David Cassidy

Sad news over the Thanksgiving holiday...

Entertainer and 1970s teen idol David Cassidy has died. The musician and actor, 67, who starred in TV's The Partridge Family (1970 to 1974), died Tuesday night in Florida after being hospitalized with organ failure. 

A child of Hollywood, he was the iconic teen idol of the 1970s. Before Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, Zac Efron and the members of the 1980s Brat Pack, there was pop star Cassidy in his colorful polyester ensembles featuring giant collars and flared slacks. And while he did perform as a solo artist, he and The Partridge Family had a No. 1 hit with the catchy tune I Think I Love You in fall 1970. His biggest solo single was a version of Cherish, which peaked at No. 9 after its release in 1971. 

Cassidy had largely kept a low profile, making headlines in recent years mostly with DUI cases. In March 2014, a judge in Los Angeles sentenced Cassidy to three months in rehab and five years of probation in a drunken-driving case. Later that year, the performer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated in upstate New York. At the time, the sentence was expected to be a conditional discharge that would include community service in Florida, where he lived. 

He continued to add acting credits through the decades, appearing in television shows such as Fantasy Island, Malcolm in the Middle, Ruby & The Rockits and CSI, as well as the movie Poster.

It's sad that his later years were a mix of alcohol and health issues, but his early career in the Partridge Family has definitely secured his place in Pop Culture history. I really enjoyed the show and even had the lunchbox to prove it.

He will be missed.