July 9, 2001: Zap2it.com

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - "Not a bad career move" says Danny Bonaduce, when asked about "The Sopranos" star Robert Iler's recent arrest in New York. "All those Brady kids were good, and where are they now?"

Bonaduce has a point. As "The Partridge Family's" resident redhead, he had an early taste of fame, followed by an even larger bite of infamy. However, quite a bit has changed since his bout with drug abuse and frequent tabloid appearances for such activities as beating up a transvestite.

Eleven years ago he met his wife Gretchen on a blind date and married her seven hours later. Admittedly, it was because she's a Christian and refused to have sex with him until they were web, but oddly enough it all worked out. They're still together and have two children -- Isabella, 6, and Dante, 4 months. Bonaduce also credits Gretchen with forcing him to get his act together.

"I've learned that if I just shut up and do what I'm told, there's a lot fewer sirens in my life," says Bonaduce, "and less explosions."

His professional life is looking up as well. In addition to his highly-rated morning show on Los Angeles radio station KYSR, this fall he will serve as one of four hosts of "The Other Half," the testosterone answer to ABC's "The View."

Along with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Jan Adams, Dick Clark and Mario Lopez ("Saved By the Bell"), Bonaduce will attempt to navigate the world of women from the perspective of men, all in front of an entirely female studio audience.

Bonaduce also has an autobiography, "Danny Bonaduce: Random Acts of Badness" coming out in November and there's talk of his radio show being syndicated nationally. Still, he feels prepared to take even more on.

"Fourteen years of unemployment rests a guy."

Twenty-seven years after David Cassidy hopped off “The Partridge Family” bus and into teen-idol history, he has come to terms with his place in show business.

He has starred in, written or produced three smash shows in Las Vegas. He’s putting the finishing touches on a new album in London. And he’s touring for the first time in more than a decade.

Cassidy and his 13-piece band come to the Oneida Bingo & Casino for a show next week.

“We’re going to blow the roof off it,” Cassidy, 51, said Wednesday afternoon from his half-brother Shaun’s office in Los Angeles. “I can promise you that.”

The tour springs from road dates he did last year in Atlantic City, N.J., and Lake Tahoe, Nev. Mixing old hits with newer material from the Vegas shows, he found audiences willing to accept a grown-up Keith Partridge. And he has found the eight-show-a-month tour more appealing than Vegas’ seven-day-a-week grind.

“The shows have been almost like they were twenty-some years ago,’’ he said. “They have been high-energy, to say the least. I went back and pulled out some of the early jewels from my recording career, both from ‘The Partridge Family’ and my own stuff.”

Look for “I Think I Love You,” “I Woke Up in Love This Morning” and a revamped version of the show’s theme song, “C’Mon Get Happy.”

“People will hear a lot of stuff I haven’t done in awhile,” he said. “I had to relearn the theme song. At the time I recorded it, I sang it for 10 minutes and then forgot it. But everybody knows it.

“I pay homage to the television show and its theme and its inception and embrace the fans’ loyalty. (The show) is a celebration of the whole time and period.

“I’ve had one of the best careers I could ask for. It ain’t about the money or the fame for me. I do it because I love it.”

Cassidy wasn’t always so willing to embrace his “Partridge Family” past, which nearly pigeon-holed him as a shaggy-haired teen forever.

The sitcom ran from 1970-74. It propelled Cassidy into superstardom. After the show ended and Cassidy’s fame waned, he reinvented himself as a Broadway and Las Vegas performer.

“It’s taken me this long to get to do the kind of work I do now as a writer, producer, entertainer,” he said. “I love it more now than I ever have. Because, as we all have, we appreciate it as we get older.”

This will be Cassidy’s first performance in the Green Bay area, although it won’t be his first visit. An avoid sports fan, Cassidy said he once quietly slipped into town about 25 years ago for a peek at Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.

And he has one other area tie. In 1978, Cassidy sang backup on Happy Schnapps Combo founder Jim Krueger’s solo album, “Sweet Salvation.” Krueger, in turn, played guitar on several of Cassidy’s tracks.

