Little Known Behind-The-Scenes Facts about 'The Partridge Family'

The union of a television comedy with the business of releasing albums with their songs has been one of the biggest industries of the '60s, and this musical comedy that showed the life of a single mother with her singing children became an instant success.

The show was based on the Partridge family, leading by widow Shirley Partridge, who leaves her job to take care of her five children. The story of a family that forms a band traveling on a school bus across the country became the favorite series of television.

Despite being a success and starring its protagonists, especially David Cassidy, who became a teen idol, behind the scenes, not everything was perfect. We have a few exciting and little known facts about this remembered and beloved show.

DAVID CASSIDY WAS TIRED OF THE SHOW AND WANTED TO MOVE ON

Despite the success of the show and his brilliant solo musical career, David Cassidy was tired of the image of the perfect boy who projected the show. With a difficult decision, he granted an interview with a controversial magazine that brought him the problems and freedom he wanted.

In addition to showing off his party habits and drinking problems, Cassidy rebelled at the control of the studio by posing naked for the cover of the magazine, in a photograph taken by renowned photographer Anne Leibovitz.

It immediately took effect, as great sponsors of the show withdrew their support, and television companies were reluctant to hire him. He had committed a kind of professional suicide, but at 21 years old, he could now decide where to direct his career.

DAVID AND SHIRLEY JONES WERE RELATIVES IN REAL LIFE

David Cassidy's father was married to Shirley, which made her his stepmother. At first, they didn't get along because David and his father had a close relationship, and he saw Shirley as an intruder.

The marriage of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones had three children: Shaun, Patrick, David's half brothers. Later, living together during the recordings led them to overcome their differences.

JACK CASSIDY WAS JEALOUS OF THEIR SUCCESS

The incredible and exorbitant success achieved by the series and the sale of the discs made both David and Shirley a place in the superstar status. Jack couldn't handle the situation correctly, and when his jealousy became unbearable, the marriage to Shirley ended.

David also talked about his father's problems with alcohol and anger, in addition to frequently expressing his jealousy for his teenage son.

SUSAN DEY HAD PROBLEMS WITH HER SELF-IMAGE

Susan played the role of Laurie Partridge and represented her nationally. However, Susan felt insecure with her physique and began a diet that led her to lose a lot of weight. She only realized how bad she was when one of her brothers in the series told her she looked terribly thin.

To add sorrows to her life, she was in love with David, who only saw her as a sister. Being teenagers and companions, David used to tell her about the problems with the fans who chased him and sometimes managed to catch him, which made Susan suffer despite she never told him of her feelings.

Shirley got tired of seeing the girl suffer from the stories of the adventures David told her and told the boy the secret that Susan had kept so well. After the series was over, the couple had an affair, but things didn't work out between them, and they never met again.

A LOT OF SUCCESS AND LITTLE MONEY

No one doubts the success of the series and the popularity that the actors achieved with it, and anyone would think they received a lot of money for it. However, the truth is that their income was quite modest.

David Cassidy only received $ 600 a week when the series was already very famous, and he received almost no money for the sale of records and promotional material with his image. The boy's representative managed to renegotiate the contract, with better conditions, realizing that he signed it when he was under 18.

NOMINATIONS AND FAME

They were the only cast members who sang, and as incredible as it may seem, the simple and catchy songs that David and Shirley performed achieved such popularity and preference in the audience that they moved The Beatles from the first place.

That happened with the song "I Think I Love You" that was released with The Partridge Family Album in 1970, displacing the well-known "Let It Be."

REAL LIFE AND CARTOONS

The story of the show is based on "The Cowsills," a family band consisting of seven children, six boys, a girl and their mother, who had several successes, in 1967, and became the source of the idea of a television version.

At the end of the original series, they tried to keep the magic alive with an animated series called "Partridge Family 2200 A.D." then they changed the name to "The Partridge Family In Outer Space," the show was similar to "The Jetsons," but a musical. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season.