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Thanks to the following people for making this months newsletter possible: People at the David Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy Chat Lists on Egroups (You know who you are), Jade from Downunder, Cheryl from For All Cassidy Fans, Lynn R. from Liverpool UK,  the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Las Vegas Sun, and Ruth McCartney (www.davidcassidy.com).

(C) March/April 2000 by Erik Drilen.
 
 

Erik

ARE Y'ALL SITTING DOWN??

It's finally happening!! The complete Partridge Family library of albums is being released on CD!! Vocalist Ron Hicklin informed cmongethappy.com that Buddha records, the budget label of Arista, will be releasing all Partridge Family and David Cassidy solo records on CD in the VERY near future!  While exact release dates aren't yet available, it has been confirmed that David
Cassidy's solo album, "Cherish" will be the first release. Calls to Buddha have not been returned as of yet, so we are not sure if any "lost songs" will be included. But we urge all interested parties to visit Buddha's website (www.buddharecords.com) and drop them an e-mail. Way cool, huh?

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

As you can probably guess from the above news, we've just finished our interview with Ron Hicklin as another great exclusive in our continuing series of Partridge Profiles. While we finish formatting the interview (along with Tom Bahler's), we wanted to share some incredible information that Ron pulled from his personal files and shared with us: the definitive song list of all Partridge Family songs ever recorded!! That's right: Album Songs! Episode Songs! Lost Songs! All including recording dates and
vocalists for each song. Since the Background Vocalists recorded their parts after David Cassidy laid down the lead track, this is believed to be the "definitive" song list! Check it out on our ALBUM GUIDE.

Visit www.cmongethappy.com

The critical favorite "The Rat Pack Is Back" is back at the Sahara. The controversial tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. had a short and successful run at the Desert Inn last year, when the show was the target of some lawsuits coming from the estates of Sinatra and Davis Jr. The Desert Inn as part of the suit was up for sale and preferred to bow out and 
close the show down, instead of standing behind the shows success. The estates claimed they did not want to close the show, but they did want a cut of the profits if they used the family names, and words such as the Rat Pack. The lawsuits continuing are now part of the producers of the show, David Cassidy and Don Reo, and probably the new host the Sahara. Cassidy is animate 
in his decision to fight the estate in what he calls a singling out of his show. Within Las Vegas alone there are a half dozen performers who imitate Frank Sinatra, and none of them are being sued. 

The rat Pack Is Back is set at the Sands Hotel and Casino on December 12th 1961, Frank Sinatra’s 46th birthday bash. A time when Frank, Dean, Sammy, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford were dubbed the Rat Pack. They performed often at the Sands and made a movie in Vegas during this period, called Oceans 11, a classic. While at the Desert Inn David Cassidy used to step in the 
character of Bobby Darin, reviews of his new show at the Rio claim that Cassidy’s character in that show is shaped after Darin as well. 

The Rat Pack Is Back runs Tuesday through Sunday with a dark day on Monday. Performances are at 8PM Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and 7:30 and 10PM on Tuesday and Saturday. Tickets are $34.95 and $44.95 and available at 
the Sahara box office for additional information call 702 737-2515.

KidsCharities.org presents the David Cassidy Celebrity Charity Golf Tournament in association with EAT'M, Emerging Artists and Talent in Music. Sponsored by: The Rio Suite Hotel and Casino, National Airlines, TWA and American Airlines on June 10th & 11th, 2000. This event promises to be 2 days of excitement starting with Saturday night tickets to David Cassidy's show "At The Copa" co-starring Sheena Easton. Then Sunday June 11th, the Celebrity Golf Tournament will take place at the Private Rio Secco Golf Course in Las Vegas followed by a cocktail party, dinner, live auction, silent auction and entertainment at the Rio Suite Hotel & Casino. DON'T MISS OUT!! Great Value Player packages are available for the single player or foresome. Corporate Sponsor Packages are still available and will provide your company with national recognition through tournament advertisements and promotions and on site promotion at the tournament. Celebritities Noted: Frank Bonner, David Cassidy,    Sheena Easton, Dennis Haskins, John OHurley.

For more information please contact Steve Scott Tournament Director at: 702-792-9430. (Internet: http://www.kidscharities.org/) 

March 17, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: Cassidy, Easton say stories of feud are pure nonsense
     David Cassidy and Sheena Easton decided to go public with their "feud" Thursday.
      Exasperated by the latest published report that they are fighting, the co-stars of "At the Copa" got on the telephone to address the rumors.
      "There is no truth to any of it," Cassidy said. "I consider her a friend. We've never feuded, never argued. We've never raised our voices at one another. This is based on nothing more than gossip. It's absurd."
      Easton was less diplomatic. "It's bullshit. I'm very surprised that David even wants to address it. My whole approach to anything written in a gossipy sense is to ignore it."
      Some feud, said Cassidy.
      "We've had lunch together, gone out to dinners with our families. She rents from us and my son plays with her kids," said Cassidy.
      "We've heard it," Easton said. "I can't think what it could be. I hope it makes me sound glamorous and exciting. And please don't tell Sue (Cassidy's wife) that I'm having an affair with her husband."
(Internet source: www.lvrj.com)

March 19, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: The Scene and Heard: The biggest Oscar party in Las Vegas is next Sunday at Caesars Palace: Las Vegas Oscar Night America Party to benefit the Arthritis Foundation of Southern Nevada. The event, complete with the red carpet welcome for some big names, starts at 4:30 p.m. Chuck Norris, Donna Mills, Tom Arnold, Meredith Baxter, Wayne Newton, Tommy Tune, David Cassidy and Sheena Easton have confirmed they will attend. An After Glow reception is planned immediately following the Academy Award presentation at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant. (Internet source: www.lvrj.com)

March 20, 2000: A new CD was released in England on March 20. It' s actually not a new CD, but a rerelease, with a new cover, of the French David Cassidy "Daydreamer" CD that was released in 1993, which in turn was a rerelease of the first of two CDs from 1985, "David Cassidy - His Greatest Hits Live" (aka The Royal Albert Hall Concert).  "Daydreamer" is released on Delta Records, catalog number 47032, and the songlist is as follows: Could It Be Forever, Tenderly, Darlin', Thin Ice, Someone, She Knows All About Boys, I' ll Meet You Halfway, I Am A Clown, Daydreamer, Get It Up For Love and How Can I Be Sure.

