David Cassidy reveals he has dementiaPublished February 23. 2017 8:26AM Travis
M. Andrews, The Washington PostDavid Cassidy, best known as the well-coiffed
heartthrob who starred in the 1970s series "The Partridge Family," watched his
family members succumb one by one to dementia.First, his grandfather slowly
lost his mind to the disease.Then his mother, the Broadway and television
actress Evelyn Ward who Cassidy once said "basically raised me for years on her
own," was diagnosed with Alzheimer's around 2002. Eight years later, Cassidy
said she "can't walk, can't talk and lives in a nappy."In 2012, Ward died at 89
years old "after suffering from Alzheimer's-related dementia," according to the
Hollywood Reporter."In the end, the only way I knew she recognized me is with
one single tear that would drop from her eye every time I walked into the
room," Cassidy told People. "I feared I would end up that way."Just before
Ward's death, Cassidy became an advocate for those with Alzheimer's, speaking
at nationwide engagements for Alzheimer's and dementia organizations and
shooting public service announcements."People don't really want to talk about
it, but we need to, which is why I'm going to be speaking publicly about it,"
Cassidy told the Daily Mail.Now, one of Cassidy's biggest fears has come to
fruition. In an interview with People magazine published on Monday, he
announced that at 66 years old, he is suffering from dementia."I was in denial,
but a part of me always knew this was coming," Cassidy told People.At the end
of 2017, Cassidy, who has spent the past several years touring the world and
playing solo songs alongside tunes from "The Partridge Family," has decided to
quit playing live shows to focus on his health."I want to focus on what I am,
who I am and how I've been without any distractions," he told People. "I want
to love. I want to enjoy life."As he wrote on his website:"I will always be
eternally grateful for the love and support you've shown me. I still love very
much to play and perform live. But it's much more difficult for me now."I'm not
going to vanish or disappear forever. I'll be able to communicate much more
through my website and my Facebook page. As you can imagine this has been
truthfully THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE."I'm
eternally grateful to each and every single one of you.I'm going to play live,
everywhere around North America, through 2017. I hope you will find a way to
come and be part of my celebration!"The revelation comes after a disastrous
weekend show in Agoura Hills, Calif., during which Cassidy couldn't remember
the lyrics to many of his older songs. In videos from the show obtained by TMZ,
Cassidy appears to slur his words and falls off the stage. He attributed the
problems to his burgeoning dementia.Sadly for the former teen idol, this is the
latest in a string of life's unfortunate curveballs.The child star has spent
much of his middle age battling alcoholism, much like his father, actor Jack
Cassidy. From 2010 to 2014, he was arrested three times for driving while
intoxicated. The final two arrests came within six months of each other,
finally leading him to rehab in South Florida.A month after this last arrest,
his third wife Sue Shifrin-Cassidy filed for divorce, according to TMZ. In an
interview with Piers Morgan, Cassidy attributed the divorce in some part to his
drinking."If I take another drink, I'm going to die, physically, mentally,
emotionally, spiritually. I'm dead . . . It's very humbling and it's also
humiliating," he told Morgan, before adding that admitting to his disease gave
him some hope.
