RIP David Cassidy

After a frightening few days, actor/musician/songwriter David Cassidy has passed away at the age of 67. We have lost more than a couple folks in the last few days, but this one has hit me the hardest, perhaps because he was such a part of my childhood.

Mel Tillis was more of someone I heard about than heard from, most as a joke on "The Tonight Show;" Della Reese was a great talent, but other than "Touched by an Angel," I was for the most part unfamiliar with her; Charles Manson haunted the recesses of my formative years, was legend if nothing else, and if I'm being honest, Steve Railsback's portrayal of him in the TV movie Helter Skelter was far more frightening than the real thing I saw cavorting in his cell on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow;" and Malcolm Young of AC/DC was a great loss, but let's be honest, the band's golden age was decades ago, and that's coming from a fan. But David Cassidy, this one resounded with me.

David Cassidy was Friday night after "The Brady Bunch." And although I preferred the Bradys over "The Partridge Family," the latter was much cooler, much hipper, and more real to me. Perhaps I remember hearing somewhere that they were real, or based on real people (I know now it was the Cowsills), but the Family, their bus, and especially David Cassidy's Keith Partridge, were all way cooler than the Bradys. When David's little brother came along later, I liked him, but still remember thinking David was cooler.

One of my favorite underrated and lost TV series featured David Cassidy as an undercover cop in high school and was a backdoor pilot and spin-off from "Police Story." The premise of cop in high school worked better the first few episodes then fizzled out, but I still remember the oddly titled "David Cassidy: Man Undercover" fondly. It was the godfather of "21 Jump Street," and to this day I think it was better.

Later I discovered his music, both solo and with what passed for the Partridge Family on vinyl, the nerd in me loved his role of Mirror Master in the original 1990 "The Flash" TV series, and I still enjoy his daughter Katie on "Arrow" as both the Black Canary, and now the Black Siren.

David Cassidy was a star of TV, stage, and music, and will be missed.

The Dumpsta Players Present... Sucky 70s 2

The Dumpsta Players Present "SUCKY 70S 2!"

The Date: Wednesday, FEBRUARY 19, 2015
The Time: Doors open at 10 PM, showtime is 11 PM sharp! 21+ $1.99 cover!
The Place: Bob and Barbara's, 1509 South Street, Philadelphia PA, For info: 215-545-4511


SHAUN CASSIDY VS. GARY GLITTER ASS, GAS OR GRASS-NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE SHOW US YOUR BONEY M.!

Featuring guest sets from DJs Cosmonaut & ChattyCathy **ALL 70S DISCO, FUNK, GLAM, COCK ROCK, BUBBLEGUM POP**

Sexual revolution. No ATMs. No smart phones and plentiful cheap pot. Just some of the lovely details of the decade known as The 70's. Sleaze to the 8-track soundtrack of ten years of UFO sightings, terrariums, Music For Your Plants, polyester, pet rocks, chia pets and progressive thinking. It's the worst of the worst-rock, country, pop & disco music with goofy stories, bad singing and no rap. See the Guitar Gods of Rock and get high in the Chevy Van!

Shake your booty, blow your funky horn, love the one you're with, but don't miss - "SUCKY 70’S 2"!

A portion of proceeds from this event benefit Philly AIDS Thrift, whose goal is to sell the lovely, useful, interesting, amusing, and sometimes mysterious stuff generous people donate to their thrift store and then distribute the proceeds to local organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

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