Partridge Family heartthrob David Cassidy dies

David Cassidy, the teen heartthrob of the 1970s, died Tuesday in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., hospital. He was 67. Doctors diagnosed Cassidy earlier this year with dementia, and his publicist confirmed Saturday he had been admitted to the hospital with organ failure. Cassidy shot to fame as a member of The Partridge Family, a television show about a single mom forming a traveling act with her five kids. It ran from 1970 to 1974 but never garnered top ratings. Cassidy’s real success came through the popularity of the singles and albums he recorded as part of the show. The group’s best-known song, “I Think I Love You,” spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard chart in November 1970. Other popular songs for the group, for which Cassidy served as the lead singer, included “I’ll Meet You Halfway” and “Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted.” Cassidy’s hot flash of fame faded after The Partridge Family went off the air, but he continued to record music and participate in reunion tours, and won new fans when the show began airing reruns.