Jack Cassidy
b. John Cassidy, 5 March 1927, Richmond Hill, New York, USA, d. 12 March 1976, Los Angeles, California, USA. A versatile actor and singer who, even in his later years, seemed to retain his youthful appearance, Cassidy made his Broadway debut at the age of 17 in the chorus of the 1943 Cole Porter - Ethel Merman hit musical Something For The Boys. More chorus work followed in Sadie Thompson, The Firebrand Of Florence, Around The World, Music In My Heart, and Inside USA, before Cassidy played a more prominent role, along with others on the brink of success such as Tom Ewell and Alice Pearce, in the stylish revue Small Wonder (1948). He was in the short-lived Alive And Kicking in 1950, and two years later took over the part of Seabee Richard West in South Pacific. Also in 1952, Cassidy had his first leading role as the suave Chick Miller in Wish You Were Here, a show that attracted a great deal of publicity owing to the fact that it had a swimming-pool built into the stage. Cassidy introduced the appealing title song, and also sang the underrated ‘Where Did The Night Go?’. He subsequently played opposite Betty Oakes in the offbeat Sandhog (1954), co-starred with Carol Lawrence in a musical adaptation of James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon called Shangri-La, and appeared in various musical productions in the US regions and Europe, before returning to Broadway in 1963 with the charming She Loves Me. While Barbara Cook and Daniel Massey resolved their complicated relationship, Cassidy, playing the unctuous ‘resident ladies man’ Steven Kodaly, pursued Barbara Baxley with ‘Ilona’ and ‘Grand Knowing You’. His performance was rewarded with the 1964 Tony Award for Supporting/Featured Actor in a musical.
During the remainder of the 60s, Cassidy had another ultra-smooth role as Hollywood leading man Byron Prong in Fade Out-Fade In (1964), was egotistical columnist Max Mencken in the comic strip spoof It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Superman (1966), and played Irishman Phineas Flynn in the Civil War musical Maggie Flynn (1968). In the title role of the latter show was Shirley Jones, the former star of films such as Oklahoma!, Carousel and The Music Man, who was Cassidy’s second wife. Cassidy himself also appeared in a number of films, notably as John Barrymore in W.C. Fields And Me and as Damon Runyon in The Private Files Of J. Edgar Hoover. After his Broadway career declined, he worked in regional theatre, both straight and musical, and appeared on television and in nightclubs. He died at the age of 49 in a fire at his Los Angeles apartment. Three of his sons, Patrick Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy (from his marriage to Shirley Jones), along with David Cassidy (from his earlier marriage to Evelyn Ward), are also in showbusiness.
© TiVo
Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Let Go Let God
Gospel - Released by Fair Trade Services on 5 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Broadway Cast Collection, Vol. 1: Richard Rodgers – Babes in Arms (1951 Studio Cast) & Flower Drum Song [Original Broadway Cast] [Remastered 2015]
Lehman Engel, Mary Martin, Jack Cassidy, Salvatore Dell'Isola, Mardi Bayne
Musical Theatre - Released by Jube Legends on 5 Feb 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Speak of Love / With Love from Hollywood
Classical - Released by Masterworks Broadway on 9 Aug 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Kiss In The Dark
Pop - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 9 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Babes in Arms
Mary Martin, Mardi Bayne, Jack Cassidy
Film Soundtracks - Released by Music Manager on 9 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Cradle in Bethlehem
Lounge - Released by Independent on 22 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Run At The Giant
Pop - Released by Fair Trade Services on 14 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cinema
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Stage Door on 11 Jul 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Song Of Victory
Miscellaneous - Released by JOG MUSIC on 3 Nov 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hit The Road To Dreamland
Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Shirley Jones & Jack Cassidy
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Freewings on 18 Dec 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Speaking of Love
International Pop - Released by Music Manager on 22 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wanting You
Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Shirley Jones & Jack Cassidy
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Freewings on 18 Dec 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo