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Thanks to all the people of  David Cassidy's management, the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Las Vegas Sun, Kidscharities.org, Just David Fan Club, Friends of the Cassidys,  and to those on the David  and Shaun Cassidy chatlists on Egroups for keeping this Newsletter updated at any time.

(C) July 2000 by Erik Drilen.

David will be doing a two night appearance at Harrah's Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8th and 9th!
     You can call the Harrah's box office at (area code for USA) 609-441-5165  to reserve tickets. The ticket price is $49.00. It is general admission and unfortunately Harrah's will not be able to arrange priority seats to fan club members as their policy is to get casino high rollers into those seats. The show is a headliner one, which ususally means a concert.
     There is no further information available at this time, but we will keep you updated. Thanks to the Just David Fan Club for this information.

David Cassidy will be hosting 'I Love the Seventies' on BBC2 on Saturday 5 August.  The program will be dedicated to the year 1972. For further information, check the August TV Guide by clicking on "Next month's issue" to the left on this page. Thanks to Donna and Alice from the David Cassidy chatlist for the information. 

The following four albums will be rereleased on CD on August 8: The Partridge Family Album, Up To Date, Sound Magazine and Notebook.

We have received the following information from DavidCassidy.Com:

Hello all David Cassidy Fans!

We are excited to announce a new fundraising tool for Sue Cassidy's KidsCharities.org. It's called the "Carebar." It's a free application that you can download that helps you find everything you need on the internet.
     Once you download, you enter your zip code and can instantly find local shops, restaurants, movies. etc. Get up to the minute news, sports, weather and finance info! Search the web and find whatever you need.
     It's free and using the Carebar helps raise money for charities that help children all around the world. It's such a simple thing to use and it generates money for the charity based on the amount of time it's open and running.
     Go to www.carebar.org (Discontinued as from February 2001)
Go to the left side of the page and enter our Carebar Organization ID code CC1196 and click on "Start Download".
     That will take you to a screen that will say "Choose a Nonprofit" with our information underneath. Click on the "start download" button and it will take you through the rest of the process.
     Just by doing this you will be helping KidsCharities.org raise money!! Thanks from David, Sue and everyone at McCartney Multimedia.

You are new to the internet, or you have just discovered David Cassidy, and would like to find out as much as possible about your favorite singer. We would like to help you on your way. The first place to check out would naturally be www.davidcassidy.com, but you have most likely been there already. To find the numerous fansites out there, you would most likely be using a search engine, but that will take a lot of time, and the search engine doesn't always find all the sites. Therefore a good place to start would be the Cassidy Family Ring. Most Cassidy websites of importance will be found there. If you have your own Cassidy website, you should also register there for others to find your site. A lot of the sites have old and new photos of David Cassidy, you'll find out what's been going on in his life since you last heard about him, discographies, sound files, wallpapers and screen savers, and message boards where you can communicate with other fans. Top Cassidy/Partridge Sites List  is another good place to start.
     Most fansites are American. Unfortunately there are only two that are not, the Downunder David Cassidy Fan Site (New Zealand) and the David Cassidy Fan Site of Norway. 
     A lot of you want to buy David Cassidy's music (we don't blame you), and it will take some time for new people on the internet to find the right places. I know it did for some of us. Some of David's CDs are still available at most internet CD stores, like CDNow (link to the left of this page). They also have videos available. More CDs with the music of the Partridge Family and David Cassidy will be released soon. 
     However, most of David Cassidy's music is no longer available in your local record store. Most of his solo albums have never been released on CD. There are various sites on the internet that can offer second hand records, and some even  still sealed items. The best place to find this is the auction site Ebay (link to the left of this page). They have about 500 David Cassidy related items up for auction at any time. Make sure to check sellers' feedback. Personally I have never had any trouble, but better be safe than sorry.
     One drawback bidding on Ebay, though, is that a lot of times you will be bidding against other fans, and you sometimes end up spending more than you intended. Therefore, before bidding you should check out GEMM (link at the bottom of this page). They have just as many Cassidy related items at any time as Ebay, and there's a fixed price. No bidding. This will most likely save you for a lot of money. But you'll never know, sometimes you might get some good deals even on Ebay. Also remember to check sellers' feedback on GEMM.
     This Newsletter will try to keep fans updated all over the world, but as most information we receive comes from the USA, it will be hard to keep the rest of the world updated. We will be very thankful if fans from everywhere will inform us if they find news about anyone of the Cassidy family. This includes the TV Guide at the bottom of each month's newsletter. If someone informed us that the Partridge Family would be back on TV in Spain or Japan, we'd let other people in Spain and Japan know as well.

July 01, 2000:  The Las Vegas Sun writes: 

That's entertainment 
By Lisa Ferguson

     How do you cover entertainment in the entertainment capital of the world?
     If you're the Las Vegas Sun, you do it without missing a beat -- or, for that matter, an opening-night performance, a world-premiere event or the latest show-business news.
     The past half-century has been an exciting time on the local entertainment scene, punctuated by big names, big shows and big changes. The Sun has reported on the hallmark events that helped Las Vegas earn its star-studded reputation.
     From the early years, when hotel lounges were the places to see and be seen with celebrities, through the '90s, when people packed sidewalks to be dazzled by pirate-ship battles, fireworks-filled hotel openings and building implosions, the Sun was there in force.
     The Sun remains a force on the entertainment scene and will remain so in the future, with the up-to-the-minute entertainment coverage capabilities of the Internet.

Early days

     Those early days were legendary times, regarded as the birth of Las Vegas' famed lounge era, when groups such as the Mary Kaye Trio and jazz greats Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera defined the sound at the Sahara hotel-casino lounge.
     Showgirls, the glamorous stars of production shows, became a staple on stages around town, including the French import, "Lido de Paris," which settled in for a decadeslong run at the Stardust in 1957. "Minsky Goes to Paris," one of the first shows to feature topless showgirls, opened at the Dunes in January 1957. It was followed by "Folies Bergere" at the Tropicana in December 1959.
     A photo caption that appeared that month in the Sun read: "In a fabulous and sensational opening of Mons. Paul Derval's Folies Bergere at the Hotel Tropicana, a bundle of Parisian personality, Maria Lopez, was one of the outstanding features of the show."
     The late '50s and early '60s brought the "Rat Pack" years when a group of martini-swilling, tuxedo-clad guys ruled the Strip nightly from their raucous roost at the Sands.
     Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford were the epitome of Vegas cool and continue to inspire the current generation of hep cats. (Their legacy lives on in "The Rat Pack Is Back," a production show playing at the Sahara.)
     "The Sun grew up in an era where there were superstars," Myram Borders, chief of the Las Vegas News Bureau, says. Not only did celebrities entertain here, "they were making news here. They were getting married, they were getting divorced, they were cavorting."
     And it was great fodder for the Sun's entertainment pages.

Hank's touch

     Borders points to the "strong character" of Sun founder Hank Greenspun. Because of "the contacts that he had both on the Strip and involving entertainment, (the Sun was) usually on top of it all.
     "I remember when Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow got married here at the Sands hotel (in 1966), who was the only media@the ceremony? Hank Greenspun. He just had phenomenal contacts with the people who owned the hotels, and as a result, I think the Sun coverage was very outstanding."
     And, oftentimes, witty. When the Beatles visited Las Vegas for a pair of 1964 performances, the Sun reported:
     Honestly, you would have thought Khrushchev was coming to town. At least there was an iron curtain of silence at McCarran Field befitting an expected visit from the Soviet dictator when they sneaked The Beatles into town yesterday morning. ... The silent ones were deputy sheriffs, airport employees and public relations men who answered with negative shakes of their head all queries about The Beatles."
     Another event -- the opening night of Elvis Presley's "Vegas Years" at the International Hotel (now the Las Vegas Hilton) -- forced Sun columnist Ralph Pearl to eat crow.
     In July 1969 Pearl recalled an earlier column criticizing producer Bill Miller for hiring the King of rock 'n' roll, "a lad whose singing style is no longer popular."
     "We also told Bill that Presley 'will never draw,' " Pearl recalled. "Luckily Miller wasn't discouraged by our 'astute' observations and signed Elvis to a long-term contract."

Joe's world

     The Sun's coverage of such historical events has included columns by Joe Delaney, who has written for the newspaper for 34 years. He continues to write his "Joe's World" column twice weekly, in addition to reviewing local entertainment acts for the "Out & About" page that appears in the entertainment-intensive Accent section on Fridays.
     "The Sun, over all those years, has always maintained the consistency of an entertainment columnist who sometimes got in fights with some entertainers, but that was OK," Borders says. "Delaney ... maintained a reputation through the years as being a fairly straight reviewer."

Segregation

     But entertainment coverage isn't always fun and games. In 1955 segregation was rampant in Las Vegas, and local hotels were not spared from its grips. Black entertainers could perform in Strip showrooms but had to find lodging elsewhere.
     Enter the Moulin Rouge, the city's first integrated hotel-casino, which opened on West Bonanza Road in May of that year. The place attracted such stars as Sinatra, Davis Jr. and Harry Belafonte. Its opening was heralded in the Sun:
     "To assure the finest in entertainment Clarence Robinson, producer-director, and Benny Carter, musical director, have been contracted by the Moulin Rouge. Robinson has 35 years experience in show business and as a matter of coincidence directed the shows at the original Moulin Rouge in Paris, France. ... (Carter) plays saxophone, clarinet, trumpet and piano; well deserving his title of America's most versatile bandleader."
     The Moulin Rouge closed six months after opening its doors. But the place wasn't done making entertainment history: In March 1960 it was the site where an agreement that abolished Strip segregation policies was signed.

