Shaun Cassidy

Born in Hollywood on September 27, 1959, to actors Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones, Shaun Cassidy rose as a leading teen idol of the late 1970s, attaining simultaneous success on the pop charts and in television roles in the same manner his half-brother David Cassidy had earlier in the decade. He assembled his first band at age eleven. After signing with Mike Curb’s division of Warner Bros. in 1975, he released the 1976 debut single “Morning Girl,” which scored a major European hit and subjected the singer to intense fan adulation plus teen magazine scrutiny. The follow-up, a cover of Eric Carmen’s “That’s Rock ’n’ Roll,” also performed well abroad, most notably in Australia.

His first American single appeared in early 1977: a cover of the Crystals’ 1963 classic “Da Do Ron Ron.” It shot straight to number one, instantly transforming him into a heartthrob in his native country as well as overseas. His profile climbed higher with the 1977 launch of The Hardy Boys Mysteries, the weekly series drawn from the popular teen detective novels, while his self-titled debut LP reached platinum. “That’s Rock ’n’ Roll” was reissued domestically and earned gold certification. The 1977 follow-up album Born Late likewise succeeded, yielding the Top Ten hit “Hey Deanie.”

His prominence faded rapidly, however; 1978’s Under Wraps only managed to reach the lower half of the Top 40, and 1979’s Room Service did not chart at all. On 1980’s Wasp he brought in producer Todd Rundgren to craft a serious rock album that included material originally recorded by David Bowie, Pete Townshend, and David Byrne, yet the LP failed commercially and effectively ended his recording career. Television work became his main focus, beginning with the 1980 series Breaking Away and later extending to a role on the soap opera General Hospital. After appearing with David Cassidy and Petula Clark in the 1993 Broadway production Blood Brothers, he returned to television as creator and producer of the 1995 series American Gothic.