Love Is All That I Ever Needed. Chapter 34. David Cassidy. A Pop Icon
David didn't slow down. The next two years were one of the most stressful in his life.
He became addicted to pills, antidepressants and analgesics.
He separated from his wife for
a long six months. It was only his fault and in his book he called it ‘mid-madness and mid-life
crisis’, and that it was especially painful for Sue.
It’s not difficult to imagine what he meant
and he nearly lost his family because of it.
David behaved like a true workaholic. His career
and fame, the adulation and being a star became more important than a happy family life. He
felt like a fish in a water in the artificial world of Las Vegas, admired and loved there. He wanted
to become a legend ...
Immediately after David’s contract with MGM ended, he started preparing a new show, ‘The
Rat Pack Is Back’. It opened on July 18, 1999 at the 330- seat Starlight Lounge at the Desert
Inn Hotel.
The original Rat Pack was made up of Las Vegas legends - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis, Jr and Joey Bishop. Actors, singers, womanizers and heavy drinkers, their
shows became legendary.
The bad boys from the 60s. Like Jack Cassidy.
Both David and his
father loved Bobby Darin’s music, he also was a Rat Pack member.
David wrote the show with his friend, a known TV screenwriter Don Reo. It was about one
evening at the club where Frank Sinatra celebrated his 46th birthday and The Rat Pack and
their young protegee, Bobby Darin, performed and sang their most famous songs.
The Desert Inn was an iconic Las Vegas hotel opened in 1950. A year later, Frank Sinatra
debuted there. In the 60s Howard Hughes lived at the hotel for 4 years. David’s show was the
last successful one in that legendary hotel. It was demolished in 2000.
David Cassidy co-wrote, produced and directed the show. He said: ‘We are not doing
impersonations. This show is going to pay homage to the time and spirit of who those guys
were. The talent is what’s going to carry this, and it’s what carried Frank, Dean and Sammy..’
And :’They were the bad boys. Smoking, drinking and gambling was their motto when they
weren’t boozing and hanging out with broads. It was a world created here in Las Vegas for
them to live the life they wanted to live.’...
David left himself the role of Bobby Darin, and he looked sensational, elegant and sexy in a
posh suit. Bobby Darin, like David, achieved early stardom. He was a teen idol, very talented
actor, wonderful singer, multi instrumentalist and a songwriter. David sang Darin’s greatest
hits, ‘Beyond The Sea’ and ‘Mack the Knife’. He genuinely liked those times, was fascinated
by the Rat Pack’s legend, he loved those songs, and the atmosphere of the nightclubs of the
60s. He didn’t create the show just for money.
‘The Rat Pack Is Back’ was a sellout, even though the tickets weren’t cheap. From the start,
there were problems with the families of the original Rat Pack. Tina Sinatra watched the show
and liked it, but her lawyer kept sending letters threatening litigation. It seems the families
wanted to have some money too.
David was disappointed and saddened by the families’ attitudes: ‘I do not understand it. We
cleared the rights to do this before we started. We were told you can’t use their names or
likenesses, and we’re not. It’s a musical play that makes a lot of people happy. Now, this.’
David owned the U.S. trademark for ‘The Rat Pack Is Back’. The show was moved to the
Sahara Hotel for three years. In 2005 it was scheduled to open on December 12, 2005 at the
Super Club in New York. There were previews in November, but at the very last moment the
show was canceled. Probably there were some problems with unions. The cast learned just
two days before the premiere that David left home.
The end of the decade brought David Cassidy a lot of work, but also money and recognition.
Two TV movies about him and his iconic TV show were made.
The first one, called ‘Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story’ was aired in November
1999 on ABC. Rodney Scott played David.
The story was told from Danny Bonaduce’s
viewpoint, and was narrated by him.
The movie got mixed reviews, but quite a lot of critics
found the film entertaining. “The approach to the brief history of the ABC show is dryly ironic
and just spoofy enough to be funny without wearing thin.(..) The tone is bemused and a little
corny. It portrays David as a cynical pop star who wants to be a hard rocker and Susan as
love-struck over Cassidy.(..) It’s a surprisingly entertaining Saturday night movie.’
When David Cassidy learned that NBC was planning a biopic about him, he wanted to have
some input on it even though he was extremely busy in Las Vegas. He became an executive
producer of the upcoming movie and suggested his friend, Malcolm McDowell for the role of
Jack Cassidy. He also re-recorded The Partridge Family hits for it.
It was a very moving experience for David because he met again with the great musicians
who originally played with him in the 70s, and what’s more, they were working at the same
studio and had a lot of fun together.
The film was called ‘David Cassidy Story’ with a popular actor Andrew Kavovit in the title role.
Born in 1971, he was a nice looking man, had long hair, not as skinny like David and more
muscular. It wouldn’t have been important if he’d had sex appeal. But he didn’t. He also
couldn’t sing or play.
The film wasn’t good. It was also not very truthful. Not a word about some people who were
really important to David and his career. No groupies. The way Kay was portrayed. His second
marriage or Shaun Cassidy weren’t mentioned at all.
What happened to David Cassidy's
sense of humor? He worked very hard when he was a teen idol but also had his share of fun
too. It looks like Las Vegas really changed him, and his ego never was bigger.
From a review : “Most of the time he (David) comes off like the sweetest doe-eyed dearie, a young man
perpetually poised to help old ladies cross the street. The film is mess-sloppily scripted, shot
and slapped together. Kavovit does a good job playing Cassidy. Cassidy’s real life step brother
Shaun is never mentioned. That seems odd.’. Another one - "Memo to David Cassidy: I think you bore me. I woke up annoyed this morning. (..) some of
us get a wee bit tired of hearing someone whine about how hard it is to have money, fame,
and groupies.’
‘The film looks cheesy, the writing and performances slapdash, it’s emotionally uninvolving
and it obviously was made on the cheap. But don’t miss it. As a work of sheer ego, it must be
seen to be believed. (..) The humorless and self absorbed former celebrity. He has the gall to
insert himself into the movie’s final scene, once again it positions Cassidy as a teen-idol pretty
boy. It’s the exact image he repeatedly has claimed to despise.’
Harsh words, but it’s
impossible not to agree with them...
David Cassidy : ‘Could It Be Forever?’, 2007, p.390
Comments
Post a Comment