Shaun Cassidy
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Shaun Cassidy | |
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 Cassidy in 1977 | |
| Born | Shaun Paul Cassidy September 27, 1958 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Beverly Hills High School |
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| Known for | |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | Pop rock |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros. (U.S.) |
Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including American Gothic, Roar and Invasion. Cassidy was also an executive producer and writer for NBC's medical drama New Amsterdam.[1]
While in high school, Cassidy signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records, leading to his albums Shaun Cassidy, Born Late, Under Wraps, Room Service, and Wasp. Almost concurrently, Cassidy starred in the ABC television series The Hardy Boys Mysteries, as well as Breaking Away and had a stint on the daytime soap General Hospital.
While appearing on Broadway in the hit musical drama Blood Brothers, he wrote his first television pilot, American Gothic. In 2020, Cassidy returned to the stage with his one-man show The Magic of a Midnight Sky.[2] Cassidy is the eldest son of Academy Award–winning actress Shirley Jones and Tony Award-winning actor Jack Cassidy.[3] He is older brother of actor Patrick Cassidy, the younger half-brother of singer and actor David Cassidy and uncle of actress Katie Cassidy.[4]
Early life, family and education
[edit]Shaun Cassidy grew up in Los Angeles, California and New York City; he is the son of Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. In addition to an elder half-brother, David Cassidy, he has two younger brothers, Patrick and Ryan Cassidy.[5] He attended boarding school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania at the Solebury School in Solebury Township, and graduated from Beverly Hills High School.
Career
[edit]Singer and recording artist
[edit]
While still in high school, Cassidy signed a contract with Mike Curb's Curb Records division of Warner Bros. Records and began recording music. He scored a couple of hit singles in several countries, leading to an American release of his first solo album, Shaun Cassidy, in 1977. The multi-platinum album netted him a number-one U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards.[6][7] The Eric Carmen–penned "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (which had already been a hit in Australia and Europe) was the follow-up single and peaked at No. 3. His popularity continued with the concurrent arrival of his television series, The Hardy Boys Mysteries (1977–1979).
Cassidy's next album Born Late netted the hit "Hey Deanie" (#7), also written by Carmen, and a remake of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic?" became a moderate hit for Cassidy, peaking at No. 31.
Cassidy had released two successful albums, but by the release of his third album, 1978's million-seller Under Wraps, AM radio was in decline[8] and his teen-star appeal had begun to fade. His next album, Room Service, failed to chart on the US Billboard 200. Cassidy tried a different musical approach for his final release, 1980's Wasp. This album was more rock/pop-oriented and produced by Todd Rundgren with the group Utopia as the backing band. It featured songs written by Rundgren, Cassidy, and cover versions of songs including David Bowie's "Rebel, Rebel" and The Who's "So Sad About Us" among others.
Actor
[edit]
Cassidy concentrated on stage acting for most of the 1980s and early 1990s. He appeared on Broadway and West End productions such as Mass Appeal and Bus Stop, as well as the American premiere of Pass/Fail at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Cassidy won a Drama-Logue Award for his work in Mark Sheriden's Diary of a Hunger Strike at the Los Angeles Theater Center, and he appeared opposite his half-brother David in the Broadway production of Blood Brothers (which successfully ran for over a year on Broadway, landing Cassidy on the cover of People magazine for the third time). It was during this production that Cassidy wrote his first television pilot, American Gothic, opening the door to a long-term contract with Universal Television.
