'The Partridge Family' star and singer David Cassidy hospitalized
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer and actor David Cassidy, a 1970s teen heartthrob who starred in "The Partridge Family" television show, entered a hospital this week for treatment of liver failure, his spokeswoman said on Saturday.
Cassidy's family was with him, and the 67-year-old hoped to receive a liver transplant, his publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said.
In "The Partridge Family," Cassidy played a young man named Keith whose widowed mother formed a touring pop band with her children, including himself. Cassidy's character sang lead.
The sitcom ran from 1970 to 1974 and produced a number of hit songs in real life, including "I Think I Love You," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart in November 1970.
In the show, Cassidy's stepmother, Shirley Jones, played his fictional mother, Shirley Partridge. Cassidy's own parents, Evelyn Ward and Jack Cassidy, were both actors.
On his own, Cassidy released several successful albums, beginning with his debut, "Cherish," in 1972, and drew huge crowds at concerts. His fan club in the 1970s was one of the largest of its kind.
Cassidy kept touring and recording after his role as Keith Partridge ended in 1974, performing on Broadway in New York, in London's West End and in Las Vegas.
After checking into a hospital earlier this week, Cassidy went into a medically induced coma, but he has since regained consciousness, Geffen said by phone.
The singer and actor, a Florida resident, was diagnosed with early-stage dementia about two years ago, Geffen said.
Cassidy, in an appearance on the talk show "Dr. Phil" earlier this year, opened up about the diagnosis, saying his mother and grandfather also both suffered from dementia.
"When friends of yours or family members begin to say to you, 'Remember, I just told you this two days ago?' and there's no memory of it ... That's when I began to be very concerned," Cassidy said on the program.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