Family fare

     Las Vegas' entertainment climate has changed dramatically in recent decades, offering more family-friendly fare. Themed megaresorts and restaurants, sky-scraping roller coasters and white tigers are as much the norm as slot machines in this gambling mecca.
     It's hardly a trick to find a multimillion-dollar magic act in town. Or a comedy club. There has been a proliferation of both in recent years. High-profile boxing matches are as much entertainment happenings as they are sporting events, often with a slew of celebrities seated ringside.
     These days some of the world's biggest rock stars -- U2, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney among them -- now include Las Vegas on their tour stops. (So do nostalgia acts of the '70s and '80s such as REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar.) Meanwhile longtime favorites, such as Tony Bennett, continue to grace Strip showroom stages.

Continued growth

     As Las Vegas' population has grown, so has its cultural arts scene. Community-born dance, music and theater events are also covered in the Sun alongside top-name celebrity acts.
     "The Las Vegas entertainment culture today is more diverse and multigenerational in its appeal than it ever has been," Features Editor Steve Bornfeld explains. The challenge for the Sun's feature section, Accent, he says, "is to do justice to every aspect of it. ... We have to be just as diverse to meet that challenge."
     Among Accent's regular features is the Showguide page, which includes extensive entertainment listings; the Out & About page; and Weekend Arts and Datebook, both devoted to community arts and events. Bornfeld credits Delaney for keeping "a sharp eye on Strip developments" and music columnist Geoff Carter for being "right on top of the contemporary music scene" in his weekly "Sound Check" column. Gossip columnist Kate Maddox, he adds, "breaks a lot of entertainment news for us," while the features staff writers "sprinkle our slate of stories of community interest with interviews with the hottest acts coming through town."
     Entertainment as big business is also tackled in the Accent section. In 1999 Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton signed a reported 10-year, $25 million-a-year contract to perform at the Stardust. The deal proved to be the biggest in the city's history.
     Following the announcement in October, Newton told the Sun: "If you know anything about Wayne Newton, it is that Wayne Newton will never do the same show twice. ... Let's face it, the wonderful thing about the Wayne Newton Theatre (at the Stardust) is that it's practically the only nightclub left in town."
     Without a doubt, entertainment will continue to be a force driving Las Vegas into the future. While the in-depth Sun coverage of related events and issues won't change, it will certainly evolve to meet the demands of its readers.
     Bornfeld says: "We're planning on expanding our coverage even further in the months ahead as we anticipate Las Vegas entertainment expanding at a rapid rate. Our commitment to that is absolute."

On the Web

     Breaking entertainment news is already just mouse clicks away on the Sun's website, www.lasvegassun.com. (The website links to www.vegas.com, which features online versions of Sun sister publications Las Vegas Life, Las Vegas Weekly, Showbiz Weekly and Vegas Golfer magazines.)
     Bryan Allison, director of content for the website, points out that the site features "everything from (entertainment) calendars to (show) reviews to archived photos" culled from the various publications and generated by the Vegas.com staff.
     Since its 1996 launch the site has been used to cover live events such as New Year's Eve festivities and resort openings -- including New York-New York, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian and Paris Las Vegas -- as well as U2's "Popmart" tour, which kicked off in Las Vegas in 1997.
     "We had somebody with a cell phone at the show ... calling back (with) the song lists," Allison explains. "We taped him and put him on the website and we got a lot of (Internet) traffic because people were interested" in the show. "It was an international event."
     Plans are under way to make entertainment news coverage on Vegas.com "more interactive, more in-depth," Allison says.
     "With downloadable music and those (types of) technologies becoming more adopted, we're going to be able to provide a richer environment for people when they visit the site," he says. "So, they may be able to listen to some of ('70s teen idol and Las Vegas headliner) David Cassidy's music and not just read about it or look at pictures.
     "In Las Vegas, there are so many great things that happen here that are of interest to people all around the world. We'll just keep bringing information from all of the great content that we get from all of our different publications." 

July 4 - July 10, 2000: Dark days at the Rio. David Cassidy will not perform this week.
 