Writer and producer
[edit]Since then, Cassidy has created, written, and produced numerous shows for network and cable including American Gothic (1995–1996, produced with Sam Raimi), Roar (1997, starring Heath Ledger), Cover Me (2000–2001), Invasion (2005–2006), Ruby & The Rockits (2009, starring his brothers Patrick and David) and New Amsterdam (2018–2023, starring Ryan Eggold) on NBC.[1]
In 2021, Cassidy took his one-man show The Magic of a Midnight Sky to the stage, playing to standing-room-only crowds nationwide, his first live music performance in almost forty years.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Cassidy has been married three times and has seven children. He married Ann Pennington, a model and former Playboy playmate, in 1979 and divorced in 1993; they had two children together.[9][citation needed]
Cassidy married actress Susan Diol in 1995 and divorced in 2003; they have one daughter.[10][citation needed]
In 2004, he married producer Tracey Lynne Turner; they have four children.[11]
Discography
[edit]- Shaun Cassidy (1976)
- Born Late (1977)
- Under Wraps (1978)
- Room Service (1979)
- Wasp (1980)
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Born of Water | Christopher Wentworth Hewlitt | |
| 1977–1979 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | Joe Hardy | Main cast (46 episodes) |
| 1978 | The Goldie Hawn Special | Himself | Television special |
| 1979 | Like Normal People | Roger Meyers | Television film |
| 1980–1981 | Breaking Away | Dave Stoller | Main cast (8 episodes) |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | Dave Dischinger | Episode: "Breakfast with Les and Bess" |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Chad Singer | Episode: "Murder in a Minor Key" |
| General Hospital | Dusty Walker | 11 episodes | |
| 1988 | Once Upon a Texas Train | Cotton | Television film |
| Matlock | Craig Gentry | 2 episodes | |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Dale Thurston | Episode: "Hippocritic Oath" | |
| Roots: The Gift | Edmund Parker Jr. | Television film | |
| 1995 | Your Studio and You | Himself | Short film |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Strays | Television film, also co-producer |
| 1994 | Midnight Run for Your Life | Television film |
| 1995 | American Gothic | 8 episodes, also supervising producer |
| 1997 | Roar | 5 episodes, also creator and executive producer |
| Players | Episode: "Con Job", also creator | |
| 1998 | Hollyweird | Television pilot, also creator and executive producer |
| 2000 | Cover Me | 9 episodes, also creator and executive producer |
| 2001 | The Agency | 3 episodes, also executive producer |
| 2003 | Cold Case | Executive producer |
| 2004 | The Mountain | 2 episodes, also executive producer |
| 2005–2006 | Invasion | 12 episodes, also creator and executive producer |
| 2008 | Inseperable | Television pilot, also executive producer |
| 2009 | Ruby & the Rockits | 2 episodes, also creator and executive producer |
| 2011–2012 | Blue Bloods | Consulting producer |
| 2012 | The Frontier | Executive producer |
| 2014 | Hysteria | Television pilot, also executive producer |
| 2017 | Emerald City | 2 episodes, also executive producer |
| Redlners | Television pilot, also executive producer | |
| 2018–2023 | New Amsterdam | 8 episodes, also executive producer |
| 2022 | Unbroken | Television pilot, also executive producer |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Shaun Cassidy". IMDb.
- ^ a b "Magic of the Midnight Sky". Shaun Cassidy.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Murder, She Wrote (TV Series 1984–1996) - IMDb. Retrieved 2024-10-07 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Shaun Cassidy: Biography". Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2011.[verification needed]
- ^ "Shaun Cassidy, All Grown Up". Oprah.com.
- ^ "WB Rides Sizzling Singles Sales and Platinum LPs to Best Year". Billboard. 1977-12-10. pp. 8, 22, 24, 34, 74.
- ^ McPhate, Tim (2014-12-02). "GRAMMY Rewind: 20th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Recording Academy.
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen (2002-03-10). "Television/Radio; When AM Ruled Music, and WABC Was King". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ Allis, Tim (1 November 1993). "The Boys Are Back". People.
- ^ "Episode 388: Shaun Cassidy". Rock Solid. 20 December 2018.
- ^ Shannon, Gary (16 September 2011). "Where Are They Now? Shaun Cassidy." 92.9 The Lake.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Shaun Cassidy at IMDb
- Shaun Cassidy at the Internet Broadway Database
- Shaun Cassidy at AllMusic
- Shaun Cassidy discography at Discogs
- 1958 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American singer-songwriters
- 20th-century American male singers
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- American male child actors
- American male pop singers
- American male screenwriters
- American male singer-songwriters
- American male television actors
- American male television writers
- American pop rock singers
- Television writers from California
- Beverly Hills High School alumni
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- Singers from Los Angeles
- Singer-songwriters from California
- Television producers from California
- Warner Records artists
- Writers from Los Angeles