“I loved the guy,” Cassidy said of the Manitowoc native who died in 1993. “When I heard he had died, I fell on my knees and cried. ... He used to talk about Manitowoc like it was the Emerald City.”
 
 

Former '70s teen star David Cassidy has embarked on his first tour in more than 10 years. The run, scheduled to last through 2002, will feature a retrospective of songs from his 30-year career, including "Cherish," "I Woke Up in Love This Morning," "I Think I Love You" and "Rock Me Baby."

The first batch of dates includes a Saratoga Springs, N.Y., show in support of KidsCharities.org, and a Phoenix gig opened by fellow ex-"The Partridge Family" cast member Danny Bonaduce.

Cassidy first found fame as a star on the '70s series "The Partridge Family." He  has collected 18 gold and platinum records, with sales in excess of 25 million. He went on to appear on Broadway in "Blood Brothers" and "Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat," and in Las Vegas in "EFX".

On Wednesday (7/11), Cassidy issued a press release saying he is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of his family's crest ring given to him by his father, actor Jack Cassidy. He doesn't know whether the ring was lost or stolen.

To the editor:

On the subject of work cards, I was wondering if entertainers such as Wayne Newton, Sheena Easton or David Cassidy have work cards. I would hate to think that Wayne, Sheena and David are without work cards, thus endangering the health, safety, morals and welfare of our good citizens and tourists.

Also, what about the latest gang of strippers to arrive in our fair city -- the girls from the Crazy Horse in Paris. Do they have work cards?

While we were away, the Sahara, David Cassidy and Don Reo finally signed the papers extending "The Rat Pack Is Back" through March 31 ... It is a strong, well-constructed show with an outstanding live orchestra ... (Columnist Joe Delaney)

Press Release

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 13, 2001--For eight weeks this summer, BRAVO will bring viewers on a century-long journey through the history of popular music via the U.S. Television Premiere of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY, an 8-part series featuring contemporary and archive interviews and performances from the most well-known names in music - a total of almost 150 writers, performers and producers who have individually and collectively made an indelible mark on the history of modern music.

A compelling history of the popular music which has been the soundtrack of the past 100 years, from the songs sold as sheet music on Tin Pan Alley at the turn of the 20th century to the billion dollar pop industry of today. Featuring an unrivaled list of contributors and contemporary and archival footage from every era of popular music in the last century, POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY is a chronicle of the development of the modern music industry on both sides of the Atlantic. From Bing Crosby to Elvis Costello, Irving Berlin to the Beatles, they're all here in this sweeping look at the history of popular song.

PART ONE of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY looks at the early years of the American musical theatre, tracing the process by which music rooted in Jewish and African-American traditions melded into the sophisticated and glamorous soundtrack that guided Americans through the Great Depression.

Part One examines the lives and music of three legends of the musical theatre - George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin, and the influence of the heart of musical theatre - Tin Pan Alley. Also included is a look at an early Broadway hit - Showboat was a smash musical that reflected that jazz people were enjoying in speakeasies across the country until the Depression hit and Broadway took a dive, forcing composers to head to Los Angeles.

PART TWO delves deep into America's Jazz Age: a time when bands toured the country playing hits by Berlin, Gershwin, Kern, Cole Porter and Rodgers fronted by singers including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.

The second installment of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY includes contributions from Tony Bennett, Artie Shaw, Harry Connick, Jr, Johnny Mathis, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson. Archival footage of Hoagy Charmichael talking about the origins of Stardust and Paul McCartney describes the writing of Yesterday. There are performances from Al Jolson, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra and Crosby duetting on Did You Evah? And Louis Armstrong performing Heebie Jones.

PART THREE traces the roots of Rock 'n' Roll by starting with a look at a young Elvis Presley and backtracking 50 years to the Deep South where Rock 'n' Roll's most basic components - Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Country/Hillbilly music began to mix and meld into a form that 50 years later would be deemed the fad that was ``here to stay.''

POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY traces the complex way in which the hybrid known as Rock 'n' Roll came to be. Interviews and performances featuring legendary jazz and blues' performers including Bessie Smith, Huddie ``Leadbelly'' Ledbetter, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Louis Jordan, BB King, Hank Williams and Big Joe Turner are featured.