March 21, 2000: David Cassidy was on KTLA Morning News (Los Angeles, CA) to promote his new Las Vegas Show, "At the Copa." David said that brother Shaun did not like the movie, "The David Cassidy Story" on NBC, and felt that he shouldn't have made it, but he said that was Shaun's opinion and his was a different one. The host also mentioned that Shirley Jones (who is not his mom) didn't like the way David's dad Jack was portrayed in the movie either. David was happy the way the movie turned out, and he felt he made an honest movie of his life, and that there's only so much you can fit into two hours. Making the movie was a very busy time for David, as he had to fly back and forth between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as he was preparing his new show at the Rio and producing "The Rat Pack is Back" at the Sahara as well. (Visit KTLA on internet: www.ktla.com)

March 21, 2000: The Gaming Today writes: David Cassidy: Overdue for a little respect
    Funny, I never thought of Keith Partridge — OK, David Cassidy — as a guy people would love to pick on.
    But that seems to be what’s happened over the course of the three years or so he’s been in Las Vegas, whether he’s donating his time to a charity benefit show or onstage at any one of three or four hotels where he’s worked.
    No one wants to give him the credit he deserves as an outstanding showman. (Granted, the fact that he’s also an outstanding member of the Las Vegas community has little bearing on how folks judge what he does on stage.) They seem to want to judge him with the outdated typecast as the teeny-bopper idol with the cutesy voice that’s not cutesy any more. His detractors dole out the accolades to those he hires.
    The press, some colleagues and a good portion of the public will not give him credit for his proven talents as a writer, producer and director as well as an outstanding all-around performer, even if he isn’t Old Blue Eyes over the microphone.
    No one wanted to give him the credit he deserved for re-writing some things and turning the ill-fated "EFX" at the MGM Grand around. OK, he didn’t do that all by himself. But his talent and energy in the role Michael Crawford highbrowed to boredom, certainly helped save the Grand’s $55 million investment.
    When David left that show, he and Don Reo put together a great little tribute to the Rat Pack ("The Rat Pack Is Back") at the Desert Inn and all people seemed to comment on was the job the "impersonators" did as Dino, Frank and Sammy. And David hadn’t even hired them as impersonators. Few even "got it" that he was staging theater, not a mini "Legends in Concert."
    Now at the Rio, with "At the Copa," it seems they want to credit whatever success the show is having — on stage, not at the box office — to his aging rocker co-star, Sheena Easton and other supporting cast members, the band and the dancers. All of whom do a fine job.
    Sheena can still sing, but this show calls for a little acting and then some, and Julie Andrews she ain’t.
    Cassidy could’ve done this show without Easton. She couldn’t draw flies if she starred in it without him.
    David Cassidy is a showman. A term not used much any more in Vegas, though it once was applied to many who played here because they were the best in the business at using several elements, from singing to dancing to humor to entertain a live audience. They could keep an audience entertained for hours and still have them yelling for more.
    That category of showmen (and ladies) includes folks like Sammy, Wayne Newton, Liberace, Louie Prima, Peter Allen, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Debbie Reynolds and many others. Except for Sammy, no great voice among them. And only Peter or Debbie could be called a writer, director or producer. But all are great entertainers.
    Many of today’s performers can do one thing and one thing only.
    David can do a lot of things quite well.
    "At the Copa" is an entertaining offering that doesn’t have any one great element. But it does have a whole lot of little entertaining elements that make for one entertaining show. (No, I take that back; it does have one great element: Lon Bronson’s orchestra.)
    Critics have knocked it because of the similarities in sets, costumes and choreography to "Chicago" and Bob Fosse.
    Well, "Chicago" is long gone and who hasn’t borrowed from Fosse (including "Chicago")? Who’s dumb enough not to steal from Bob Fosse if they’re putting together a show with contemporary jazz dance elements?
    Hell, I borrow steps from Fosse when I’m taking the groceries into the house from the car.
    As for the story line of "Chicago," this was used by film noir producers in the ’30s and ’40s. In fact, "Les Folies Bergere" at the Trop had "Frankie and Johnny" scenes exactly like it in the ’60s and ’70s.
    "At the Copa’s" script is a little hackneyed, grant it, but it creates a vehicle for the nice flow of recognizable, timeless music. Cassidy and Easton (solo and in tandem), Bronson’s Boys and supporting cast members, all do a fine job with it.
    The show is not a magic show, nor an impressionist show. There are no super high-tech special effects or avant-garde circus acts. There are no bare, silicone-sculpted breasts and no painted characters banging on garbage cans. Just good, old fashioned, quality music, quality performances and quality showmanship.
    Naw, it isn’t like nothing you’ve ever seen before in Las Vegas and it won’t blow your socks off (or your ear drums out). But it will make you feel good about the money you spent to be entertained for the evening.
    Despite what my colleagues in the media and I may say about their chances to succeed at their chosen venue, one has to like the courage of today’s performers who won’t be discouraged from taking a risk to make it in Vegas. And the nails won’t be so easily driven into their coffins.
    Danny Gans could have continued making a million on the corporate circuit and not put up with the early struggles he had at the Stratosphere.
    And he didn’t have to leave his cushy guaranteed salary at the Rio to move over to the bigger more prestigious spot on the Strip at the Mirage, where he must continue to draw crowds to make the big money.
    Lance Burton didn’t have to leave the nice featured 20-minute spot in the Tropicana’s "Folies Bergere" to struggle to give his name marquee value at the Hacienda, before striking it rich at the Monte Carlo.
    Clint Holmes could have settled into a nice guaranteed gig in a safe, intimate environment at a small showroom lounge somewhere instead of risking it all to go from the Golden Nugget —where success did not come — to roll the dice again at Harrah’s.
    David Cassidy could’ve stayed in MGM’s "EFX," where he was credited with saving the show or waited to get his impressive Desert Inn production "The Rat Pack is Back," up and running at the Sahara.
    He didn’t have to stick his neck out by writing, staging and starring in a risky book show at the Rio, where he would rely on others and the script for his success.
    Burton did what many said he couldn’t do because of the overwhelming success that Siegfried & Roy enjoyed, which many thought cornered the magic headliner market when David Copperfield wasn’t around.
    Cassidy was willing, ready and able to make corrections of flaws in his show immediately after the closing curtain rang down on opening night. He told me right after the show he was going to make some changes. He did. Several.
    Other production shows have gone through the same rigor.
    In Vegas showbiz, you have to have guts and some mighty thick skin.
(Written by Don Usherson - the Strip Scoop) (Internet source: http://gamingtoday.com/)

