David Cassidy was a regular presence in Capital Region
November 22, 2017
By Lynda Edwards
www.timesunion.com
In this 2006 archive photo, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, left, is shown with David Cassidy at the Travers Celebration in Saratoga Springs.
David Cassidy, right, with veterinarian and former State Racing and Wagering board chairman Jerry Bilinski at Saratoga Race Course July 28, 2005.
Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian with David Cassidy at the Troy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007, from Mayor's Blog.
Actor/Singer David Cassidy sits in the clubhouse at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY on July 26, 2010.
David Cassidy at the Oklahoma Training Track adjacent to Saratoga Race Course July 30, 2005.
David Cassidy and Davy Jones at The Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun. November 11, 2006
Celebrity David Cassidy waves to the media as he enters Town Court on Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 in Schodack, N.Y.
Horse owner and television star David Cassidy in his box on the first day of the 2007 season at the Saratoga Race Course.
Former actor and musician David Cassidy on the Red Carpet. The New Jersey Hall of Fame and The Fifth Annual Red Carpet Induction Ceremony held at NJPAC. Saturday June 9, 2012. NEWARK, NJ, USA.
David Cassidy, 9/17/1992
Celebrity David Cassidy, left, talks about the status of his DWI plea at Town Court on Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 in Schodack, N.Y.
Celebrity David Cassidy talks about the status of his DWI plea at Town Court on Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 in Schodack, N.Y.
David Cassidy talks about the status of his DWI plea at Town Court on Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 in Schodack, N.Y.
David Cassidy talks about the status of his DWI plea at Town Court on Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014 in Schodack, N.Y.
ALBANY — David Cassidy's life, good and bad, played out in the Capital Region.
For years, the breakout star of "The Partridge Family" wintered in South Florida and spent summers in Saratoga Springs, where the man who was once a dreamboat to millions of teenage girls owned a home, horses and a box seat at Saratoga Race Track.
Cassidy died Tuesday of liver failure at age 67. His upstate friends remembered him as a man blessed with charm and talent who found a new life here after pop stardom. And they regret that, despite his earnest efforts, Cassidy was unable to conquer his addictions.
"Alcohol was his demon," said veterinarian Jerry Bilinski. "He'd fight it in rehab, then relapse. He would talk with my wife and me about wanting to change — endlessly."
"When he was sitting in the bar at the track — smoking a cigar, reading the Racing Form — he was so relaxed, so comfortable, so at home," said Gary Contessa, who trained many of Cassidy's horses. "David was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about horse bloodlines. He knew every horse's mother and grandmother."
When Cassidy performed for charitable fundraisers, he sometimes invited Contessa on stage to play bass guitar.
"It was a nerve-wracking thrill for me," Contessa said with a laugh. "David still loved music. ... He was always gracious to fans. But he never enjoyed talking about his life at the height of his fame as a singer."
That pinnacle would be 1970-74 , when Cassidy portrayed Keith Partridge, the oldest brother in a family of pop singers who traveled America in a bus checkerboarded in blue, yellow and red. His boyish good looks and emerald eyes made him the ideal non-threatening male for girls dreaming of a first kiss.
In 1972, 21-year-old Cassidy played a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert, and his solo album went gold. He sang lead on six hit Partridge Family albums.
"Nobody can know what it was like to be Lindbergh. Nobody can know what it was like to be David Cassidy," Cassidy told the Times Union during a 2005 interview at the track. "You can't explain it to people. It was life in a bubble. It was rare air indeed."
At a 1974 concert, a stampede of fans left 30 hospitalized and one dead of cardiac arrest. Cassidy wrote in his autobiography, "Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus," that his seemingly endless battle with alcohol began around that time.
There were times Cassidy was desperate to be sober, his friends said. He would phone Contessa and his wife, Jennifer, in the middle of the night. The couple patiently tried to calm and cheer him. But any serenity was temporary.
Cassidy was arrested in August 2013 for drunken driving on Columbia Turnpike in Schodack. The case slogged on 21 months before a local judge sentenced him to house arrest at his Florida home.
When Cassidy later pleaded guilty to the charge, he was surprised to learn he'd have to undergo alcohol screening and return to court for sentencing on a future date.
Bilinski and his wife, Darlene, were in the courtroom when Cassidy turned to them, throwing his hands up and grimacing in disbelief.
Bilinski got to know Cassidy when he boarded some of Cassidy's broodmares on his North Chatham estate. They rode horses together. Darlene confessed to a pre-teen crush on Cassidy ("I'm eight years older, so I was more of a Beatles and Elvis fan," her husband quipped).
Bilinski bought Cassidy's 1978 Jaguar for Darlene.
The Bilinskis tried to make their home feel like a haven as Cassidy's third and final marriage fell apart three years ago. In 2015, Cassidy filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Bilinskis fixed up a spacious room in their home for him. They tried to give him a blend of fun, privacy and tough love.
"David would spend the whole month of August with us each year," said Bilinski.
Cassidy was born with Hollywood connections. Cassidy's father, Jack, was a handsome, successful actor. Cassidy's stepmother at the height of his fame was his "Partridge Family" co-star, Oscar winner Shirley Jones. He is survived by son, Beau, and daughter Katie.
Bilinski wondered if fame and wealth came to Cassidy too early.
"Sometimes people who haven't struggled for success don't understand how to handle life when it's not flashy," he said. "They may have a harder time understanding what a passion for work is like and how it fills up time if it doesn't involve stadium crowds. They have no context."
In an attempt to supply it, Bilinski sent Cassidy a photo of the doctor giving a horse a medical exam that prominently featured the horse's backside. Bilinski inscribed it, "Searching for the perfect gift for you."
Cassidy thought it was hilarious. And it reminded him there were tougher gigs than some of the post-"Partridge" jobs he had been offered, like wearing a rhinestone outfit on "Dancing with the Stars."
"He loved this area. I hope he found some peace here," Bilinski said. "He was a good friend, a good man. He tried to fight his demons. Not everyone wins that fight. Not all of us can win our battle with the devil."