The FOURTH PART of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY examines the new generation of record buyers growing up in Fifties' America. Teenage record buyers didn't want to listen to the old dance band singers so beloved by their parents. Country music was about to have its day, helped by national exposure on fledgling television stations across the country. Stars such as Patti Page broke into national charts with songs like How Much is That Doggie in the Window? And country music knocked established performers like Sinatra and Crosby out of the charts.

Featured interviews and performances include Frankie Laine, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Elvis. Composer Tim Rice talks of his affection for music produced the in the Brill Building - a publishing house for popular music which housed composers like hens and produced some of the classic music of the Fifties and Sixties. Burt Bacharach discusses his writing partnership with Hal David and working in the Brill Building alongside writers such as Neil Sedaka, Lieber and Stoller, Neil Diamond and Carole King. Archive footage and recordings of hits such as Just a Walking in the Rain, Singing the Blues and Mr. Sandman brilliantly illustrate the teenage pop phenomenon.

POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY continues with PART FIVE, a look at the emergence of singer-songwriters in the late Fifties. That'll Be the Day by Buddy Holly and the Crickets was the first instance of this change. The young Buddy Holly's three short years in the business, before his death in 1959, would influence not only his immediate peers, but writers for the next 20 years. Additionally, the configuration of two guitars, bass and drums was the model for the group sound of the Sixties,

In the early Sixties, America dominated the world of popular music, as it had done since the era of sheet music. But the moment four mop-topped Liverpudlians set foot on American soil on February 7, 1964, everything changed. By that April, The Beatles occupied the first five places in the Billboard's Top 100.

Examining the work of British and American songwriters - Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Ray Davies of the Kinks and Pete Townshend of The Who, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Smokey Robinson - POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY traces the way in which British and American songwriters inspired each other to greater and greater heights between 1964 and 1969.

PART SIX of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY looks at music of the late Sixties and early Seventies, a time when Rock 'n' Roll took as sudden a turn as the teenagers who grew up on it did. Upheavals in society such as Vietnam, the deaths of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the tragedy at Altamont, even the breakup of the Beatles, took their toll on a society of young men and women who had led a freewheeling youth, and this was reflected in the music of the time.

As the golden age of the Beatles finished, so did the golden age of America - and for both, a new age of highly personal lyrical navel-gazing took flight. As old groups disbanded (The Birds, Buffalo Springfield and the Hollies), new groups were formed (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young).

POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY explores the careers of singer-songwriters such as James Taylor, Carole King, Randy Newman and Jackson Browne. By the mid-Seventies the mellow sound of the Eagles was the best-selling music in the world. But with punk looming over the horizon, the backlash was only a moment away.

PART SEVEN looks at the rise of the soundtrack song - from Al Jolson's Mammy in the very first talkie to Celine Dion's Oscar® Winning single from the soundtrack of Titanic.

Contributors to this segment of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY include Andre Previn, who arranged the soundtrack album for the Sixties film My Fair Lady and many other Hollywood movies. Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim talks about his show A Little Night Music and writing Send in the Clowns, a long-running stage hit.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice tell how they started as admirers of the great writers like Rodgers and Hammerstein. John Barry and Hal David talk about writing for the Bond movies and Burt Bacharach and David talk about Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

PART EIGHT, the final chapter to POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY, goes back to the beginning to recap the various stages of popular music, culminating with the experimental and diverse hits of the late Seventies, Eighties and Nineties.

Within three years of the Beatles conquering America, Tin Pan Alley was back in business in the guise of the ultimate manufactured pop act - The Monkees. Formed to appear in a television show about a struggling band, The Monkees became a teen sensation. Within the mix of music that emerged in the Seventies was a plethora of teen-oriented acts like The Osmonds, The Jackson 5, Bay City Rollers and Mud.

The Eighties marked the peak for songwriters Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who had seven records in the Top 20 and, in a six year period, clocked over 100 hit singles. Their music, which became the trademark of most Eighties tunes, was unashamedly commercial, upbeat and danceable, instant and disposable.

