On Monday, David Cassidy reveals to People magazine that he has dementia. During his performances on the weekend, he just forgot his words and became physically unstable. David has been widely popular as the Teen Idol in 1970s and for his famous role in “The Partridge Family”. He made his successful career in both acting as well as singing.
Cassidy’s performance in Los Angeles raised concern about his health
The revelation of dementia soon came two days after his performance in California. He disclosed that he was struggling with dementia, a brain disorder that destroys memory.
This 66 year old actor, singer and writer, has told that he would stop touring now as musician, for focusing completely on his health. His publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen, confirmed this information of Cassidy being diagnosed with dementia but did not give any further details. He also said that he had seen his grandfather as well as mother suffering from dementia.
David had a family history of dementia
David Cassidy is the son of actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward. While his father suffered from bipolar disorder and died in 1976 in a fire when he had fallen asleep with a lit cigarette, his mother died in 2012. He belonged to Hollywood family and his stepmother Shirley Jones also co-starred with David Cassidy in “The Partridge Family”.
He had a big hit in his career with “How Can I Be Sure?” Other hits include “I Think I love You” and “Cherish”. His mother was also affected with dementia. He said that he was denying but knew in his heart that his health was being affected. His family history of dementia was always daunting to him.
David had announced retirement at the end of 2017
The ex-teen idol David Cassidy says he wants to enjoy his life and focus on himself. While he was performing on Saturday night in the west of Los Angeles in California, it raised health concerns. In the recent times, David has been struggling with drinking and financial problems.
In an interview with CNN, he had told that he was an alcoholic. Between the year 2010 and 2014, he got arrested for drunken driving and as part of the sentence, rehab was ordered in 2014. He had been arrested multiple times for drunken driving and after his was arrested for third time, he wife Sue Shifrin Cassidy filed for separation. In the year 2015, Cassidy had to auction Florida house after bankruptcy was filed. Also, in October 2015, he was charged with hit-and-run crash. After seeing a fall in his career as a solo singer, he appeared in various stage shows. He was also a member of a TV reality show “Celebrity Apprentice”.
On his website, David Cassidy had recently announced that he would be retiring, after 49 years of touring for concerts, by the end of 2017. In the message he had posted on 7th Feb, he expressed his gratitude for his fans and their love towards him. And then he said it would be difficult for him now and he would be disappearing forever.