The 1970’s sitcom, The Partridge Family , spawned a teen heartthrob and numerous gold pop records. But 40 years later the TV family that played together are all grown up. The cast of The Partridge Family reunited on NBC’s Today Show Tuesday morning as part of Today’s “Great TV Families Reunited”. Noticeably absent from the reunion? Partridge Family mom Shirley Jones and oldest sister, Susan Dey.
David Cassidy (who played Keith Partridge on the show), Danny Bonaduce (Danny Partridge), Brian Forster (the show’s second Chris Partridge) and Suzanne Crough (youngest sister, Tracy Partridge) all joined Today Show host Matt Lauer for an 11 minute chat and then later sat down with Al Roker to answer some viewer questions.
Bonaduce, who has a morning show on Philadelphia radio station WYSP, was animated, as always. Cassidy talked about his immense fame in the during the height of his solo career (he apparently outsold the Beatles in the 70’s).
When Lauer asked about missing cast mates Shirley Jones and Susan Dey, Cassidy spoke about his real life step mom, Jones, saying she wanted to be there but was out on tour for 17 nights with “symphony orchestras”.
As for Dey, the cast was at a loss as to what has become of their TV sister (Dey played the all-American girl, Laurie Partridge on the show). Cassidy said Dey had been a close friend of his but he hasn’t seen or heard from her in years. The last cast mate “sighting” of Dey was about 10 years ago when Shirley Jones ran into her. Cassidy told Dey, “We still love ya”.
But Bonaduce got right to the point, saying of Dey, “We’ve all shown up here- where the hell are ya? You too good for us? ”
As for what The Partridge Family cast is up to these days, Cassidy told Al Roker that he is touring, playing casinos and Epcot. Bonaduce has his radio gig in Philadelphia. Brian Forster described himself as “semi retired, underemployed…. race car driver” and looking for his “next project. Suzanne Crough left the show biz world and is currently a manager for Office Max.
And Susan Dey? She enjoyed a long stint on the series L.A. Law in the 1980’s and she acted periodically after that as well. Dey’s IMDB profile lists her last acting gig as 2004. This may just be one Partridge who has decided to stay out of the limelight for now.
Sources:
The Today Show, NBC, March 2, 2010
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001138/