This final installment of POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF THE CENTURY features interviews and performances from Bananarama, the Bay City Rollers, Boy George, David Cassidy, Neil Diamond, Carole King, George Michael, Kylie Minogue, Michael Jackson, The Monkees, Phil Oakey, Donny Osmond, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams and producers Don Kirshner, Jonathan Kin and Mickie Most.

Bravo, The Film and Arts Network, offers critically acclaimed American and international films as well as performing arts, including dance, theater, classical music and jazz. Bravo is seen in more than 52 million homes nationwide.

Former "The Partridge Family" lead vocalist David Cassidy was the quintessential teen idol of the 1970s. His likeness was on posters, lunch boxes and magazine covers worldwide; the group's "I Think I Love You" was the best-selling record of 1971; membership of his fan club in the early '70s eclipsed that of Elvis Presley and the Beatles; and his records have sold more than 25 million copies, including four consecutive multiplatinum LPs. The Hollywood Reporter new media/technology editor Paul Bond spoke to Cassidy about how he's using the Internet to communicate with his loyal audience.

The Hollywood Reporter: Tell me about "The Partridge Family."

David Cassidy: It's got a life that goes on, and on, and on.

THR: Does that bother you?

Cassidy: No. It's a great thing when you do work that lives that long and has had an impact on the universe for 30 years. People have a misconception about me. I didn't want to go back and do it again because as an actor it's very hard to make "Hey, Mom, can I borrow the keys to the bus?" live with any depth. I had only done drama work on things like "Bonanza," "Medical Center," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "The FBI," "The Mod Squad." In a matter of months, like what happens a lot, all of a sudden you're a hot actor, and they sent me this script. I had eight lines. And I didn't want to do it. I thought, "I just don't get this." But I was 19. I moved out with a friend in this pad up in Laurel Canyon. I was doing OK. I didn't have to be a waiter. Who knew "Partridge Family" would turn into that? They didn't even ask me if I could sing. They didn't even care.

THR: What did you do after your four years on "Partridge Family"?

Cassidy: I toured around the world until 1975. Then I purposely did not work again until 1977, when I got nominated for an Emmy for a "Police Story" episode I did called "A Chance to Live." It was the highest-rated episode they ever did, so executive producer David Guber called me up and said, "We want to do a television series." Remember, this is NBC at their lowest, in 1978. So he starts pulling out old "Police Story" scripts and changes the Angie Dickinson character to me. And then -- the kiss of death is -- they don't have a title for it, and we're into shooting Episode 4. So they say, "We're gonna call it 'David Cassidy -- Man Undercover.' "

THR: Are you playing a character called David Cassidy?

Cassidy: No. I mean, what is this -- "The Loretta Young Theater"? What are we talking about here? It's 1978. "Yeah, but they want to see your name up there," they tell me. My God! And the show was not good. But one of the writers we had on the show became an executive producer on "21 Jump Street," and he told me that he got the idea from my show.

THR: When did you launch DavidCassidy.com?

Cassidy: A year and a half ago. But we really didn't start doing anything with it until three months ago. What I do is organic -- writing, producing, singing. But the Internet doesn't have anything to do with that. I kind of like the idea of being a dinosaur. But DavidCassidy.com has become this big thing. It gives me a chance to communicate with the fans. I asked them to give me their favorite five songs, and I was surprised to find out that two songs from my last album, "Old Dog New Trick," made the top five. The Internet has provided me with a real sense of what the audience wants. There were 350,000 people who gave us a list of their five favorite songs, and we put together a set that I play in concert. About 80% of the set the audience chose, and the other 20% is stuff I do because I love it.

THR: Is my favorite Partridge Family song, "Summer Days," in that set?

Cassidy: Yes. But it wasn't one of the top 10 fan favorites. But it's one of my personal favorites. So as long as I'm digging it, I'll play it.

THR: It's interesting that you're saying that, because there's been much made of you hating the music you were playing with the Partridge Family.