July 06, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes:

'Rat Pack' is back out on the street 
By Mike Weatherford 

     Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack once had the run of the Strip. But a tribute show called "The Rat Pack is Back" will be homeless for a second time after it closes at the Sahara Aug. 13. 
     Sahara officials said Wednesday the show co-produced by entertainer David Cassidy will leave so it won't compete with an upcoming production starring magician Steve Wyrick, in which the Sahara has a larger financial interest. Both shows are priced in the $35 to $40 range, noted John McManus, the hotel's executive vice president and general counsel. 
     "We want to focus on Wyrick and building his show," McManus said. 
     The Congo Room inhabited by "Rat Pack" will house a "value-oriented" afternoon or evening revue, with a low ticket price to generate foot traffic, McManus said. 
     Cassidy is on vacation this week. His publicist, JoAnn Geffen, said the entertainer and co-producer Don Reo are already in discussions with other hotels about a new home for the five-member cast and 12-piece band. 
     "The Rat Pack is Back" first played at the Desert Inn from July to early December 1999, during which time it came under legal fire from Sinatra's heirs in a trademark infringement suit that's still pending. 
     The show reopened March 25 at the Sahara. Though the Sahara venue is called the Congo Room, it's actually a retrofitted banquet room far removed from casino traffic. The original Congo Room was demolished in hotel renovations. 
     "The room was wrong and the hotel was wrong, but even in a bad place it did business," "Rat Pack" music director Lon Bronson said. 

July 07, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes that "Insiders are speculating that the closing of "The Rat Pack is Back" at the Sahara hotel-casino won't be the final curtain for the tribute show. Although co-producer David Cassidy is on vacation this week, sources say that at least three major Strip properties are interested in bringing back "The Rat Pack" for its third incarnation.
     Sources are also saying that cast members very much want to hang in there until the show finds a new home. The trouble wasn't ticket sales or lack of popularity. The trouble was magician Steve Wyrick.
     Wyrick, whose scheduled show for the Sahara was originally slated to open back in February, has been the source of a couple of headaches for the hotel. Opening dates have had to be significantly postponed as special considerations for Wyrick's multimillion-dollar production were repeatedly being reworked. As things finally came to fruition -- an opening date has now been announced for sometime "in the next 60 days" -- ticket prices for the magic show landed in the very same ballpark as those of "The Rat Pack is Back." Loyal to Wyrick, who was drawing capacity crowds at the Lady Luck for two years, the Sahara had to cut something -- and the tribute show got the ax."
 

July 09, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes:

COLUMN: NORM! 
The Scene and Heard: David Cassidy didn't make any friends in high places on The Strip last week with that self-destructive comment about the closing of "The Rat Pack is Back!" at the Sahara. 
"There's an imbalance here that I'm uncomfortable with. The people in charge of developing entertainment are not entertainment people per se. That's why I'm successful. I know this business. For an executive to tell me how to run a show," he said, "is like me telling him how to run a hotel." ... 
 

July 11, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes that "David Cassidy, who along with partner Don Reo produces the recently canceled "The Rat Pack is Back" show at the Sahara, returned from vacation this week optimistic about the future of the tribute show. Seems that offers are coming in from Strip hotels and one "major player property" in Atlantic City, as well as from overseas.
     "People are flying in from all over to see it," said the star of the Rio's "At The Copa" with Sheena Easton. "We're looking at a lot of different options right now."
     Cassidy, who would like to see the show keep its current cast, is willing to entertain offers from anyone who can promise the "Rat Pack" a long-term commitment and keep the small-room intimacy that the show needs to work its charm.
     Cassidy also said that the split with the Sahara was something he and the cast knew was coming for quite some time and it wasn't because of lack of popularity. "The fact is," Cassidy said, "despite the clientele at the Sahara, the show was still pulling in $15,000 to $20,000 in profits each week."
 

July 11, 2000: Gaming Today writes: 

EFX looking for new hero 
By Don Usherson 

     Six months ago, when it looked like Tommy Tune might not hang around for another contract extension to remain the star of MGM Grand’s "EFX," I reported that Donny Osmond and Rick Springfield were two of the candidates in the running. That was until Springfield all but took himself out of the running for awhile, apparently, only temporarily. 
     Now that sources close to Tune say there’s a great chance he will not be around past December — if he stays that long — the name game is being played again. 
     And once again, the two front-running names are those of Donny Osmond and Rick Springfield, according to a Strip Scoop snoop. 
     Osmond, of course, is known mostly as a TV and bubble gum recording star. Springfield made his claims to fame as a TV soap star and a musical artist. 
     A third name, I cannot disclose yet, belongs to a very unlikely choice, but a great one, I think. It’s that of a rock star, who performs fairly regularly on the Strip with his own group. 