March 24, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: Merchandise won't be issue at reborn 'Rat Pack is Back'
     The Rat Pack is back this weekend -- but don't expect a break-a-leg telegram from Tina Sinatra.
      Frank Sinatra's daughter is still steamed that co-producer David Cassidy and Strip entities are making money off the name of her father in "The Rat Pack is Back!" which opens Saturday at the Sahara's Conga Room.
      Her lawsuit against the Desert Inn over the unauthorized marketing of the Sinatra name is still pending.
      But there's a new development: I'm hearing a representative of Tina Sinatra plans to peddle 3,000 T-shirts featuring the original Rat Pack outside the Sahara before the shows.
      Sahara management indicated they have protected themselves from the merchandizing issues that angered Tina Sinatra when she saw the show late last year.
      "Merchandizing is not in the plans,'' said Yale Rowe, the Sahara's marketing director. The Desert Inn sold drinks named "Ol' Blue Eyes" and "Chairman of the Board" and named a room the Rat Pack Bar.
      "We certainly have no negative issues with the Sinatra family," said Rowe.
      The Rat Pack photo featured on the T-shirt shows Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford at a 1960 Los Angeles function. It was taken by Don Pack, a retired photographer who lives in Las Vegas. (Internet source: www.lvrj.com)

March 27, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: Persistent Cassidy shows fighting side
    He's donned in Rat Pack black -- a '50s-style leather jacket, a button-down, short-sleeved shirt and denim pants -- and the room is murkily lit. The small, delicate-looking figure is difficult to distinguish through the dark.
    Even David Cassidy's mood seems a bit shadowed. He's in that in-between mode, amped after singing and dancing for a near-capacity crowd at the Rio's Copacabana Showroom, but weary from a hard day of work and needing late-night nourishment.
    Cassidy is hastily delivered a light pasta dish, an order placed for him earlier by an associate, and dumps two heaping spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese on the steaming plate. He then jokes about trying to keep his weight in the 130s.
    "I keep so active," he says. "I have to eat to keep my weight up. I'm one of the lucky ones."
    But over the next hour the frank and often defiant Cassidy shows he's no lightweight.
    "The reason I'm successful and I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world is because almost no one has gone through what I've gone through," he says, lurching forward for emphasis. "I've been through the teen idol period and all of that stuff and I've survived. ... (but) once you become mainstream famous again, people start shooting at you. It's exactly like it was in the '70s for me."
    It's a particularly vital time on several fronts for the former Keith Partridge. "The Rat Pack Is Back," which he co-produced with Don Reo, returned to the Strip on Saturday at the Sahara.
    Also, Cassidy's new show at the Rio, "David Cassidy At the Copa, Co-starring Sheena Easton" has been drawing large, enthusiastic crowds heavily populated by his loyal supporters. Cassidy is constantly tinkering with the production, a whirlwind romantic tragedy starring Cassidy as busboy-turned-singing sensation Johnny Flamingo and Easton as his sugar-voiced sweetheart, Ruby Bombay.
    "We've cut 15, 20 minutes and tightened everything up," Cassidy says. "We want to keep it moving, bang-bang-bang, here's a song, here's a sound bite of dialogue, here's another song, like that."
    Despite reviews suggesting that Easton and the powerhouse Lon Bronson Orchestra are the performance's strongest points, Cassidy is in healthy voice and is impressive for his boundless kinetic energy. He has also tersely refuted speculation that he and Easton are sniping at each other, saying, "We've never even raised our voices to each other. We get along great and you can see it on stage. You couldn't fake that type of chemistry."
    Cassidy reserves his most barbed comments for the ongoing trademark infringement lawsuit involving "The Rat Pack Is Back," filed by the families of former Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. The estates are targeting the Desert Inn, which was home to "The Rat Pack Is Back" until the show closed there earlier this year.
    Las Vegas attorney Mort Galane was retained by the estates back in September and has been busy recently serving depositions in the case.
    "I've been deposed this week for nine hours for a lawsuit I'm not being sued over," Cassidy says as he stabs at his dinner. "I know now for a fact that what it's coming down to is, someone wants a piece of our show."
    Galane has consistently stated that the only entity named in the lawsuit is the D.I., for alleged infringement upon the Rat Pack's name and likenesses. Unconcerned, Cassidy, advised by Mark Tratos (the Las Vegas attorney who wrote the Nevada "right of publicity" statute that protects tribute shows) and the Sahara are going forward with "The Rat Pack Is Back."
    Cassidy is clearly treating the challenge to his show as a personal affront.
    "I'm not named in the lawsuit, but anyone in America can sue anyone else," Cassidy says. "It's a sad fact. It's a sad, sad fact."
    Cassidy doesn't attempt to mask his ire when describing the Martin and Sinatra family members who have taken in the show and heaped praise upon the performance while concurrently seeking legal action.
    "It's certainly a flattering tribute, but (the lawsuit) has tainted it very, very much," Cassidy says. "The controversy is about us supposedly doing something wrong when we aren't. We're not using any last names ... and unfortunately all over the world there are Rat Pack lounges, bars, with photographs of all those people on the planet who were part of that era, the people we're paying homage to."
    Cassidy lets out a long sigh. It is suggested he seems to be digging in his heels while protecting his Las Vegas universe.
Without hesitation the onetime teen idol says, "You bet I am."
(John Katsilometes is the Sun assistant features editor. His column appear Mondays.)
(Internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

