David Cassidy, the teen and pre-teen idol who starred in the 1970s sitcom B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� and sold millions of records as the musical groupB次元官网网址檚 lead singer, died Tuesday at age 67.

Cassidy, who announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with dementia, died surrounded by his family, a family statement released by publicist JoAnn Geffen said. No further details were immediately available, but Geffen said on Saturday that Cassidy was in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, hospital suffering from organ failure.

B次元官网网址淒avid died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long,B次元官网网址� the statement said. B次元官网网址淭hank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� aired from 1970-74 and was a fictional variation of the B次元官网网址�60s performers the Cowsills, intended at first as a vehicle for Shirley Jones, the Oscar-winning actress and CassidyB次元官网网址檚 stepmother.

Jones played Shirley Partridge, a widow with five children with whom she forms a popular act that travels on a psychedelic bus.

The cast also featured Cassidy as eldest son and family heartthrob Keith Partridge; Susan Dey, later of B次元官网网址淟.A. LawB次元官网网址� fame, as sibling Laurie Partridge and Danny Bonaduce as sibling Danny Partridge.

It was an era for singing families B次元官网网址� the Osmonds, the Jacksons. B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� never cracked the top 10 in TV ratings, but the recordings under their name, mostly featuring Cassidy, Jones and session players, produced real-life musical hits and made Cassidy a real-life musical superstar.

The PartridgesB次元官网网址� best known song, B次元官网网址淚 Think I Love You,B次元官网网址� spent three weeks on top of the Billboard chart at a time when other hit singles included James TaylorB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淔ire and RainB次元官网网址� and Smokey Robinson and the MiraclesB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Tears of a Clown.B次元官网网址�

The group also reached the top 10 with B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l Meet You HalfwayB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淒oesnB次元官网网址檛 Somebody Want to be WantedB次元官网网址� and Cassidy had a solo hit with B次元官网网址淐herish.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚n two years, David Cassidy has swept hurricane-like into the pre-pubescent lives of millions of American girls,B次元官网网址� Rolling Stone magazine noted in 1972. B次元官网网址淟eaving: six and a half million long-playing albums and singles; 44 television programs; David Cassidy lunch boxes; David Cassidy bubble gum; David Cassidy coloring books and David Cassidy pens; not to mention several millions of teen magazines, wall stickers, love beads, posters and photo albums.B次元官网网址�

CassidyB次元官网网址檚 appeal faded after the show went off the air, although he continued to tour, record and act over the next 40 years, his albums including B次元官网网址淩omanceB次元官网网址� and the awkwardly titled B次元官网网址淒idnB次元官网网址檛 You Used To Be?B次元官网网址�

He had a hit with B次元官网网址淚 Write the SongsB次元官网网址� before Barry ManilowB次元官网网址檚 chart-topping version and success overseas with B次元官网网址淭he Last Kiss,B次元官网网址� featuring backing vocals from Cassidy admirer George Michael. He made occasional stage and television appearances, including an Emmy-nominated performance on B次元官网网址淧olice Story.B次元官网网址�

Meanwhile, B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� remained popular in re-runs and Cassidy, who kept his dark bangs and boyish appearance well into middle age, frequently turned up for reunions and spoke often about his early success.

B次元官网网址淪o many people come up to me and talk to me about the impact it (the show) had,B次元官网网址� he told Arsenio Hall in 1990.

Even while B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� was still in primetime, Cassidy worried that he was mistaken for the wholesome character he played.

He posed naked for Rolling Stone in 1972, when he confided that he had dropped acid as a teenager and smoked pot in front of the magazineB次元官网网址檚 reporter as he watched an episode of B次元官网网址淭he Partridge FamilyB次元官网网址� and mocked his own acting.

Cassidy maintained an exhausting schedule during the showB次元官网网址檚 run, filming during the week and performing live shows over the weekend, but had plenty of time to indulge himself.

In the memoir B次元官网网址淐ould It Be Forever,B次元官网网址� he wrote of his prolific sex life and of rejecting DeyB次元官网网址檚 advances because she lacked the B次元官网网址渟lutty aspect of a female that I always found so attractive.B次元官网网址�

Cassidy would endure personal and financial troubles. He was married and divorced three times, battled alcoholism, was arrested for drunk driving and in 2015 filed for bankruptcy. Cassidy had two children, musician Beau Cassidy and actress Katie Cassidy, with whom he acknowledged having a distant relationship.

B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 her father. I was her biological father but I didnB次元官网网址檛 raise her,B次元官网网址� he told People magazine in 2017. B次元官网网址淪he has a completely different life.B次元官网网址�

Cassidy himself was estranged from his father. Born in New York City in 1950, he was the son of actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward and half-brother of entertainer Shaun Cassidy. David CassidyB次元官网网址檚 parents split up when he was five and he would long express regret about Jack Cassidy, who soon married Shirley Jones, being mostly absent from his life. David Cassidy stayed with his mother and by the early 1960s had moved to Los Angeles.

Kicked out of high school for truancy, David Cassidy dreamed of becoming an actor and had made appearances on B次元官网网址淏onanza,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址滻ronsideB次元官网网址� and other programs before producers at ABC television asked him to audition for B次元官网网址淭he Partridge Family,B次元官网网址� unaware that he could sing and intending at first to have him mime songs to someone elseB次元官网网址檚 voice.

Cassidy, who only learned during tryouts that Jones would play his mother, worried that Keith Partridge would be a B次元官网网址渞eal comedownB次元官网网址� from his previous roles.

B次元官网网址淚 mean, how much could an actor do with a line like, B次元官网网址楬i, Mom, IB次元官网网址檓 home from school,B次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址楶lease pass the milk?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he wrote in his memoir. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 see how it could do much for me. After all, I wasnB次元官网网址檛 the star of it. Shirley had top billing; I was just one of the kids.B次元官网网址�

Hillel Italie, The Associated Press