds concerning you?
Cassidy: I had someone impersonate me on the Internet about two years ago. He did a chat as David Cassidy, talking about my father and my family. And there were homosexual tendencies in the conversation, alluding to homosexual acts by my father and talking about my anatomy. It was very twisted. I didn't have an active Web site at the time, so I went on my friend's site -- musician Andrew Gold -- and he typed that he was sitting right next to me and that this person chatting was impersonating me. I told the fans what they wanted to know, and he typed for me.
THR: Did this happen more than once?
Cassidy: I have no idea. But I said at that point that I would never again chat online; that way, my fans know that it will be an impostor. I will only communicate online through Andrew Gold. Then I built up DavidCassidy.com and announced the site on Andrew Gold's Web site. Now I'll do legitimate online chats through People magazine, Yahoo! or AOL. And I'll promote it on my Web site. But I'll never just show up in an online chat unscheduled. Never.
THR: Are you asking your online fans to help find the ring you lost, which you are offering a $50,000 reward for?
Cassidy: Yes. A picture will be up on the site. My father made a ring with what turned out to be a bogus family crest on it. He gave it to me for my 21st birthday, with an inscription in it. I don't know where or when it was stolen; it's just gone. And it's the only thing I have that my father gave me. It's only worth about $2,500. He subsequently made one for himself and for his brothers and sisters and all my family.
THR: Would you reward the thief with $50,000?
Cassidy: I want the ring back. It would be difficult, though. Stealing is not something I'm comfortable with. What it's worth in gold to melt it down, don't do it. I'll make it worth your while.
