Question: Why did actor and singer David Cassidy, known primarily for “The Partridge Family”, never star in any blockbuster Hollywood movies?
Sadly…where do you stop?
- Cassidy was an alcoholic – While his problems were manageable during the filming of the Partridge Family, as time went on, he became difficult to direct and undependable. Although he went to rehab several times over the course of his life, he was never able to overcome his problem.
- Cassidy’s acting skills were, charitably, limited – Keith Partridge was basically Cassidy acting like himself. When he starred in Man Undercover it was simply him acting like Partridge again and the role REALLY needed more than that. Although Cassidy did a few pilots over the years following that, none were picked up for airing.
- He really had difficulty with comedy – Although he seemed to be funny on The Partridge Family, when he was on other things years later, he really couldn’t stick the landing. This was particularly troubling as Cassidy’s career could have been far more successful had he been able to become a funnier performer.
- He could never expand upon his time in Las Vegas – Cassidy spent years toiling in Las Vegas and unfortunately he never seems to have been able to have translated that into successful career in his later life. Whether or that was bad management or bad luck is not exactly clear.
- Cassidy seems to have never recovered from the White City Stadium stampede – 800 people were injured in the 1974 incident and one teenager was killed. This seems to have haunted him for the remainder of his life as he was clearly troubled when he was asked about it decades later.
David Cassidy’s career highlights were The Partridge Family sitcom and the few years afterward.
Following that while he was working, he never seemed to achieve the success that his earlier fame foretold.
Cassidy died of liver failure in 2017 at age 67.