March 28, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: Sahara dragged into DI's Rat Pack suit
(By Grace Leong)
    The Frank Sinatra estate's Sheffield Enterprises Inc. won an order to depose an executive at the Sahara hotel-casino, the new host of the "Rat Pack is Back!" show and to obtain confidential documents to support its lawsuit against the show's former host, the Desert Inn.
    A March 16 order by U.S. Magistrate Roger Hunt allows Sheffield to depose Sahara's general counsel, John McManus, and obtain its confidential Feb. 9 agreement to host the Rat Pack show to assess damages allegedly caused by a five-month advertising campaign for the Desert Inn's show and sales of goods and services, which Sheffield alleges reduced the market value of the late Frank Sinatra's trademark.
    The show, produced by entertainer David Cassidy and Don Reo and featuring performers who impersonate Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sinatra, began playing at the 550-seat Sahara Congo Room on March 25. The show, which began July 13 at the Desert Inn's 260-seat Starlight lounge, ended its run there Dec. 5.
    Gordon Gaming Inc. doing business as Sahara, filed an emergency motion March 10 to quash Sheffield's attempts to get the documents because it feared Sheffield, which sued the Desert Inn last September, was conducting a "fishing expedition" to determine whether it can file similar lawsuits against the Sahara. The Sahara is not currently a defendant in the case.
    But Mort Galane, Sheffield's attorney, disputed such claims, saying the company needs the information on the Sahara's "seating capacity, ticket pricing and how the producer is to be paid" to prove how the show's performance in the Desert Inn's small seating capacity showroom "diminished the value of the Sinatra mark as far as an opportunity to mount a production for a main showroom on the Strip" is concerned.
    "If the Sinatra family wanted to mount a major production for a major showroom that would seat 1,200 people, say the Bellagio, which is charging $100 for 'O' they can't do it because the (Rat Pack) name is now identified with low seating capacity and low prices," Galane said. (Internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

March 29, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: Boulder City may welcome bikers for fall event
    As many as 50,000 leather-clad motorcycle riders looking for a party may find their way to Boulder City this fall.
    At least that's the hope of BGT Productions, a Las Vegas-based event management group looking to put on a four-day motorcycle festival on 50 acres of the Eldorado dry lake south of Boulder City.
    The group made its pitch to the City Council on Tuesday and came away with a pledge to look into the proposed event.
    "When I first saw this I was concerned, but now I think we would be working with professionals," Councilman Bryan Nix said. "I don't have a problem with exploring this, and it may be a chance for us to enhance our charity revenues or even help fund some city projects."
    BGT and its partner, the Sports Group, a Mesa, Ariz., marketing company, are targeting Oct. 12-15 for the event that they hope will draw 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts.
    "The demographics we are aiming for are the weekend warriors, who are doctors and lawyers, and like to put on their leathers and go for a ride on the weekend," Kerry Dunne, president of the Sports Group, said. "We put on the Phoenix Open for the PGA, and I look at this the same way.
    "There will be a major trade show and places for the dealers to show off their latest creations in the world of motorcycles."
    Dunne told the council that that national sponsors have signed on and that parts of the event will be televised nationally.
    BGT director Paul Barrow said he envisions the event bringing in Hollywood stars and celebrities.
    "David Cassidy is a part of our group, and you'll see stars with a passion for motorcycles at the event," Barrow said.
    The four-day festival would also include a concert with proceeds going to Bike-Aid, a charitable organization that uses cross-country motorcycle rides to raise money for grass-roots environmental programs and education.
    The council asked that the promoters meet with the city staff and local emergency services to determine the logistics for the event.
    Boulder City Police Chief David Mullin said that staffing the event with officers would be difficult.
    "The date they are proposing is the weekend after our Art in the Park event, so we'll be stretched pretty thin," Mullin said. "It can be done, but it is going to cost them some money to bring in some outside help."
    Art in the Park usually draws about 100,000 people into downtown Boulder City, but the motorcycle festival will not directly bring anyone into Boulder City unless it is designed to do so, Dunne said.
    "If you want people funneled into the restaurants and hotels we can do that, or we can minimize the impact."
    The council told the promoters that before anything could move forward possible problems with dust control and traffic would have to be worked out.
(Written by Jace Radke, a Las Vegas Sun reporter)
(Internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

March 30, 2000: HAPPY 9th ANNIVERSARY, DAVID AND SUE!

March 31, 2000: HAPPY 66th BIRTHDAY, SHIRLEY JONES!

