As Long As There's You /Tony Romeo
On the pic there is Holy Trinity Church in West Orange , NJ , where David's grandmother was the head of the senior choir , and DC became a member of that choir too , as soon as he was big enough.
His mother , Evelyn Ward was born in 1923 in West Orange , and her ancestors were among the founders of Newark, New Jersey.
A few days ago I published a post on DC's last concerts in the UK in 2012 , and at the end of it I wrote that it was also a year when his mother died. And I've thought that maybe I should write a post on her . Of course , like every DC fan I know a lot about Evelyn , from DC's books , his interviews, I've seen This Is Your Life in which she took part, and there are some pics.. But she had also her own career , and I've tried to find sth more about it . She was not only David's mother and Jack's first wife.
Let's start with that beautiful song (great Tony Romeo again) David/Keith sings for his screen mother , a real life stepmother, Shirley Jones.
Recently I've listen to a Shirley's radio interview from 2009 , Peter Robertson asked her if DC'd confided in her after his retirement in 1974. And she said 'No..he confided in his mother. They were very close.' . I can imagine how hard it was for Evelyn , not being able to help him , because you can't really help an adult child , especially someone with such problems like DC had, someone depressive and also someone who's become a superstar. She tried : ' 'My mother saw me spinning out , drowing in my sorrows , and made a couple of attempts to intervene, I didn't want to hear it.(..) (She) actually moved in with me for a couple of months , but that was a mistake." (David Cassidy : 'Could It Be Forever?' , 2007)
This is a video from 1991 , Geraldo Show (Sep23rd) with David phone conversation with Evelyn , she is so natural , kind and caring.
She had a difficult childhood too. Born in 1923 , the only surviving child of Ethel and Fred Ward. Their 5 other children die as infants. And they were scared they would lose her too, When she was ten , she got very ill , nearly died , and as a result they protected her later too much. It didn't help Evelyn in her life , private and professional. I've thought what I could do in her place , after a divorce. How to explain it to a 3 year old child. My grandson is 3 now ,I can't imagine telling him..And we must remember that Evelyn had to earn money , had to take Jack to court a couple of times because he refused to pay for David , and of course a divorce was a devastating experience for her too. Being a divorcee in West Orange , it was a kind of stigma there in the 50s , and she really loved Jack Cassidy , he was the love of her life. Not only David was abandoned.
I admire her courage , she wanted to perform and she started as a teen , like later her son. And it was really something , Evelyn was a dancer in a famous dance company and she performed at the glamorous The Roxy Theatre in New York..She made her Broadway debut in 1943 , being just 20 , and before she gave birth to her son in 1950 , she performed in 5 musicals. She also appeared on tv, being a regular on the CBS game show 'Hold It Please' and on the ABC variety series 'The College Bowl' with Chico Marx. There are two episodes of that show on YT , this one is much worse quality, but with more Evelyn in it
In the 50s she worked at the regional theatre , that way she met her second husband , a known director Elliot Silverstein.(Elliot , he still lives , born in 1927 , I'd love to hear an interview with him ) , she performed at night clubs in New York and Las Vegas , on several known tv series in the 50s and the 60s..And this is Evelyn Ward on tv series called Mike Hammer , from 1959 .The scenes with her are at 13.03 - 16.00 and 19.00- 20.00 minutes.
But she didn't make the career she dreamed of. For the media she was always Evelyn Ward , David Cassidy's mother..Her death..he cried .. when he told about it 5 years later on 'The Last Session'
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Holy_Trinity_Episcopal_Church%2C_West_Orange_jeh.jpg
Comments
Post a Comment