Teen pop idol David Cassidy reveals he is battling dementia
Cassidy played to packed stadiums in the early 1970s. Photo: Getty
Former Partridge Family star David Cassidy says he is struggling with dementia.
The 66-year-old told People magazine his family had a history of the memory-ravaging disease and he had sensed “this was coming”.
He said he had decided to stop touring as a musician in order to focus on his health and “enjoy life”.
Cassidy’s admission comes after TMZ released a video of the 1970s teen idol apparently slurring his words, forgetting lyrics and almost falling off the stage during a show in southern California at the weekend.
“A part of me always knew this was coming.” Photo: Getty.
Cassidy, who played Keith Partridge on the hit ’70s show, The Partridge Family, told People that he had watched both his grandfathers suffer with the disease, as well as his mother, Evelyn Ward, aged 89.
“I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming,” he told People.
“In the end, the only way I knew she (his mother) recognised me is with one single tear that would drop from her eye every time I walked into the room. … I feared I would end up that way.”
Cassidy decided to stop touring to concentrate on his health and happiness.
“I want to focus on what I am, who I am and how I’ve been without any distractions,” he told the magazine. “I want to love. I want to enjoy life.”
Cassidy was a huge teen idol in the 1970s, recording 15 solo and Partridge Family records, each of which sold more than one million copies.
His concerts were often the scenes of frenzy, with one concert in England in 1974 resulting in a crush which injured 800 people and in 1973 played to six sellout concerts at Wembley Stadium over one weekend.
His 1974 tour of Australia unleashed such mass hysteria, there were calls for him to be deported.
The Partridge Family ran from 1970-1974. Photo: Getty.
Cassidy has had troubles in the past, admitting in 2008 that he had an alcohol problem, and was arrested twice for drink-driving in 2010 and 2013. He also filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
Cassidy is the stepson of actor and fellow Partridge Family star Shirley Jones.
– with AAP
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