Biting The Hand 

     GamingToday’s review of "The Rat Pack is Back" in its then-new venue the Sahara, said the Congo Room (albeit a terrific theater) as well as the location in the hotel (next to the buffet instead of the casino) may be wrong for this excellent little tribute to Vegas’ Golden Era of Entertainment. The room is a little large for this type offering and the theater-style seating doesn’t fit the look and feel of the ’60s (an original intent of this show, according to its producer David Cassidy). 
     The Desert Inn’s smaller, more intimate, cocktail-table room, in the middle of the casino, was more true to the Rat Pack era. 
     Well, I heard loud and clear from Cassidy’s camp, the cast and some in the Sahara (who, themselves, may no longer be employed at the hotel) that I was all wet. 
     But, now that the show has been given the heave-ho, there, in black and white in the local daily, is a quote from the show’s musical director that the "room was wrong and the hotel was wrong, but even in a bad place it did business." 
     Geesh, what was Lon Bronson (who happens to be a guy whose talents as a musician and director, I admire) thinking with that quote? 
     It does go to show that David and his people knew the room wasn’t really right for the show all along, but calling the hotel a bad place hits a sour note. 
     Cracks that burn bridges or bite the hand that supplies the showroom, is not smart. Not many other venues are going to give "Rat Pack" a home, if they know that when it’s time to move on, folks connected with it are going to rag on the hotel to the media. 
     Not being able to market the show using Cassidy’s name or any of the Rat Packers’ images might have been an insurmountable obstacle. 
     If anything, the Sahara should be applauded for giving this quality little offering a stage, despite the potential (though improbable) legal ramifications and the marketing handicaps. (www.gamingtoday.com) 

July 20, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: 

Diminished Rio results hurt Harrah's in second quarter

Lower Rio hold percentage drops Harrah's profits by almost 2 percent.
By Dave Berns 

      Good luck for Rio table games players meant a tough second-quarter for the trendy off-Strip hotel-casino, which decreased the quarterly earnings of parent company Harrah's Entertainment by as much as 9 cents per share. 
      The numbers were further deflated by the loss of singer-impressionist Danny Gans, who left the Rio late last year for a new deal at The Mirage, according to figures released Wednesday by Harrah's Entertainment. 
      "At the Rio we have a continued streak of bad luck," said Harrah's Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Phil Satre. "I will be the first to admit that the extended duration of the low hold we are experiencing at the Rio is abnormal." 
      Despite a 17 percent rise in revenue to $879.2 million, Harrah's Entertainment reported a nearly 2 percent decline in profits for the quarter. 
      Plagued by a relatively low 8.4 percent hold percentage on table games at the company's Rio hotel-casino, Harrah's Entertainment reported second-quarter profits of $47.2 million, or 40 cents a share. 
      That compared with second-quarter 1999 profits of $47.9 million, or 37 cents a share. 
      A survey of gaming industry analysts by First Call/Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 44 cents a share. 
      Harrah's shares were down 81 cents Wednesday to close at $22 on the New York Stock Exchange. 
      Strong results were generated by the majority of the company's gaming properties including nearly all of its Western region properties, its Midwest riverboats and Harrah's Atlantic City. 
      "I think you would agree that our business is very strong," Satre said. "We have built a big, diversified company with systems, technology and marketing capabilities that provide a unique and sustainable competitive advantage." 
      Along with its $766 million deal last year to buy the Rio, Harrah's Entertainment has purchased the Showboat brand and recently completed a $425 million transaction to buy Player's International and its casinos in Illinois, Louisiana and Missouri. 
      The Rio's hold percentage, which measures the amount of money won by a casino for every dollar wagered on table games, was well below the gaming property's 20.5 percent average hold percentage of the past three years. 
      If that 20.5 percent figure had been achieved, the Rio's second-quarter gaming revenues would've totalled $58 million, not the $38 million that was actually reported, decreasing the company's second-quarter results by 9 cents a share, Satre said. 
      The Rio has reported seven consecutive months of a lower-than-average hold percentage, prompting Harrah's Entertainment to consider whether it should lower the maximum bet it allows on such high roller favorites as blackjack and baccarat. The Rio currently accepts wagers as high as $150,000 a hand, one Wall Street analyst estimated. 
      "It is a volatile business, lately more volatile than I would like, but ultimately a good and profitable business," Satre said. 
      The amount of money wagered at Rio table games rose 11 percent to a record level for the second quarter, while the amount of money flowing through the property's slot machines was up 10 percent, also a second-quarter record. 
      The growth in Rio table games volume, especially at the high end of play, left at least one observer wondering if the Rio and Harrah's Entertainment aren't struggling with something more fundamental than the uncertainties of luck. 
      "There are things that a property can do that would stimulate volume that wouldn't necessarily be profitable," said Paine Webber gaming analyst Robin Farley. 
      Among those things: Returning a percentage of losses sustained by whales who carry credit lines of $100,000 and higher. In recent years, Strip operators have returned, or discounted, about 10 percent of a high roller's losses, with The Venetian recently going as high as 20 percent. 
      Rio executives declined to discuss specifics of their loss-return policies. 
      "It certainly leads one to question what it is that the Rio is doing that attracts so much more volume," Farley reflected. "Is there an issue of discounting players' losses?" 
      Meantime, last year's departure of Gans to The Mirage has cut into the Rio's entertainment revenues. 
      "A year ago at the Rio we had lightning in a bottle, the Danny Gans show under a very favorable contractual circumstance," said Gary, Harrah's Entertainment's chief operating officer. "This year we don't. The consequence of that difference is a several million dollar adverse result in entertainment." 
      Gans' eight-year deal at The Mirage has been estimated to be as much as $10 million annually, or about four times his Rio contract. Early 1970s teen heartthrob David Cassidy replaced Gans as the Rio's headliner.

