Ryan Cassidy Talks Growing up ‘Partridge’ & the Time James Cagney Was His Babysitter
Son of Oscar winner Shirley Jones and the late Tony Award winner Jack Cassidy, Ryan Cassidy is Hollywood royalty. Plus, he is the younger brother to David, Shaun and Patrick. Cassidy, who recently released his first children’s book James Cagney Was My Babysitter (co-authored by Johnny Ray Miller, When We’re Singin’), sat down with ReMIND to chat about growing up as Cassidy, his passion for working in TV/film art department and that day James Cagney was his sitter.
Tell me about the book James Cagney Was My Babysitter and how that day happened. What did you learn about the famous actor?
Ryan Cassidy: My mom made a movie with James Cagney called Never Steal Anything Small in 1959. It wasn’t one of Cagney’s bigger movies, or my mom’s. My mom knew Cagney from that standpoint and stayed in. My parents did a show, The Marriage Band, in Las Vegas and then they took it back east. Jim and his wife, Willie, came to see them. My dad sort of revered James Cagney and grew up watching his movies. My dad and mom stayed in touch with him and his wife and had them over for dinner one night at our house. After dinner, they went over to our den, and there was a big rug, which Cagney pulled back, and performed all the numbers from Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Everett Collection
A few years later, when my parents were separated, my dad picked me up and he was going to take me to a movie. He remembered that he had to go to Cagney’s for something. But when he got there, [he realized] my brother Patrick needed to be picked up. Cagney said “Jack, why don’t you leave Ryan here and come back and pick him up after you’re done whatever you have to do.”
Dad left me at their house in Coldwater Canyon. I was seven years old and didn’t really know who James Cagney was at that age. I knew that he was an actor and a dancer and I liked tap dancing as a kid. I spent the afternoon with him, probably about four or five hours. I think Cagney knew that my parents were going through a separation, and he wanted to see if I was okay. He was a really fine man.
Cagney cared more about other people than he did about him telling people about who he was. He was more concerned about wanting to help whomever he was with. That was very evident to me, even as a little boy. His house was very magical. He had these puppets that were inlaid inside the wall, like the cavity of the wall. They were like these fairy tale storylines that were done in a diorama above his fireplace. I just remember being so intrigued by them.
TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
He had a childlike quality about him. His imagination was incredible, and he loved drawing. He asked me if I wanted him to draw something for me, so we sat in his living room, and he pulled out a pad and started drawing for me. I was fascinated with fairies, leprechauns, and gnomes as a little kid, and he drew me a leprechaun—or his version of a leprechaun—dancing in the forest. He signed it, “To Ryan From his Forest, James Cagney.”
What really came out of that day was that he made me feel important. There was a connection that I had with him that I didn’t have with people my own age. I just saw a young person in him. His imagination was like mine. He was interesting, creative, and had good taste. He was an old soul.
The book is about an old man and a little boy, and the experience that the little boy took from that day. You don’t have to know who James Cagney is to enjoy the book. You’ll know him better after you read it.
How was it growing up in a Hollywood family? Was it as very colorful as one can imagine?
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
I always say to people when they ask me what it was like growing up in my family: My mom tried to keep it real for us. My mom was from a small town, and she had small-town sensibilities that she tried to instill in my brothers and me. She tried to keep it real, meaning that even though my mom was a movie star, she never really acted like a movie star, and she never behaved in such a way. She is a simple lady. She likes simple things. She was down-to-earth. I think that’s one of the things that was so appealing about her because that was the way she was professionally.
I grew up with people driving by our house because my mom’s house was on the map of stars’ homes, and that became the norm. That was always a little strange. Coming out and seeing people slow down and take photos of our house. But I got used to it. I also got used to going out to dinner with my mom and my brothers, with people coming up to our table and asking for autographs. That was just normal. It was just literally something that was around us from the time I was a little boy, and it still goes on.
But again, I went off to do my own thing and my mother was always supportive of whatever I wanted to do. She said, “I don’t care if you guys want to work at gas stations, as long as you’re happy. I’ll support that.” So that was kind of her philosophy, and it still is. My mom just wanted us to be happy.
Shirley Jones with her sons (L-R), Shaun, David, Ryan and Patrick. Danny Feld/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Being the youngest, did your brothers teach you anything about business or just normal brother stuff?
My brothers were always protective of me, being the youngest one, so they just wanted me to always be okay. I never was competitive with them because there was such a difference in age. They didn’t want to see anybody take advantage of me. They’d seen that in their own experience of being in the show business world, so they were very protective of me from that standpoint. My brother Patrick and my brother Shaun were a little bit more competitive with each other.
On being a Set Decorator
You’ve made a career behind the scenes as a set decorator. What is the difference between being in the art department and set decorating?
The art department is the umbrella that includes the decorating department. The production design team encompasses the art director and the set decorator, with the production designer being at the top of the ladder. My department is the set decorating department on television shows, and I work as what they call a set dresser. A dresser is exactly what it sounds like — someone who goes in and physically dresses the set according to what the decorator wants done. In some cases, you get creative and can put it together yourself.
How much collaboration do you have between the art department and the director?
It just depends on the specific show that we’re on. But the art department on most shows creates all the graphics for the shows. They also make sure that the colors and the flooring are installed the way the designer discussed with the art director and the set decorator. The set decorator picks out the lighting sconces and the chandeliers, and then we all just jump in and work with them to get everything installed.
CBS/Courtesy: Everett Collection
Working on the show King of Queens, what was the best part of working on the set decorating?
The characters are important. What’s in the set is what the character would have in their world. Kevin James was probably the best thing about that whole show. He was hysterically funny and just a great guy.
I loved Jerry Stiller. He was also a great part of that show for me. He knew my dad and it was fun watching him work. One of the sets on that show was a garage that Jerry Stiller used as his living space. Anytime you have a garage set, there’s always a lot of different stuff that lends to what the characters are.
On growing up on The Partridge Family set
Were you ever on The Partridge Family set and maybe seen in the background of the show?
I was on the set of The Partridge Family a lot, but I was never in the background that I knew of. However, I did spend a lot of time there. I loved old cars and trucks when I was a little kid, and I remember asking if I could play in the bus. I used to spend a lot of time on that bus pretending I was driving.
I also had a crush on Suzanne Crough [Tracy Partridge], who was the little tambourine girl. So, I couldn’t wait to go to the set of The Partridge Family and look for her. I spent a lot of time watching my mom and my brother work on that show.
Everett Collection
Did you have a first kiss with Suzanne?
No! I got to know her later, and I met her husband, who I’m still friends with him. She was a lovely woman. It was one of those dream crushes. I thought, “I wish that she’d spend more time paying attention to me.” It was fun. I enjoyed my time going to watch them shoot that show. A lot of fun.
Have you ever wanted to be a singer?
No. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy singing. I never really had it in me to be a singer, I think maybe because everyone in my family does that. I really wanted to do my own things. Being an actor was a different feeling; I did want to be an actor. I still sometimes want to go back and be an actor. I’m not going to put it past myself, I might just do it. I’m 59 years old. I’m a lot more comfortable and I have a lot more experience to draw from. But yeah, being a singer wasn’t in the cards for me.
ReMIND Staff
Ryan Cassidy will have a meet-and-greet on February 22, 2025, from 12pm – 1:30 pm at the Hollywood Heritage Museum in Los Angeles. The museum also currently has on display a collection of Cassidy family memorabilia. The museum is located at 2100 Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068. Cassidy’s book, James Cagney Was My Babysitter, can be purchased here.
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