March 31, 2000: The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: Days of Yore: Sahara snatches up 'The Rat Pack Is Back' tribute
      Once upon a time, in the magical realm of Las Vegas, four princes -- well, actually, one Chairman of the Board, two princes and a court jester -- reigned supreme, dispensing song, dance and laughter.
      Their names were Frank, Dino, Sammy and Joey, a regal quartet that held court in what was known as the Copa Room.
      All but one is gone now -- and so is their fabled Sands showroom.
      But the spirit that transformed those vintage Vegas days has returned to the Las Vegas Strip with "The Rat Pack Is Back," a show devoted to their legendary high jinks that's now at the Sahara.
      Last year, "The Rat Pack Is Back" drew enthusiastic audiences to the Desert Inn's cozy Starlight Lounge for a sentimental journey back to Dec. 12, 1961, when Frank Sinatra's 46th birthday inspired his Rat Pack pals (minus Peter Lawford) to gather for a fictional one-night stand.
      But ongoing legal battles with the estates of Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. -- three of the headliners the show salutes -- led to an early December shutdown.
      That in turn prompted a promise from co-producer David Cassidy: "The Rat Pack Is Back" would be back.
      And the Sahara's Congo Room provides an appropriately retro setting for the show.
      "That's one of the reasons we chose the Sahara," says singer Bobby Caldwell, who reprises his "Rat Pack" Sinatra role.
      "We're not only embodying the performances of these legends, we're recapturing the ambiance of the era," he says.
      Which is just as it should be, according to Yale Rowe, the Sahara's marketing and entertainment director.
      After all, the Sahara is one "a handful" of Strip resorts "the show really fits in," he says. As one of the few casinos "that was around during those days," the new venue offers "a real flavor of what Las Vegas was all about."
      Sahara officials first saw "The Rat Pack Is Back" during its Desert Inn run "and we felt it had the ability to be perfect in a bigger room," Rowe says. "Once the (Desert Inn) run ended and it didn't have a home, we felt it was a perfect fit for our history at the Sahara."
      Negotiations with Cassidy and co-producer Don Reo took "about a month," Rowe says, adding that the Sahara does not anticipate the same kind of legal problems that previously plagued the show.
      And while the "Rat Pack's" new home is bigger -- the Congo Room seats about 550, compared to Desert Inn's 300-seat Starlight Lounge -- the changes are relatively minor, Rowe says.
      For one thing, all four cast members are veterans of the first "Rat Pack Is Back" production. In addition to Caldwell, Tony Tillman (alias Sammy) and Hiram Kaster (as Joey, the Rat Pack's lone real-life survivor) all opened in the Desert Inn version. And local lounge veteran Rick Michel, who played Dino during the previous run, also repeats his role at the Sahara.
      "We have a camaraderie that formed from the show's inception," Caldwell says, citing Kaster as a key to the production's success.
      "For my money, he's probably the most important cast member," Caldwell says. "He sets the timbre of the show. It's really up to Hiram to get the people into the mood."
      Also augmenting the period feel: Lon Bronson's 14-piece band, which provides appropriately swingin' musical backing for Rat Pack classics from Frank's "I Get a Kick Out of You" and Dino's "That's Amore" to Sammy's "Who Can I Turn To."
      Although "The Rat Pack Is Back" itself hasn't changed significantly in form or content, the Congo Room has undergone some alterations to accommodate its new retro tenant.
      "It's a different room, a larger room," Caldwell says, which means he and his fellow Rat Packers have "a lot more stage to work with. I think it makes it a little bit larger than life."
      Despite the changes, Sahara officials "tried to keep that period look," installing stationary lights instead of contemporary movable lighting," Rowe says. And the performers "use mikes with wires, which you never see anymore."
      Black-and-white photographs from the era adorning the walls and costumed cocktail servers also "take you back to the golden era" the show depicts, Rowe says.
      But there's one significant difference between the current Congo Room and the showrooms of the Rat Pack era: theater-style seating that's "more comfortable" for contemporary audiences, he says. (A VIP-style "Golden Circle" will feature cocktail tables and a more vintage atmosphere, Rowe says, along with a price $10 higher than the standard $34.95 ticket.)
      And although another contemporary standard has worked its way into the Congo Room -- no smoking in the audience -- the same does not hold true for the performers, Caldwell says.
      "We're allowed to smoke," he says. "It's a prop that's genetically impossible to avoid."
      Just like the ever-present drinks, the ring-a-ding humor, the devil-may-care attitude that characterized the Rat Pack, Caldwell says.
      Re-creating such legendary performers represents a challenge, he says, "but it's a fun challenge. We're all aficionados of that era."
      During that era, the Rat Pack's spontaneous song-and-dance style symbolized Vegas entertainment.
      These days, however, "it's a lost art," Caldwell says, contrasting "The Rat Pack Is Back's" relative simplicity to the high-tech spectaculars, crammed with elaborate special effects, that dominate today's Strip.
      As a result, "The Rat Pack Is Back" stands out once again, offering audiences the chance to return to that magical Vegas of once-upon-a-time.
Preview
      What: "The Rat Pack Is Back"
      When: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays; 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays and Sundays
      Where: Sahara, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. South
      Tickets: $34.95-$44.95
(By Carol Cling) Visit the Las Vegas Review-Journal on the internet: www.lvrj.com)

March 31, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: New 'Rat Pack Is Back' a hit as Sahara's centerpiece
(By Joe Delaney)
    The David Cassidy-Don Reo production "The Rat Pack Is Back," is now ensconced in the Sahara's renovated Congo Room, a 550-seat showroom that was at approximately 80 percent of capacity during a recent performance, a very respectable count this early in its run.
    Although the show is not changed significantly from its previous Desert Inn stand, it is a much tighter, better flowing, always swinging 90 minutes or so at the Sahara. It deserved to have been in a main showroom from the beginning.
    Credit Lon Bronson's second orchestra, onstage throughout, with a huge assist. Bronson conducts one orchestra for David Cassidy and Sheena Easton's "Live At the Copa," at the Rio. Pianist Greg Bossler does the honors at the Sahara.
    The time is Dec. 12, 1961. The scene is the onstage birthday party for the Chairman of the Board, Frank, and he is toasted by his fellow Rat Pack members, Dean, Sammy and Joey. Last names are never used but it is obvious that it is really the Sands and a reasonably accurate depiction of that special occasion.
    Following an overture a medley of songs associated with the original Frank, Dean and Sammy, Hiram Kasden, as Joey, does a solid 20 minutes of stand-up comedy, a stronger outing than we remember at the Desert Inn. Joey introduces Frank (Bobby Caldwell) who sings "Come Fly With Me," "All of Me" and "Luck Be a Lady," pulls up a stool for "One for My Baby" when he is interrupted by Dean (Rick Michel), even stronger than his Desert Inn predecessor, Steve Apple.
    Dean has a present for Frank, some candy. It's really Candy, a stunner portrayed by Christine Anderson. Frank goes off with Candy, and Dean sings "Everybody Loves Somebody" and "That's Amore." Sammy (Tony Tillman) joins Dean for a comedy duet on "Sam's Song" that becomes "Dean's Song." Sammy has a present for Frank, and it's Mandy, Candy's twin sister, a dual role for Anderson. Frank and "Candy/Mandy" go off with Dean.
    Sammy is left alone for "That Old Black Magic," "What Kind of Fool Am I" and "Mr. Bojangles," shifting the show into high gear, a standard maintained until the finale. Frank and Dean return and do very funny lines as Sammy tries to sing "She's Funny That Way." They do let him finish "Hey, There," the real Sammy's first million-record seller.
    Joey returns with the booze trolley and gets to do more good comedic time. He stays on for the comedy medley and the quasi-serious medley that includes "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," "A Foggy Day," "Embraceable You" and "Where or When." "Birth of the Blues" is the big closer, with the traditional "One More Time" tag, and finish.
    "The Rat Pack Is Back" is greatly improved this outing. The audience at the show caught got into the spirit of the party early and never wavered. The rapport between the foursome was believable especially when they began to party and put each other on. Prognosis, assuming no legal interruptions, is immeasurably better here.
(Internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

April 6, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: Activity was heavy, starting with a well-performed and positively reviewed performance of "The Rat Pack Is Back" in the Sahara's "new" Congo Room. ... The original Congo Room site is being renovated for magician Steve Wyrick, set to open there in a month or so. ... Absent future litigation, "Rat Pack" looks like a winner. (For the whole story, go to www.lasvegassun.com)

April 7, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes that "Lon Bronson is the hottest band leader in town with his All-Star Band in the Riviera Lounge at 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays ... Bronson also has a full complement backing David Cassidy and Sheena Easton (Rio) and "The Rat Pack Is Back" in the Sahara's new Congo Room." Busy band, isn't it?

