‘The Partridge Family’: What Did They Do After the Show Ended?
When The Partridge Family aired its first episode on Sept. 25, 1970, the entire cast almost instantly rocketed to stardom. For four seasons, the family rocked TV airwaves, and even after they hung up those matching outfits in 1974, the Patridges never wandered too far from our hearts.
But what did the cast members do in the decades since they last got happy? Fifty-four years after the premiere, let’s check out where the cast members of The Partridge Family landed after the show ended.
Shirley Jones
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Years before she became matriarch Shirley Partridge, Oscar winner Shirley Jones was a musical theater icon, most famous for her iconic big-screen role as Marian the librarian in 1962’s The Music Man.
After the Show: In 1979, Jones took another stab at playing a widowed TV mom, starring on the show Shirley. However, it only lasted one season, and Jones moved on to a wide array of TV guest roles, appearing on The Drew Carey Show, That ’70s Show, Raising Hope and General Hospital. She also retained her passion for musical theater, performing on Broadway in 2004 in a revival of 42nd Street, starring opposite her son Patrick. She and Patrick also performed together in a 2012 production of The Music Man.
David Cassidy
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Shirley Jones’ real-life stepson, David Cassidy instantly became a teen idol after appearing as Keith Partridge — a status that was not particularly comfortable for him.
After the Show: Though the show brought Cassidy mega-stardom, he was uneasy with his role as a teenybopper icon, and in 1974, he left the show and dialed back touring, intending to focus on his songwriting. In 1978, he returned to the small screen for David Cassidy: Man Undercover, a show where he played a 20-something cop who goes undercover at a high school. The show lasted only one season, although some believe it provided inspiration for the later hit series 21 Jump Street.
Cassidy spent the ’80s and ’90s appearing in musical theater, including a 1982 Broadway production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. He also continued to release music, which found greater success outside the U.S. He costarred on the 2009 family sitcom Ruby & the Rockits (cocreated by brother Shaun Cassidy) and was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011. That same year, he sued Screen Gems for a cut of Patridge Family merchandising — due to a bad contract, he claimed he was only paid $5,000 for the countless products bearing his image.
In 2017, Cassidy announced that he was living with dementia and retired from performing; later that year, he was hospitalized for kidney disease and admitted that he had actually been suffering from the effects of his long battle with alcohol abuse and never had dementia. He died of liver failure on Nov. 21, 2017.
Danny Bonaduce
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Born in 1959, Danny Bonaduce had already survived a tumultuous upbringing by the time he arrived on set to play Danny Partridge.
After the Show: Though a traditional acting career failed to come together in the ’70s and ’80s, Bonaduce eventually gained traction as a talk show host. Beginning as a Philadelphia radio DJ in the late ’80s, he hosted multiple radio shows throughout the ’90s and 2000s, and moved into TV with the talk shows Danny! in 1995 and The Other Half in 2001. He also hosted multiple short-lived game and reality shows, including 2005’s Breaking Bonaduce.
Bonaduce also became well known for this love of boxing, and participated in multiple charity boxing and wrestling matches against other ’70s celebrities, including Donny Osmond and Barry Williams.
In 2023, after suffering from an undisclosed illness that gave him difficulty with walking and speech, he underwent successful brain surgery for hydrocephalus.
Susan Dey
Courtesy of Everett Collection
The Illinois native, born in 1952, worked as a teen model before her turn as Laurie Partridge.
After the Show: Susan Dey followed up the show with a few films that didn’t quite hit, including the 1981 movie Looker, written and directed by Michael Crichton — a box office bomb about murdered models. But she found her footing back on TV, with a role from 1986 to 1992 as Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law, which won her a Golden Globe. The Illinois native and former model last acted in 2004, in several episodes of the TV show Third Watch. She’s the only cast member who has refused to participate in all Partridge reunions.
Suzanne Crough
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Suzanne Crough was born in Fullerton, California, in 1963; the baby of the family, Tracey Partridge, was her first acting role.
After the Show: Crough walked away from Hollywood, attending college, opening a bookstore and raising two children. During the 2010 Partridge Family reunion, she noted that she lived in Arizona and was managing an Office Max. She passed away suddenly on April 27, 2015, from a rare heart disorder.
Jeremy Gelbwaks
Courtesy of Everett Collection
The original Chris Partridge left the show after one year — Shirley Jones later commented that Jeremy Gelbwaks, born in 1961, was pushed into the role by his parents, and was not happy to be there.
After the Show: Gelbwaks went on to study technology and science, picking up degrees from UC Berkeley and Columbia University. He works in business and technology in New Orleans, where he lives with his family.
Brian Forster
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Brian Forster was born into a Hollywood family in 1960; his mother was an actress, his father directed and acted, and his grandfather was Alan Napier, better known as Alfred from Batman. He joined the show as second Chris Partridge in 1971, at the age of 11.
After the Show: Though he made a few more appearances as Chris after the show ended, Brian Forster primarily moved on to his adult passion for racecar driving. He worked as a teacher in the ’80s and ’90s, and as of the early 2000s, he still worked in racing, ran a wine business in Sonoma County, and participated in regional theater.
Dave Madden
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Before he was manager Reuben Kincaide, Canadian Dave Madden spent time as a comedian, magician and Air Force entertainer before beginning a TV career on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In in 1968.
After the Show: Madden frequently made guest appearances on sitcoms, most notably Alice, where he played Earl Hicks. In the ’90s, his guest appearances were frequently retro-themed, such as his 1994 role alongside Bonaduce on Married… With Children and his appearance as part of a Laugh-In mini-reunion on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He died on Jan. 16, 2014, at the age of 82, from myelodysplastic syndrome.
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