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Jack Cassidy

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Jack Cassidy
Birth name	John Joseph Edward Cassidy
Born	March 5, 1927 Richmond Hill, New York, U.S.A.
Died	December 12, 1976 (aged 49) 1221 North Kings Roads, West Hollywood, California, U.S.A.
Spouse(s)	Shirley Jones (5 August 1956 – 1974) (divorced) 3 children Evelyn Ward (28 June 1948 – 1956) (divorced) 1 child

For the bass guitarist from Jefferson Airplane, see Jack Casady. Jack Cassidy (March 5, 1927 – December 12, 1976) was an American actor, who achieved success in theater, cinema and television. His frequent professional persona was that of an urbane, super-confident egotist with a dramatic flair, much in the manner of Broadway actor Frank Fay. Cassidy perfected this character to such an extent that he was cast as the legendary John Barrymore in the feature film W. C. Fields and Me. Cassidy turned down the role of Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, appearing instead as a guest star in a very memorable episode as Ted's highly competitive and equally egocentric brother, Hal.

1 Biography
2 Awards
3 Filmography
4 External links
5 References

Biography

Early life

Cassidy was born John Joseph Edward Cassidy in Richmond Hill, New York to William Cassidy, who was of Irish descent, and Charlotte Koehler, who was of German descent. He achieved his greatest success as a musical performer on Broadway, appearing in Alive and Kicking, Wish You Were Here, Shangri-La, Maggie Flynn, Fade Out - Fade In, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, and She Loves Me, for which he won a Tony Award. He also received Emmy Award nominations for his television performances in He & She (1967) and The Andersonville Trial (1970). On television he became a frequent guest star, appearing in such programs as Bewitched, Get Smart, That Girl, Columbo, Hawaii Five-O, Match Game and McCloud. He lent his charming wit to game shows, and co-starred with Ronnie Schell in a TV revival of Hellzapoppin'. Cassidy also co-starred in the movie The Eiger Sanction with Clint Eastwood.

Personal life

Cassidy was married twice. His first wife was actress Evelyn Ward, who is the mother of his son David. After divorcing Evelyn Ward in 1956, he married actress Shirley Jones. They had three sons, Shaun, Patrick, and Ryan Cassidy, and divorced in 1974.

Death

Cassidy died in an apartment fire while he slept on the couch, in West Hollywood, California. News reports at the time attributed it to a lit cigarette. In an eerie coincidence, he had starred in an episode of the TV series Night Gallery, called "The Last Laurel", in which he played a villainous character who discovered the secret of astral projection, and bent on revenge against others, accidentally killed himself while sleeping. His son, David, wrote about his father's bisexuality in his autobiography.^[1]

Awards

Jack Cassidy was Emmy Awards: (1st nomination for Emmy) 1968 – Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy for the television series He & She (1967), (2nd nomination for Emmy) 1971 – Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the film The Andersonville Trial (1970). Also Cassidy was approved for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005 and fundraising efforts are currently under way to fund the dedication ceremony.