April 12, 2000: HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY, DAVID!!!

April 12, 2000: David was interviewed by Lorraine Kelly on GMTV (UK) today.
Seventies pop icon David Cassidy turns 50 today but, as Lorraine found out, the million-selling singer and cult TV star shows no sign of slowing down.
    The Peter Pan of Pop today talked live to Lorraine from Las Vegas where he's currently starring in his own show, David Cassidy at the Copa. Looking younger than his years, the man behind such hit singles as Daydreamer and I Write The Songs and a millionaire by the age of 21, began by talking frankly about the effects of early fame.
    "I never expected what happened to me. Back then I lived in a vacuum. My life became smaller and smaller and it got to the point that it became too difficult to go out and be a public person. I found myself withdrawing from society and being afraid."
    There is little wonder he was so afraid. At one point, when he was rushed to hospital in LA to have his gall bladder removed, fans broke into his room while he was lying in bed half-conscious with a drip in his arm.
    "My problems were a lot to do with not feeling worthy of all that attention. But after eight years of analysis I completely changed my life" added Cassidy, looking comfortable and energetic, despite just having come off stage.

Early Start
    Unbelievably his rollercoaster career had started at an even younger age. While still in his teens he became equally famous as clean-living Keith Partridge in the phenomenally successful American TV series "The Partridge Family" in which a family forms a groovy but wholesome band.

Squeaky clean
    In real life he wasn't the squeaky clean teen he was portrayed to be. Behind the scenes, he admits, he was a sex-mad druggie, having sex with girls backstage after gigs.

Busy career
    Cassidy recovered quickly from his early difficulties and, apart from numerous TV shows, three marriages, the birth of a son, and the re-recording of his most famous hits, his career really took off again in 1993 when The Partridge Family was repeated on the American networks and received amazing ratings. Parts in musicals like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Time and multi-million dollar show EFX quickly followed.
    Early this year his Las Vegas show opened to critical acclaim for its sexy, high-energy pieces pulled from his TV and Broadway successes.
    He works on the show for 46 weeks a year so, although he misses England, Cassidy said he had no plans to come to England in the near future. (Visit GMTV on the internet: www.gmtv.co.uk)

April 12, 2000: The Liverpool Echo (England) writes: ... "Britain could barely wait for David Cassidy to arrive in the early '70s. The nation was split into the Cassidy camp and the Osmond fans.
    Thousand of fans - "weenyboppers" as they became known - screamed and wailed at the concerts.
    At King's Hall, Belle Vue, in Manchester fans outside without tickets tried to break in through side entrances and reports at the time said "they were also fought off by stewards."
    Some wept openly in the streets because they failed to get in. Hundreds inside needed on-the-spot treatment for fainting fits and hysteria.
    Seats were smashed as the fans jumped up and down on them to the music.
    They had to be told to sit down or Cassidy, who wore a series of figure-hugging catsuits, would not carry on.
    When he launched into "Could It Be Forever," one girl managed to wriggle through, get on stage and kiss her idol.
    Other famous hits including "How Can I Be Sure" and "Cherish" also topped the charts.
    At a concert in White City fans were injured and major safety fears were raised. One teenager later died in hospital after being caught up in the crush when 35,000 teenies pushed forward to the stage.
    After the years of teeny mania, his career went quiet but he made a comeback in the Bill Kenwright Broadway production of Blood Brothers alongside Petula Clark in early 1993."

    The article presents one fan, now also fifty and a grandmother, who was a big fan back then and went to the Maine Road concert in Manchester in 1974. She said to the Liverpool Echo that "I can well remember screaming and screaming. I'm still a fan now, but you have to stop screaming sooner or later."

April 16, 2000: HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY, SUE!

April 16, 2000: David Cassidy hour on MSNBC's "Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer." Guests included David, Sue Shifrin, David's mother Evelyn Ward, Danny Bonaduce, Dave Madden, Sam Hyman, Co-Author of C'mon Get Happy Chip Deffaa, Jack Cassidy's very close personal friend Karen Feld, webmaster Ruth McCartney and much more.
    One thing that thrilled was the performance of his father onstage singing "Wish You Were Here" from the musical of the same name. The song his father sung was the one David recalled as the moment when he knew he wanted to perform and be like his dad when he saw him onstage. There were some exclusive Henry Diltz home movies other than what VH1 had shown and a heartfelt reunion of David Cassidy and Susan Dey never seen on American television. David looked really great in the interview, the best.

April 18, 2000: An interview with David Cassidy was aired on Fox News Channel (cable).

April 18, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun (by Steve Kanigher) writes: Ensign outdistances Bernstein in fund raising
    Former Republican Rep. John Ensign of Las Vegas ended the first quarter of 2000 with nearly twice as much cash on hand as chief rival Ed Bernstein in their U.S. Senate race.
    In Federal Election Commission filings due Friday, Ensign reported $1.74 million cash on hand through March 31, compared to $997,181 for Bernstein, a Las Vegas Democrat.
    Ensign also reported net contributions of $461,243 for the quarter, compared to $202,979 for Bernstein. But Bernstein, an attorney, reported $711,807 in total receipts for the quarter, including a $505,000 loan from his personal account.
    Cash on hand is significant because it helps measure the candidates' future abilities to run advertisements and get their messages out.
    The latest figures mean that Ensign so far has raised about $2.54 million, compared to $1.1 million for Bernstein, in their bid to replace Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who is retiring at the end of his second term this year. Ensign also has outspent Bernstein by an 8-to-1 margin.
    Ensign spent $524,309 during the last quarter for a total of nearly $900,000 for his campaign. Bernstein has spent only $113,925, including $97,232 so far this year.
    Ensign, a veterinarian who served two terms in Congress, received slightly more than half of his contributions for the previous quarter from political action committees. Only about one-sixth of Bernstein's contributions came from PACs.
    Noteworthy in Ensign's case is that the former congressman, who earlier captured heavy support from the gaming industry, received nearly all of his contributions for the previous quarter from nongaming sources.
    His individual contributors included $1,000 from Miami sports magnate H. Wayne Huizenga, $2,000 from boxing promoter Don King, $400 from former UNLV interim Athletic Director Dennis Finfrock, $500 from Frehner Construction executive Garth Frehner, $1,000 from Barrick Goldstrike Vice President Michael Brown, and $2,000 from businessman E. Parry Thomas.
    Bernstein received $1,000 from Slim Fast Foods Chairman S. Daniel Abraham, $2,000 from entertainer David Cassidy, $2,000 each from Jockey Club Resort owner Sheldon Cloobeck and Cloobeck Enterprises executive Stephen Cloobeck, $500 from Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., $1,000 from former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, and $1,000 from Fiesta hotel-casino President George Maloof Jr. Bernstein also received $2,000 from the campaign of Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and $500 from supporters of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. (Visit the Las Vegas Sun on internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

