# David Cassidy has dementia \[EDIT: RIP\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357 "2017-02-20T23:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/41 "2017-11-19T15:27:03Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > [Grandma was right](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/head-bangers-risk-brain-neck-injuries/). She almost always is. I would be wearing an expression of skepticism except I made a face when my mom tried to feed me spinach and it froze that way. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/42 "2017-11-19T15:29:53Z")
This is sad news, although the fact that he seems to have irreversible dementia means that this could be seen as a merciful release rather than a tragedy. He always looked so young and alive that it’s difficult to think of him as old and dying. Time is a real bitch who fucks up everyone eventually. Being older than Cassidy I was more a fan of his father than him. Jack Cassidy was always memorable when he appeared in movies and TV. Those who don’t know his work should try to catch him in the three episodes of Columbo he appeared in as a murderous author, a murderous publisher, and a murderous magician respectively. They are among the best episodes of that series. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/43 "2017-11-19T17:12:31Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > However, it was NOT Alzheimer’s…there were features that differentiated it from Alzheimer’s. I don’t remember what they were… You might want to have yourself checked out. mmm ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/44 "2017-11-19T17:18:56Z")
I’m distressed to hear David will soon be gone. He was a big star during my early teens. I had the same reaction to David and the Partridge Family band that kids 10 years earlier had to the Monkees. I’m thankful he may be spared a long lingering death by dementia or Alzheimer’s. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/45 "2017-11-20T09:23:49Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Being older than Cassidy I was more a fan of his father than him. Jack Cassidy was always memorable when he appeared in movies and TV. Those who don’t know his work should try to catch him in the three episodes of Columbo he appeared in as a murderous author, a murderous publisher, and a murderous magician respectively. They are among the best episodes of that series. He was also a brilliant comic actor. Watch some of the episodes of \*\*\*He & She \*\*\*on YouTube, in which he plays the TV incarnation of a comic strip hero (“Jetman”). He also played Ted Baxter’s super-competitive brother (a male fashion model) on _ **MTM** _. I read the other day that Jack’s role on \*\*\*He & She \*\*\*actually inspired the Ted Baxter character. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/46 "2017-11-20T09:28:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m distressed to hear David will soon be gone. He was a big star during my early teens. I had the same reaction to David and the Partridge Family band that kids 10 years earlier had to the Monkees. Nitpick: _ **The Monkees** _ debuted in September, 1966. _ **The Partridge Family** _, in September 1970. So it was four years, not ten. I actually remember the Monkees being much more of a hit, since they were a “real” band, and the show was aimed squarely at teenagers. The Partridges were a bit less popular, since it was more of a “family” show and their “adventures” were more fluff than outrageous fun. But yeah, I liked the show too, though I watched it mainly to see Susan Dey. :o ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/47 "2017-11-20T16:52:59Z")
I had a huge crush on David Cassidy. I was about 10 at the time. Had all of the albums, posters all over my walls, and even a t-shirt with his face on it. I still have a lot of the Tiger Beat, etc. magazines from back then. David was simply beautiful. I saw him on Dr Phil not too long ago and was shocked by his looks. He announced then that he was recently diagnosed with dementia and that his mother also had it when she died. Very, very sad… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/48 "2017-11-22T02:19:04Z")
And now he’s dead. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/49 "2017-11-22T02:29:07Z")
too young; I’m going to remember him as young and with that long hair. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/50 "2017-11-22T02:42:04Z")
I’m sitting here crying and I didn’t even _like_ David Cassidy. He was just such a part of my childhood, watching \*The Brady Bunch \*and _The Partridge Family_. I also love Shirley Jones, and know how much he meant to her. But I didn’t expect his death to hit me so hard. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/51 "2017-11-22T03:00:21Z")
Guess he’s back [on the road](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvsmhMrHakc). RIP David. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/52 "2017-11-22T03:18:49Z")
This makes me sad. My brother died of the same thing. Very quick and unexpected. RIP David. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/53 "2017-11-22T05:06:06Z")
RIP, David. ☹ Damn, this means I must be getting old too. :(☹ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/54 "2017-11-22T05:15:28Z")
Wow, this one strikes way to close to home. The pop stars I listened to in junior high school are less than ten years older than me. I’m staring at my own mortality now. David lead quite a life. He was a big pop star for a few years. Then his brother Shaun had similar success in pop music and tv. R.I.P. David, I’d like to send my best wishes to Shirley Jones and Shaun at this very difficult time. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/55 "2017-11-22T05:25:51Z")
RIP, David Cassidy. Thank you for the joy you gave to so many. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/56 "2017-11-22T05:42:06Z")
I remember seeing him live in EFX in Las Vegas. One helluva show. RIP, man. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/57 "2017-11-22T11:47:25Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I’m sitting here crying and I didn’t even _like_ David Cassidy. He was just such a part of my childhood, watching \*The Brady Bunch \*and _The Partridge Family_. I also love Shirley Jones, and know how much he meant to her. But I didn’t expect his death to hit me so hard. It hasn’t hit me hard enough yet to cry. I sang along to the “I Think I Love You” clip on YouTube a few times, thoug. My husband thinks I’m nuts but he’s younger than me and doesn’t understand what kind of impact Cassidy had on us during the Partridge Family heyday. I was never enough of a fangirl to have a poster of him in my bedroom; nevertheless, he was The Big Thing back then for adolescent girls. When \*16[/i[ magazine devotes multiple issues to you, you know you’ve Made It. I always kind of felt sorry for him, especially after The Partridge Family ended. He never could shake the Keith Partridge image no matter how hard he tried. It was a shame because he did have genuine musical talent. As for his decline, I’m not surprised. His father, Jack Cassidy, had well-known alcoholic-fueled demons and his mother, as well as another relative, had dementia. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/58 "2017-11-22T11:59:20Z")
Wow. Rough. That’s two out of five Partridge kids (or six, if you count Chris twice). Just. Wow. I loved them when I was a little kid. They were the first group whose albums I bought. I remember getting one for my 7th birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/59 "2017-11-22T13:58:34Z")
Brings back the memories: young girls going gaga over the likes of David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman. Shag haircuts. Chokers, paisley, and fringe. Read in the obit this a.m., that he abruptly walked away from the show and music in 74, after which he became penniless. Hadn’t realized that at the time. Saw him many years later in some revival of a touring musical - I forget which. He was quite good as the male lead (tho surprisingly diminuitive!) And his dad was a common actor in any number of TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357/60 "2017-11-22T14:17:16Z")
He also was in 1990’s musical theatre, playing the lead in Joseph, and II saw Cassidy on Broadway in Blood Brothers with his half-brother Shaun and Petula Clark. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-cassidy-has-dementia-edit-rip/780357.md?page=4)