Cassidy: I never hated it. Some of those songs are pop classics. I just wanted the world to know that I was a very different guy musically than that character I was playing. After Album 4, I just didn't want to make the same record over and over again. And the record company didn't want me to make anything else. I think they wanted me to do "I Think I Love You" Part 5 and 6.

THR: What's KidsCharities.org?

Cassidy: My wife created it, runs it and has devoted her life to it. It's her full-time job that doesn't pay anything. We're doing Saratoga Day at the Races; it's a David Cassidy family day at the races. In this case, we're raising money for the Belmont Child Care Center. ... And we raise money other ways, like golf tournaments, online auctions and so forth. A hundred percent goes to children's charities.

THR: What is this letter at your site asking your fans not to buy unlicensed David Cassidy product?

Cassidy: We're policing it. The fans are the ones who want to buy the stuff, and I try to explain to them that stealing is stealing, and it's not just me you're ripping off. It's writers, artists, photographers, all the people who should be compensated, the people who make their living doing that. No one is making anything except the pirate and the bootlegger. If you call me, of course I might license it. But they've sold pictures, magnets, post cards by the tens of thousands that I haven't made a dime for. I'm constantly being handed pictures to autograph that people have bought in poster shops all over the world. Something is wrong here. I'm not greedy. I'm not in this to sell merchandise. I sold a half billion dollars in licensed merchandise in the '70s that's probably worth $10 billion now. I got $5,000 from that because production companies and studios owned my likeness.

THR: Has the letter been effective?

Cassidy: In the last month, since the letter's been up, we've busted about 20 people and have removed a lot of stuff from eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. To exploit from the people who wrote it, manufactured it and me, it's just not right. Some guy was selling clocks with my face on it out of his garage. I got fed up with it.

THR: So then it sounds like you're probably not a fan of Napster?

Cassidy: On the contrary, I don't mind Napster as long as the people trading music don't profit from it. It's about the music and the work. If you love my music, share it. Give it away. If you want to buy it, then please buy it. If you want to trade songs and not profit from it, do it all you want. I've taped things from the radio before, but I never profit from it. If you want to trade tracks, I encourage it. I'm happy to say that if no one is profiting illegally from it, enjoy it. Listen to it.

THR: Is your goal to make money with your Web site?

Cassidy: No. It's there to connect with the audience. If I break even, I'm a happy guy. It has to make sense though. It can't cost me a fortune. It provides fans with information that they want that comes directly from me, so they can forget about whatever else they read or hear.

THR: How do you feel about the many fan sites that have sprung up?

Cassidy: There's one, Cassidyland.com, that has been so helpful to me. I just recently sued Arista Records, Bell Records and (Bell's) parent, BMG, because of information Cassidyland provided. There have been at least seven greatest-hits albums repackaged, which breached my contract. I'll go all the way with this, and I'll win because I've got the merchandise in my hand. They can't tell me they didn't make it. This is my life and my career. I've got just one, but the record companies have 5,000. I'm suing for in excess of $1 million.

THR: Some of the fans online seem obsessed with you. How do you feel about that?

Cassidy: Ninety-nine percent of the fans are great. But there's 1% of America -- whether they are David Cassidy fans or not -- that is unbalanced. The reality they live in is twisted. Some of it gets scary. I've had kidnapping and death threats and bogus paternity suits -- thank God for the test now. It's a minefield out there. I've become highly sensitive to it. When I see that crazy look in the eye, I say: "See ya, gotta go. I'm not your puppet. I'm not your David Cassidy doll. You can't take a piece of me home and hang it on the wall. I won't wake up next to you in my pajamas."

THR: What's one of the worst online frauds concerning you?

Cassidy: I had someone impersonate me on the Internet about two years ago. He did a chat as David Cassidy, talking about my father and my family. And there were homosexual tendencies in the conversation, alluding to homosexual acts by my father and talking about my anatomy. It was very twisted. I didn't have an active Web site at the time, so I went on my friend's site -- musician Andrew Gold -- and he typed that he was sitting right next to me and that this person chatting was impersonating me. I told the fans what they wanted to know, and he typed for me.

THR: Did this happen more than once?