April 22 and 23, 2000:David did an interview that aired on several stations nationally.  It happened at noon Eastern time on April 22nd and 23rd.  It was a countdown of hits from 1971.  It was aired on the following stations:
D103 in Long Island
WJMK Oldies 104.3 in Chicago
WMXJ Magic 102.7 in Miami
WWMG Magic 96.1 Charlotte
WRIT in Milwaulkee
WOTO in Memphis
KODJ in Salt Lake City
WTRY in Albany
and at noon on the 23rd it could be heard on the internet at www.wtry.com

April 25 - May 1, 2000:  Dark days at the Rio. David Cassidy will not perform this week.

April 26, 2000: The Marketplace, a classified ad section has been added to the David Cassidy Fan Site of Norway. This is a place where fans can sell, buy or trade David Cassidy related items. Go to http://www.bravenet.com/classified/show.asp?usernum=74163574

April 27, 2000: Happy Birthday, Sheena Easton!

April 30, 2000: The Las Vegas Sun writes: Lon Bronson has a very full plate these days. In addition to his duties as band leader for David Cassidy's "At the Copa" co-starring Sheena Easton, Bronson also has an orchestra at "The Rat Pack Is Back" at the Sahara. Plus, he still heads up the weekly late-night Lon Bronson All-Star Band at Le Bistro Lounge at the Riviera.
    In addition to all of his musical duties, Bronson is also the production manager at the Riv and he's been approached by the location scouts for "The Mexican," the Brad Pitt/Julia Roberts picture scheduled to shoot here in a few weeks. The producers are looking for a showroom for a couple of scenes and they think the "Crazy Girls" theater might be just the place. This is, of course, a bonus for the hotel -- the Riviera was also the backdrop for scenes in "3,000 Miles to Graceland."
    Bronson said that final papers have yet to be signed for this project, but he's optimistic that they'll use the showroom. The location scouts will buy out an evening of "Crazy Girls" and probably do a little restructuring of the stage in order to accommodate the cameras, crew and actors.
    In June Bronson celebrates 10 years leading the house band for the hotel -- making his the longest-running house band in Vegas. The 13-piece All-Stars (who start their gig at 1 a.m. on Friday nights/Saturday mornings) are often referred to as one of the best-kept secrets in town. After their "paying" gigs are through at other hotels the musicians, most of whom play in one of Bronson's other orchestras, get together and play for fun -- and for audiences who can afford the two-drink minimum at Le Bistro.  (Visit the Las Vegas Sun on the internet: www.lasvegassun.com)

March 15, 2000: IGOSHOWS.COM (by Chuck Rounds) writes:

David Cassidy and Sheena Easton at the Copa is a fun show with a lot of wonderful and familiar songs, and set in a 1940’s style lounge act. It is presented in the beautiful Copa lounge at the Rio Hotel. The show has a live orchestra and a core of dancers and supporting cast members which are all great.
    The songs are built around the semblance of a forties style lounge act and story. David Cassidy plays the role of Johnny Flamingo, a waiter that is thrust into the spotlight due to the death of another entertainer, and immediately becomes a star. Sheena Easton plays the role of Ruby Bombay, the diva of the lounge who has taken an interest in Flamingo, and subsequently falls in love with him. Through a certain amount of intrigue, Flamingo loses Bombay, falls into a deep depression; only to be reunited with her moments before she is killed.
    The story is told very cleverly with short little scenes between songs, as well as with songs. The ensemble deftly jumps in and out of different characters to support the story in a style that is very reminiscent of the musical Chicago. Narration helps move the story forward and cover a lot of the transitions.
    Initially, the story seems to be set in the forties, but after the first couple of scenes, the adherence to time period seems to be lost. We are still left with the essence of the period, but really, it seems as if it is used only as a convenience--when it isn’t convenient; it is ignored. The production really seems to be more of a vehicle and showcase for the two main performers, and with this in mind, it serves them well. After all, it is Cassidy and Easton that we have come to see. We have come to see them sing and perform, and not just act in a role, but we also come to see them with their own personalities. Not only do we get to hear each of them perform some classic oldies, but we also get to hear them sing some of their greatest hits. Cassidy seems to know this and works the room and the crowd wonderfully.
    On the one hand, this type of performance seems to hurt the story and the plot. When we get to see the personalities of Cassidy and Easton, it is a time, of course, when they are stepping out of the character and breaking the illusion of the play. At that moment, the story seems to be lost. On the other hand, this is what we want to see of these performers, and so we in the audience really don’t mind that much. For us, the story is a secondary element anyway.
    One of the best elements of this production is the live orchestra--an element increasingly hard to find in a lot of productions. So many productions on the strip have opted for taped music for the sake of consistency and expense. This is always done, however, at the cost of the spontaneity and the dynamics of live performances. So often performers become static and uninspired with taped music. This will not happen with this production. The orchestra is great, and they follow the singers through all of their play with the songs and with the audience. The musicians also handle a tremendous variety of music and styles.
    The rest of the company is comprised of “The Gang,” an ensemble of actors, singers, and dancers which support and frame this production. Each person in this chorus could be a star in their own right. They are all extremely talented. The dancing is fabulous. Their singing is right on mark, and their acting is very good. “The Gang” probably has the hardest job in the show. They jump in and out of different characters, dance, sing, provide some of the narration; and all in all, give this production the substance that it does have.
    David Cassidy and Sheena Easton at the Copa is a show that is a lot of fun. Go and see all of these performers strut their stuff--they do it very well. The story is a bit weak, but because of the personalities of the cast, you really don’t mind.
(Internet source: www.igoshows.com) Translations into French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish are available on igoshows.com's web site.
 

