A Rochester-based entertainment journalist and artist manager remembers David Cassidy as a talented vocalist who could never break out of his pop star persona. The teen and pre-teen idol starred in the 1970s sitcom ``The Partridge Family'' and sold millions of records as the musical group's lead singer.
Bruce Pilato, who worked with Cassidy on a 1990 TV segment for People Magazine, said he confided in him that he was frustrated because he wasn't seen as a serious musician.
"He had the success of a television star and the success of being a music star, but it was all kind of rolled into one persona, and he really couldn't break out of that,” Pilato said. “The fact that he kept his looks, I think, pretty much almost up until the end. I mean, I think he was a pretty good looking guy. And he could sing right up until the end. People didn't want him to break out of what they knew him as."
Cassidy's appeal faded after “The Partridge Family” went off the air in 1974, although he continued to tour, record, and act over the next 40 years
Cassidy died Tuesday at the age of 67. He announced earlier this year that he was diagnosed with dementia.