July 23, 2000: In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, entertainer Clint Holmes, star of "Takin' It Uptown" at Harrah's hotel-casino, was asked: "Do you see yourself competing with Wayne Newton, Danny Gans and David Cassidy?" His reply was: "I don't like to look at it as competing, but realistically, sure, we compete for people to come see us. I respect all of those guys for what they do. I certainly respect Wayne for his history and Danny for coming here and staying here for years and becoming who he has become in this town. That's kind of what I did in Atlantic City. And David for going from "EFX" to producing a show ("The Rat Pack is Back") to starring in a show ("At the Copa"). I'd like to think there's an audience for all of us.
 

July 26, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes that Sheena Easton, Grammy-winning recording artist and star with David Cassidy in "At the Copa" at the Rio, will make an appearance at Canyon Ranch Living Essentials Boutique on Thursday at 1 p.m. Easton will autograph her Angel Collection of porcelain dolls and figurines.
     Easton's enchanting collection reflects her Scottish heritage and love of make-believe and nature. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Easton's dolls will benefit Child Haven. The facility is Clark County's only temporary care shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children, ages 3-18.
     Canyon Ranch's Living Essentials Boutique is in the Venetian's Grand Canal  Shoppes.
 

July 27, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: 

Rat Pack tribute extended at Sahara 

      Frank and the gang will continue to pal around the Sahara. "The Rat Pack is Back" has been extended at the hotel, and will stay at least through Oct. 29. 
      Sahara officials on Wednesday reversed a decision earlier this month to end their landlord-tenant relationship with the Sinatra tribute show, which is produced by entertainer David Cassidy and his partner Don Reo. 
      "We had really an outcry of public support for the show," said John McManus, the hotel's executive vice president and general counsel, of the show that was to close Aug. 13. 
      The main reason for evicting the show still applies: The Sahara has a larger vested interest in a new production starring magician Steve Wyrick that's scheduled to open by the end of summer. 
      "Once Wyrick launches, our focus will be on him," McManus said. "We're really kind of married to Wyrick" in an eight-year deal. 
 

July 28, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: The folks at the Sahara entertainment department may have pledged their loyalties to yet-to-appear magician Steve Wyrick, but they've saved some room to allow "The Rat Pack is Back" back into the family.
     The David Cassidy/Don Reo-produced tribute show has regained its red-headed stepchild status and will close on Oct. 29 instead of Aug. 13, which was the done-date proposed a couple of weeks ago. Some Strip watchers were surprised to learn about the extension, citing the not-so-kind remarks made by Cassidy, directed at the Sahara, after his show was initially dumped.
     Although the "Rat Pack" producers knew that the show would get its walking papers once Wyrick (finally) got his production together, Cassidy still managed to sock the Sahara with a punch or two after the "Rat Pack" dismissal. He publicly complained that the Sahara entertainment execs were directionless in their decision-making and talked about the hotel's "less sophisticated" clientele.
     Most of those remarks, however, were littered between praise for the success of the show and the amicable separation from the Sahara. Whatever, that's all bygones now, at least through October. And whether Cassidy pleaded for an extension, as some are speculating, or brought the show back after the hotel got an earful from the public, he's now at least got some time to get his ducks in a row. There are three venues vying for "The Rat Pack is Back" and negotiations are ongoing -- with a little more breathing room this time.
 

Go to the Biography website (http://www.biography.com/tv/listings/sjones.html) and they have a RealPlayer clip with the promo. It is great, if you get a clear view. There's a small clip with Shaun and one with Patrick. Thanks to Carol on the Shaun Cassidy Chat list for the info. 

Just wanted to let you know that Shaun is in the new People magazine, its the collectors edition salute to the 70's . It is on the newstands now, he is on page 110 ... a small to medium size picture and a paragraph or so describing his career as a teen idol. Thanks to Tammy from the Shaun Cassidy Chat list for the info.

