David Cassidy, the ’70s heartthrob of Partridge Family fame, died on Tuesday night in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area hospital, his publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen, confirmed to CNN. He had been in critical condition and suffering from organ failure. He was 67.
The singer-actor had also been diagnosed with dementia, an illness that both his mother and grandfather had suffered from, he revealed earlier this year after videos emerged of Cassidy struggling to remember lyrics and stumbling around the stage during a California concert. “I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming,” Cassidy said of the diagnosis. “I want to focus on what I am, who I am, and how I’ve been without any distractions. I want to love. I want to enjoy life.”
Cassidy was born in New York City in 1950 to singer and actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward. His showbiz parents were often on the road, leaving him to be raised by his maternal grandparents in West Orange, New Jersey. He rose to fame in 1970 when he starred and sang in The Partridge Family, a musical sitcom about a mother and her five children forming a band. His role as Keith Partridge made him a teen idol whose fan base was said to rival those of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. The “Cassidy-mania” sparked by his success led to a series of successful albums—he recorded with artists like the Beach Boys and George Michael— and legions of teenage girls who could easily sing along to such hits as “I Think I Love You” and “I Woke Up in Love This Morning.” He continued acting after the television show concluded in 1974: Cassidy received an Emmy nomination for his role in Police Story in 1978, and most recently appeared in a 2013 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
“David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance of support you have shown him these many years,” Geffen said.