Cassidy: I have no idea. But I said at that point that I would never again chat online; that way, my fans know that it will be an impostor. I will only communicate online through Andrew Gold. Then I built up DavidCassidy.com and announced the site on Andrew Gold's Web site. Now I'll do legitimate online chats through People magazine, Yahoo! or AOL. And I'll promote it on my Web site. But I'll never just show up in an online chat unscheduled. Never.

THR: Are you asking your online fans to help find the ring you lost, which you are offering a $50,000 reward for?

Cassidy: Yes. A picture will be up on the site. My father made a ring with what turned out to be a bogus family crest on it. He gave it to me for my 21st birthday, with an inscription in it. I don't know where or when it was stolen; it's just gone. And it's the only thing I have that my father gave me. It's only worth about $2,500. He subsequently made one for himself and for his brothers and sisters and all my family.

THR: Would you reward the thief with $50,000?

Cassidy: I want the ring back. It would be difficult, though. Stealing is not something I'm comfortable with. What it's worth in gold to melt it down, don't do it. I'll make it worth your while.

After a decade, former teen idol DAVID CASSIDY is hitting the road and going back on tour. Over the last 30 years, the ex-"Partridge Family" heartthrob has never been far from his fans. Even after sinking into a serious depression and disappearing from the spotlight after his business partners stole his music fortune and his famous father, JACK CASSIDY, died in 1976, David admits his fans have been "remarkably loyal."

In the early '90s this versatile performer re-emerged in the hit musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for which he received an Emmy nomination. He's since gained a stable of new fans who know him through TV specials such as his highly-rated profile on VH1's "Behind the Music."

This roller coaster ride to fame started in the '70s when he joined the hit show, "The Partridge Family." His records immediately struck gold and thrust him into international stardom. By age 21, David was the world's highest paid performer and his fan club out numbered even those of THE BEATLES and ELVIS.
 

Now, David's famous past has come into sharp and tragic focus. A prized ring his father gave him on his 21st birthday bearing the Cassidy family crest was recently stolen from his dressing room. David has made a desperate plea that the priceless heirloom be returned and is offering a $50,000 reward -- a sum well beyond the ring's street value of a couple thousand dollars. "It has an inscription to me from my father on the inside," he revealed to ET. "The reason I put a $50,000 reward on it is that only me and two or three people in the world know what's inscribed."

But in the midst of this frantic search, David has decided to return to what he loves the most and is taking his music back on the road. After a decade of rave reviews on Broadway and on the casino circuit, he's launching a whirlwind tour that will take him across the US and around the world through 2002. "I love doing it more now than I ever did," David says smiling, "because it's so rare that you have the opportunity to, after 30 years, go out and play for people who know it and love it and want to see it."

On tour he'll be performing his hit "Cherish," voted the number-one favorite on his official Website, and he'll reprise his first mega hit "I Think I Love You," which topped the charts in 1971.

His tour kick's off July 17 in Prior Lake, Minnesota, and will take him through Los Angeles, New Orleans, Atlantic City and then overseas.

The Wayner crooning "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" wearing blue face paint? Nah.

Tom Jones declaring that "It's Not Unusual" to perform as ethereal imps prance, dance and dive into a pool behind him? Pshaw.

Paul Anka inviting you to "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" as jugglers juggle, showgirls strut and explosives, well, explode? Hmmm. Let's chew on this one.

"I have felt for years, after living in (Las Vegas), that there's somewhat of  a stagnant atmosphere in terms of the implementation of entertainment, with all due respect to content," Anka says. "I think theres an ever-changing revolution when you have the big shows like 'O' and 'Mystere.' These are the types of shows people frequent and support, which tells you something. This could be the new form and the new injection that the town needs for the stand-up performer, which I think is a dying breed."

Jugglers, showgirls and pyrotechnics may be more than Anka, 59, needs to back his bouncy ode to his ex-baby sitter, "Diana." But the possibility of some kind of hybrid creation  production-show eye candy crossed with headliners' hits, of the sort Celine Dion will attempt at Caesars Palace in 2003  has the respected singer-songwriter revved up to chart a new course in his old stomping grounds.