David will sing the National Anthem at the NY Yankees baseball game, playing the The Oakland A's at Yankees Stadium on Tuesday, August 8th. Game will be televised in NY and LA, so fans can  check their TV stations and radio stations. In NY the game will be televised on MSG (Madison Square Garden) Cable station and on the radio it will be on WABC-FM 770, which has a live internet feed at their website.  www.yankees.com  and www.oaklandathletics.com may also help with live feed of the game on the net.  (Thanks to Barbara from the Just David Fan Club for the info). 

David will be one of the celebrities to appear on the Second annual Family Television Awards live on August 3rd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The show will be telecast on the CBS network on August 10th.  Check local listings for time. Again, thanks to Barbara for the info. 

We've heard that Rick Springfield is not interested in playing in EFX. A question was asked him on a Live Chat on www.rickspringfield.com: Is there any truth to the rumor you'll be in the EFX show in 2001 in Vegas? His reply was "No. They were interested, but it wasn't right for me to do it." 

"Cover Me" Moves To Utah 
Fri, Jun 30, 2000 03:20 PM PDT 

LOS ANGELES (Zap2It.com) - The USA Network drama ``Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family,'' which currently airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern), hops to a new time slot on July 26 at 9 p.m., right before the premiere of the new drama, ``The Huntress.'' 
     Zap2it.com has also learned that the show, created by ``Roar'' and ``American Gothic'' producer Shaun Cassidy, is moving production to Utah. Next week, the series leaves San Diego - where it has been shooting next door to the Sci Fi Channel series ``The Invisible Man,'' and sets up shop in Salt Lake City, Utah, currently the home base of CBS' ``Touched by an Angel.'' 
     As it did with San Diego, ``Cover Me'' will be using Salt Lake as itself, instead of having it double for another location. 
     Since the show centers around an undercover FBI agent, played by Peter Dobson, and his family, producers likely felt the change in venue was necessary to freshen the storylines and maintain believability. The Salt Lake City episodes are expected to begin airing Aug. 16. 

Friday July 07 05:48 PM EDT 

'True Life' FBI Show Pure Fiction, Says Bureau 

WASHINGTON (APBnews.com) -- The USA network television drama Cover Me purports to be based on the true-life adventures of an FBI family -- but the real FBI doesn't want you to believe it. 
     FBI officials have wired a boilerplate "letter to the editor" to its 56 field offices that slams the TV show for suggesting that FBI agents and employees put the lives of their families in harm's way, as depicted on the program. 
     Included in the title of every show is the tagline "Based on the true life of an FBI family," and its promotional Web site claims the tales of the Arno family are "based on a true story." 

Viewing public curious 

     In one episode, undercover FBI operative  Danny Arno enlists his brother on a dangerous story case. In another, Arno's teenage children need witness protection after going  undercover to baby-sit the children of a San Diego city councilman who is then murdered. FBI spokesman Steve Berry in Washington told APBnews.com the bureau had to respond to public inquiries over its practices as a result of the broadcasts. 
     "Some of the field offices were getting calls from the public saying 'I didn't know the FBI would put kids in danger,'" he said. "We were continually responding from Omaha to L.A. to New York that the show is not based on any accepted FBI procedures whatsoever." 
     Berry said the show's producers took great creative license in portraying the lifestyles of FBI families. 

Setting 'the record straight' 

     The "Dear Editor-in-Chief" letter sent to the field offices, provided to APBnews.com by the FBI, states that the bureau is seeking to "set the record straight" regarding the show, which airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on the USA cable network. 
     It reads, in part: "The program professes to be the true life story of an FBI family. It is not, however, based on the life of any employee of the FBI, past or present, despite the impression given to the general public by the show's title." 
     The letter also stated that fictional agent Danny Arno's practice of using his family in his work -- repeatedly placing them in "careless, dangerous and illegal situations" -- is something the FBI would never stand for. 
     The bureau does not employ any such procedures, Berry said. 

Shaun Cassidy executive producer 

     Officials from Studios USA in Los Angeles said the show is loosely based on the life of Kenneth Brown, a now-deceased former law enforcement informant whose family sold the rights to their story to producer Matt Rader. 
     Rader, in turn, collaborated with former teen idol and Hardy Boys TV star Shaun Cassidy to turn the Brown family story into a television drama that fictionalized elements of their experience, USA 
officials said. 
      Cassidy now serves as executive producer for Cover Me, and Rader is a consultant to the show, officials said. 
      USA officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the FBI action today, despite indicating they would. 
     David Percelay, president of APB Television, a division of APB Online Inc., acquired the rights in the early 1990s to the Brown family story and sold it to a unit of Universal Studios Television. That  project was later developed by CBS as a script, but subsequently dropped by the network. Percelay said he has no creative involvement in the current show at Studios USA and USA Network. 

