Background
Jack Cassidy was born on March 5, 1927 in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City, New York, United States. Cassidy's childhood was "classically unhappy. "
(Shirley Jones might have become best known for her portra...)
Shirley Jones might have become best known for her portrayal of Shirley Partridge, the matriarchal head of the singing Partridge Family, but her career preceded that television series but nearly two decades. It was Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein who put her under personal contract, then groomed her through a succession of shows until she landed the lead in Oklahoma! In 1956 Shirley married actor and singer Jack Cassidy, with whom she would have three sons (future teen heartthrob and fellow Partridge Family member David Cassidy was Jacks son by his first marriage) and recorded a hugely successful series of albums alongside her husband. With Love From Hollywood was the third album released, being issued in 1958. The twelve track album features a wide assortment of material, ranging from Lets Fall In Love from the 1934 film of the same name through to 1948 Love Of My Life from The Pirate. Musical accompaniment is provided by Frank DeVol and his orchestra on a series of numbers, with Shirley and Jack sharing the spotlight together or individually in familiar solos and duets from various popular film musicals. Despite their respective stage and screen careers, they only appeared on stage together once, in the modestly successful Maggie Flynn.
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Jack Cassidy was born on March 5, 1927 in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City, New York, United States. Cassidy's childhood was "classically unhappy. "
He attended parochial school and high school in Richmond Hill, both of which he found "a bore. " "I never had time for games and things, " he explained in a 1966 interview. "I wanted to make money, to be a man quickly. " Cassidy later blamed his unhappy childhood for his initial inhibitions as an actor.
At the age of sixteen, Cassidy answered an open audition for actors and singers for Michael Todd's production of Something for the Boys, which toured the nation in 1943. Cassidy gained his early entry into show business largely because of a dearth of available young male actors owing to the draft. After World War II, Cassidy made his way to Broadway, where he appeared in the chorus in numerous musicals, including Sadie Thompson (1945), The Red Mill (1945), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1946). In these and other productions during the late 1940's, Cassidy found himself typecast as a "pretty chorus boy, " so he developed "a tough facade for compensation. " The result was that his new attitude and his good looks classified him as a "cocky, self-centered smart aleck" in the eyes of directors. In 1948, Cassidy got a break from such roles in the comic revue Small Wonder, when director Payton Price encouraged him to develop his feeling for comedy. With this part, he discovered "the best side of me was the light side, not the sorrowful. " He established himself further with his work in the dramatic musical Sandhog. One critic labeled his rendering of the Irish melody, "Johnny O, " with Betty Oakes, "a beguiling piece of work. " In 1949, Cassidy appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. By the mid-1950's, Cassidy had developed a singing style that critics consistently praised. He had also honed his talents as an actor and dancer. His multiplicity of talents kept him steadily employed in television, film, and theater.