"I've been approached by producers on Broadway for the last five years for the rights to my music to build a show around my music," says Anka, who launches a two-week MGM Grand gig on Thursday. "I've turned them down because I'm not really into the Broadway scenario in terms of taking the risk and taking a year off to do it and getting shot down in one day by a couple of (critics). I respect their work, but it's somewhat of a treacherous terrain.

"But Vegas is a different animal," adds Anka, who has been woven into the Vegas tapestry since 1959 and now performs at both the MGM Grand and Mirage.

"The Celine Dion venture is the kind that I've been talking about for the last few years to the point where I've got $20 million from some people on Wall Street who are fans and want to support this idea. And I'm talking to creative people and that's always the key. I'll spend about a half-million dollars on a storyboard and then find out where to put it. If Celine makes it -- and I know there's been talk about filling the 4,000 seats (at Caesars' planned Colosseum-style theater) and what-if? and what-if? -- it will be a new benchmark for our city."

The man eager to plunge into the future is an old-school entertainer at heart. He doesn't shoehorn old hits into new formats to lure younger fans -- can you imagine rock remixes of "Puppy Love" or electronica versions of "You Are My Destiny" or hip-hop takes on "Having My Baby"? -- and is a card-carrying member of the tuxedoed crooner crowd epitomized by the late Frank Sinatra (for whom Anka penned "My Way"). In other words: a stand-up performer.

But he's also regarded as one of the music industry's savviest, most pragmatic businessmen. And the pragmatic equation, Anka notes, is that stand-up performing no longer equals standout profits.

"(Robert) Goulet, what has he done over there (at the Venetian)?" Anka says bluntly. "I hear they're giving the tickets away. That doesn't work. It works for me, it works for Wayne Newton, he has his crowd, but I'm looking to do something different. When the fans come in, they'll not only hear their favorite songs, but there's stuff around it. That's what people are accustomed to now, looking at an event, a spectacle. They're conditioned already, they don't want to go see these stand-up people."

The concept is more evolutionary than revolutionary, allowing the star and the show to meet in the middle.

"EFX" (now "EFX Alive") was constructed around a succession of headliner types (Michael Crawford, David Cassidy, Tommy Tune and now Rick Springfield, each tailoring the perpetually-in-motion production to fit their styles). But the effects-laden extravaganza -- with its fire-breathing dragon, colorfully-clad characters and mystical plot points -- has always been the true star and primary draw.

Conversely, in the now-closed "At the Copa," Cassidy and Sheena Easton provided the marquee punch as their hits were loosely tied together by a '40s-style storyline -- but minus the visual razzle-dazzle.

Anka's model, at least as a starting point, may be the Cirque du Soleil successes.

"When you look at the numbers Steve (Wynn) has had with 'O' and 'Mystere,' they're walking away with 50 percent of those profits every year. That comes out to $15 million or $20 million a year, their share. It's an entertainment-driven situation and it spills over into every sector of the hotel. You make it in your coffeeshop, your restaurant, while people are standing around. Traffic is the key."

And the marriage of star and spectacle, Anka adds, amounts to long-range planning for hot acts destined to cool down in a mercurial, flavor-of-the-moment culture.

"I'm very close to the record companies and I look at the numbers," Anka explains. "Britney Spears and a lot of acts that go out, their whole criteria is to top the act before them. Janet Jackson, Madonna, they earn a million dollars a night, then spend a million and a half. The record companies subsidize them and they're scratching their heads because they're wondering if they'll ever get it back. But they have to support them because they're selling records.

"One day those people will settle down -- possibly -- and say, 'Look, I can go to a Vegas hotel where I can get all the production I want, make $25 million a year and it's not going to cost me like it does running around the country, thinking, "How long is this going to last?" '

"The 82 percent who come to Vegas who have never been there before are a captive audience. They will come to them."

This is still a wait-and-see scenario for Anka. But the man who has entertained Vegas since the mid-20th century -- and still employs that era's art of stand-up performing -- has his eye on 21st-century reinvention.

"If Celine's works, if I get mine up in time, I think you'll see top-end performers with a show like Broadway," he says.

"If it works there, why shouldn't it work here?"