By James Gordon Meek, an APBnews.com editor. 

Shaun Cassidy being interviewed by Cindy Rhodes on Sidewalks TV (Shaun Cassidy 2000) (www.swetv.com). 
     In the 70's, Shaun Cassidy was a breakout singer and actor. He had a top 10 hit with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and a hit TV show called The Hardy Boys Mysteries. In the 90's, he became a well respected TV producer with several acclaimed series such as American Gothic and Roar. In this March 2000 interview, he talked about being a teen idol, working on The Hardy Boys, and his current project as the creator and producer of USA Network's Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family, which can be seen on Sunday nights at 8pm (EST).
 

From the TV Guide in July: Danny Arno (Peter Dobson), a cocky undercover fed who enlists and ensnares his entire family in his stings, will never win a dad-of-the-year award. But Cover Me (USA Network,  Wednesdays 9PM/ET) returning July 26 with new capers, easily qualifies as one of the most original and engaging series of the year, blending suspense, humor and sentiment in a uniqueliy entertaining hybrid of family and crime drama. The first new episode is a tense thriller pitting Danny and wife Barbara (Melora Hardin) against an enemy they took down in their more reckless prefamily days. Do yourself a favor: Discover Cover Me.

ON TV IN JULY:

USA:
DAVID CASSIDY:
Biography: Shirley Jones (120 minutes- (CC), N) 
The life of actress Shirley Jones, whose career took off with ``Oklahoma'' and continued with the success of ``The Partridge Family.''. 
Sun Jul 16 08:00P A&E- Arts & Entertainment 
Sun Jul 16 10:00P A&E- Arts & Entertainment 
Mon Jul 17 12:00A A&E- Arts & Entertainment 
Mon Jul 17 02:00A A&E- Arts & Entertainment 

Partridge Family (30 minutes- In Stereo) 

Mon Jun 26 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Tue Jun 27 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Wed Jun 28 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Thu Jun 29 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Fri Jun 30 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Mon Jul 3 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Tue Jul 4 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Wed Jul 5 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Thu Jul 6 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Fri Jul 7 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Mon Jul 10 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Tue Jul 11 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Wed Jul 12 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Thu Jul 13 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Fri Jul 14 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Mon Jul 17 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Tue Jul 18 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Wed Jul 19 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Thu Jul 20 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Fri Jul 21 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Mon Jul 24 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Tue Jul 25 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Wed Jul 26 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Thu Jul 27 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel
Fri Jul 28 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 
Mon Jul 31 06:00P FAME- The Family Channel 

Profiles: David Cassidy (60 minutes) 
The career of former teen idol David Cassidy is explored, including interviews with his ``Partridge Family'' co-stars. 
Fri Jul 14 06:00A BRAVO- Bravo 
Fri Jul 14 11:00A BRAVO- Bravo 

Mon 3 6:00 PM Before They Were Rock Stars 335 VH1
 

SHAUN CASSIDY:
Cover Me moves to Wednesday nights on USA Network.

Tue 4 3:00 PM Where Are They Now? 335 VH1 
Wed 5 12:00 AM Where Are They Now? 335 VH1 

On Sunday, July 9 at 6:00PM (ET), TV Land's "Before They Were Casts" Box Set will feature Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew episode 48706 - The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom - Part II.
 

PATRICK CASSIDY:
Mon 3 8:00 AM  Lois & Clark: on TNT
Tue 4 8:00 AM Lois & Clark: Shadow of a Doubt 245 TNT 
Wed 5 8:00 AM Lois & Clark: Voice From the Past 245 TNT 
 

SHIRLEY JONES:
FROM A & E CABLE LISTINGS: 
07/16/2000 
8:00 Biography. Shirley Jones. "Oklahoma" made her a star and "The Partridge Family" made her TV mom to a generation. Here's the life of the actress with an angelic singing voice who wowed Rodgers and Hammerstein at 18, married actor Jack Cassidy, stepmothered teen idol David Cassidy, and wed comedian Marty Ingels against family wishes. (cc) [TV G] 
10:00 Biography. Shirley Jones.
 

Fans in the US will find out when David's gonna be on by going to www.tv-now.com/stars/dcassidy.html , Shaun on www.tv-now.com/stars/shauncas.html, and Jack on www.tv-now.com/stars/jackcass.html   You can also visit www.tvguide.entertainment.aol.com/

For Norwegian and Scandinavian listings, go to www.sol.no/tv/, www.nettavisen.no/tvguide/index.htm or www.dagenstv.com/no/ntb/