During this time, Cassidy had been struggling with the legacy of his childhood and his inability to establish a satisfying personal and theatrical identity. In the mid-1950's, Cassidy began exorcizing some of his childhood demons by writing a fictionalized autobiography. "It was a strictly amateur effort, " Cassidy later explained, "but putting the things that troubled me on paper had quite a cathartic effect. "
Cassidy also recorded several albums on his own. Cassidy began appearing in numerous low-budget movies, cast in the role of a sophisticated, sinister villain. His television work during this period, including appearances in "Gunsmoke, " "Wagon Train, " "77 Sunset Strip, " and other programs, was of a similar type. Cassidy also appeared in several theatrical productions during this time. Cassidy's breakthrough role came in 1963, with a small but significant part in the musical She Loves Me. "I knew I'd be lost in the show if I didn't do something pretty positive, and decided to make it the broadest kind of caricature. It was a nervy, tricky thing to do, but at that point I'd developed the kind of freedom and ease that happens when you begin to like yourself. " Cassidy perfected his rendition of a leading man parodying leading men with It's a Bird . It's a Plane . It's Superman! (1966), another musical that was lauded by critics. Stanley Kauffmann wrote, "Mr. Cassidy is a skillful pro, to whom a song and dance is a chance to comment on the world of song and dance. " Cassidy appeared ready for a move into true stardom, but failed to get the necessary roles in film, television, or theater to capitalize on his growing reputation. He did land a supporting role in the comedy series "He and She, " repeating his leading man parody as television star Oscar North. Unfortunately, the series, which featured Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, was canceled after a year and a half. Cassidy made numerous one-shot appearances on television shows ranging from "The Carol Burnett Show" to "Cannon, " as well as several made-for-television movies. His best television performance was as the defense lawyer in the television version of the play The Andersonville Trial (1970), which earned Cassidy an Emmy nomination. He also kept busy with supporting parts in movies, including A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Bunny O'Hare (1971), The Eiger Sanction (1975), and W. C. Fields and Me (1976). The last again had him playing a leading man, this time the actor John Barrymore. Cassidy made only irregular appearances on the stage in the late 1960's and 1970's. Cassidy and Jones continued to appear together occasionally, although they never repeated the critical raves of their earliest collaboration. Of their performance in Maggie Flynn (1969), New York Times critic Clive Barnes wrote, "I only wish I had seen them in Oklahoma!" The pair toured their club act in the early 1970's, appearing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and other top nightclub spots. Jones had by this time established herself as a national star with her television role as the singing (and single) mom in "The Partridge Family. " Cassidy's son David starred in the show as one of Jones's children and launched a successful career from this role. Jack Cassidy remarked that "ever since the 1950's I've been known as Shirley Jones's husband. But all that's changed; now I'm David Cassidy's father!" The strain of two separate show-business careers finally took its toll on Jones and Cassidy's marriage, and Jones filed for divorce in 1975, claiming "irreconcilable differences. " Cassidy's life ended the following year, when a fire ravaged his penthouse apartment in West Hollywood. The fire was believed to have been caused by a cigarette left burning on a couch. Jones was not mentioned in Cassidy's will, and his son David was specifically cut out of his inheritance.
Cassidy won the 1964 Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical for his role in She Loves Me and was nominated for two Emmy Awards: in 1968 for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy, for He & She, and 1971 for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the film The Andersonville Trial (1970). Cassidy was approved for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005, and fundraising efforts are currently underway to fund the dedication ceremony. Cassidy's hilarious rendition of a preening Don Juan earned him honors in the New York drama critics poll, the Saturday Review critics poll, and a Tony Award, as well as notices in Newsweek, Time, Life, and the New Yorker. He starred in Fade Out, Fade In, with Carol Burnett. Cassidy earned high praise for his portrayal of film star Byron Perry, "who is never without a hand mirror to admire the dimples on his handsome face. "
(Shirley Jones might have become best known for her portra...)
Quotations: "If there was no song-and-dance work one season, I could play comedy, if comedy was hard to find, I could handle a dramatic role. "
Cassidy married Evelyn Ward on October 31, 1948. The couple had one son, David, and were divorced in 1956.
Although Cassidy indicated to an interviewer that his first marriage had been unstable, the divorce was probably instigated by his relationship with actress and singer Shirley Jones. The two first met on a State Department-sponsored European tour of Oklahoma! (1955), where Cassidy played the lead role of Curley opposite Jones's Laurey. Both received enthusiastic reviews from critics and from each other. According to Cassidy, "When I first met Shirley, everything positive seemed to fall into place. " The two married on Aug. 5, 1956, during their joint appearance in The Beggar's Opera. The marriage fared better than the play, which was generally panned, but both Jones and Cassidy were praised for their singing. The couple had three children, including Shaun, a singer and actor. Jones and Cassidy developed a supper-club act, which allowed them to spend more time together. They took the act to British television with A Date with Shirley and Jack in 1959. They went on to make a number of records, including With Love from Hollywood, and Speaking of Love.
During the early 1960's, Cassidy and Jones followed separate though occasionally intertwined careers, yet managed to maintain their relationship.