David Cassidy tells allstar he's in negotiations with a major record label to release a "Then and Now" album.

"It'll basically be an album of my own hits, but re-recorded and done today -- more of a contemporary approach," says Cassidy.

The hits will include Partridge Family songs such as "I Think I Love You," the biggest-selling single of 1971. "I did a whole new arrangement -- very slow and very cool," says Cassidy. "I also started doing 'Cherish' again in concert, differently, and I'm going to re-record it. It's re-addressing the songs 25-odd years later."

Cassidy says the album will also include one or two new songs, "No Bridge" (from his last album, 1998's Old Trick New Dog, which also included some re-recorded gems), plus material from his hit Las Vegas stage revue, "At the Copa."

Although Cassidy has spent most of the past two decades in musical theater, he's heating up his music career again. He's currently on his first concert tour since 1991. "It's a lot more intense now," Cassidy says. "I think I've been discovered by a lot of the people that never saw my work, or were not fans of mine originally."

Cassidy's publicist, JoAnn Geffen, says they are hoping to have the album out before December in the U.K., and a U.S. date hasn't been chosen yet.

Teen heartthrobs come and go, of course. Sometimes they return, however, and very occasionally their comebacks succeed. And David Cassidy, who is working on his first major-label recording in 11 years, hopes to be counted among the latter.
     Universal Records' United Kingdom division will release a new Cassidy album in October, and the disc will likely come out in the United States shortly thereafter, said his publicist. Then and Now will collect newly arranged Partridge Family favorites, including "I Think I Love You" and "I Woke Up in Love This Morning," as well as "Rock Me Baby," "Lyin' to Myself" and "Cherish" from Cassidy's solo career. The disc will also include a cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and may feature new material Cassidy co-wrote with songwriter Sue Shifrin.
     The '70s teen dream is recording Then and Now with producer Ted Carfrae in Wimbledon, England. Cassidy has been on tour for the past six months but has taken numerous breaks to work on the record. He returned to the studio again after a July 21 show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
     After returning to the States this week, he'll MC David Cassidy's Day at the Races on August 3 and 4. The event, to be held at Saratoga Racetrack in Saratoga Springs, New York, will benefit the Belmont Child Care Association, the Northeast Parent & Child Society and the Catie Hoch Foundation.
     David Cassidy, son of the late actor Jack Cassidy, played Keith Partridge in the hit '70s TV series "The Partridge Family." The sitcom about a fictional family pop group also featured Cassidy's stepmother, Shirley Jones. Cassidy released his first solo album, Cherish, in 1972 and followed it with a series of records on various labels. His last major-label disc was 1985's Romance. His most recent record was the self-released Old Trick New Dog (1998).
     Cassidy returned to acting In the '80s and '90s. He starred in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Blood Brothers" on Broadway. He also performed in "At the Copa" and "The Rat Pack Is Back" in Las Vegas. Here are the remaining dates for David Cassidy's U.S. tour, according to his publicist:

8/14 - Beverly, MA @ North Shore Music Theatre
8/16 - Westbury, NY @ Westbury Music Fair
8/17 - East Chicago, IL @ Harrah's
8/18 - Joliet, IL @ Harrah's
9/7 - Shreveport, LA @ Harrah's Casino
9/8 - Shreveport, LA @ Harrah's Casino
9/15 - Reno, NV @Harrah's Reno
9/21 - New Orleans @ Harrah's
9/22 - New Orleans @ Harrah's
10/12 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Raymond F. Kravis Center
10/13 - Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
10/17 - Kansas City, MO @ Harrah's
10/18 - Kansas City, MO @ Harrah's
10/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona State Fair
10/27 - Belmont Park, NY @ Breeder's Cup (singing the national anthem)
11/1 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Harrah's Casino Hotel
11/2 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Harrah's Casino Hotel
11/23 - Las Vegas, NV @ Rio Hotel/Casino
11/24 - Las Vegas, NV @ Rio Hotel/Casino
12/1 - Lake Tahoe, NV @ Harrah's Tahoe
12/2 - Lake Tahoe, NV @ Harrah's Tahoe

— Jon Wiederhorn

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