David Cassidy, best known for his role on The Partridge Family, has died. He was 67. The actor and musician entered a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, hospital for liver and kidney failure last week.
Earlier in the year, Cassidy revealed that he was battling the early stages of dementia, an illness both his mother and grandfather suffered from. Cassidy’s admission came after video emerged of the singer struggling to remember lyrics and stumbling around the stage during a California concert.
“David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long,” a statement from his family said. “Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years.”
Cassidy became a teenage heartthrob with his role as Keith Partridge in the ‘70s sitcom The Partridge Family. He would go on to have a career as a musician with hit songs such as “I Think I Love You,” and “Daydreamer.”
After appearing in a short-lived Broadway show, a 19-year-old Cassidy moved to Los Angeles where, after guest spots on shows like Bonanza and Adam-12, he was cast as Keith Partridge, lead singer and guitarist of the fictional family band at the center of the musical sitcom The Partridge Family. Cassidy’s real-life stepmother Shirley Jones played the Partridges’ matriarch.
David Cassidy’s father was famed actor and singer Jack Cassidy, and his mother was actress Evelyn Ward. After his parents split in 1956, the elder Cassidy married Jones the same year. Cassidy moved in with his father, Jones and his three half-brothers after getting his high school diploma in 1968. His father helped him launch his career as an actor and musician.