March 19, 2000: The Orange County Register (by Jackie Brett) writes:

Former teen superstar David Cassidy, who will turn the big "Five-O" this year, is starring in his own show and a new production for the Rio called "At the Copa." He's also the show's producer and chose to mix an uncomplicated Broadway-type plot with a live nightclub concert. It's a show that Cassidy had been wanting to do for a long time.
    When the show first opened in January, it had rough edges which have been worked out. thus the reason for a recent second visit to the show.
    The show is set in the Rio's remodeled, oval-shaped, bared Copacabana showroom. The nightclub atmosphere and the show are completely enhanced by the presence of Lon Bronson's 18-piece band. An added nightclub touch is robust Stewart Daylida playing a club emcee desperately trying to break into show business. One must add that Daylida's supporting role actually steals the show.
    On the Broadway side, the six dancers (four female and two male) are choreographed and costumed similar to the Bob Fosse characters in the play "Chicago." In fact, Rick Pessagno who plays Lefty, a sleazy nightclub owner, is a former "Chicago" cast member.
    In the middle linking the theater and nightclub formats are the show's two co-stars David Cassidy and another former teen idol Sheena Easton. He plays Johnny Flamingo, a waiter promoted to showroom star when his predecessor is shot by a jealous dame. Easton is Ruby Bombay, the club's chanteuse that Flamingo falls for big time. The catch is Lefty tells Flamingo "hands off" Bombay if he wants to keep his job.
    Cassidy and Easton do two different sets of tunes in the show. Some songs like "That Old Black Magic" and "Fever" carry the plot along. Easton's "For Your Eyes Only" and Cassidy's "I Woke Up In Love This Morning" are among the hit tunes two stars sing in order to please the audience.
    One thing that happens in this show and can't be helped is when Cassidy does his hit songs, you automatically put the "Partridge Family" aura around him which detaches you from his Flamingo character for awhile.
    Regardless, audiences are thoroughly enjoying Cassidy and Easton plus a live orchestra "At the Copa." Tickets are $58.
    For more information, call (702) 252-7777.
    Jackie Brett is a freelance writer who has been covering the Las Vegas scene for more than 23 years.
(You can visit the Orange County register online at: www.ocregister.com)

Party resumes for `Rat Pack' at Sahara
(By Carol Cling, The Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 14, 2000)

      When Frank turned 46 -- Dec. 12, 1961 -- it was a very good year.
      After all, Sinatra's good pal John Fitzgerald Kennedy was in the White House, leading an America some called Camelot toward new frontiers at home, overseas -- and in outer space.
      And while JFK was transforming Washington, D.C., with his glamour and panache, Sinatra reigned supreme in a different capital.
      With a little help from his even better pals Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop (plus an occasional assist from Kennedy in-law Peter Lawford), Frank and his cohorts -- known collectively as the Rat Pack -- made Las Vegas the undisputed entertainment epicenter of the world.
      The world has changed immeasurably since then.
      But the allure of Sinatra and his merry men remains as tantalizing as ever, as "The Rat Pack Is Back" ably demonstrates.
      A make-believe meeting of Frank, Dino, Sammy and Joey -- first names only, please -- "The Rat Pack Is Back" finds the Chairman of the Board and his court jester, Joey, welcoming Dino and Sammy to an impromptu birthday bash for the legendary group's beloved figurehead.
      Ever the impeccable hosts, the celebrants make sure their guests in the audience have at least as much fun as they're having onstage.
      Conceived by David Cassidy and Don Reo, "The Rat Pack Is Back" first set toes tapping and fingers snapping last year at the Desert Inn's spiffy Starlight Lounge.
      Legal problems forced that version to close in December, but the current 90-minute incarnation -- now ensconced in the Sahara's larger Congo Room -- preserves much of the original's appeal.
      Granted, the new venue at the Sahara, with its comfortable theater-style seating, lacks the intimacy of the show's former lounge home.
      And the somewhat shabby surroundings -- especially the Congo Room entrance, marked (or should that be marred?) by damaged wall moldings and multiple holes in the wall -- detract a bit from the swank, vintage-Vegas ambience "The Rat Pack Is Back" aims to revive.
      But all's well once the Lon Bronson Orchestra cranks up under the able command of conductor Greg Bossler, setting the scene with a swingin' medley of Rat Pack classics including Frank's "Come Fly With Me," Dino's "That's Amore" and Sammy's "Hey There." (Bronson himself is busy these days at the Rio, conducting Cassidy's "At the Copa" show.)
      The First Rat Pack member to hit the stage is, inevitably, Joey (alias the energetic Hiram Kasten), spouting a barrage of vintage jokes. Some of them are so creaky Kasten has to hype the laughs by reminding the audience that it's 1961 and pleading, "C'mon, folks -- you never heard this before!"
      Yet his opening-act banter sets an appropriately spirited mood as singer Bobby Caldwell takes the stage for a ring-a-ding set of such Sinatra favorites as "Come Fly With Me" and "Luck Be Lady," rendered in a smoothly persuasive style that captures Sinatra's distinctive phrasing and even some of his trademark swagger.
      But as Frank launches into the opening lines of the saloon classic "One For My Baby," Dino (Rick Michel) saunters in, drink and cigarette in hand, to get the party rolling.
      After trading some suitably tongue-in-cheek repartee with the birthday boy, Dino takes a turn in the spotlight, highlighted by "Everybody Loves Somebody" and a sing-along rendition of "That's Amore" that makes the most of Michel's languid, lighthearted presence.
      But it's the arrival of human dynamo Sammy Davis Jr. (vibrant Tony Tillman) that really kicks "The Rat Pack Is Back" into high gear as he shifts from a scat-spattered "That Old Black Magic" to a tender rendition of "Mr. Bojangles" that prompts the following breezy confession: "You know, folks, in actual fact I won't be recording this song until 1968."
      Such cheerful anachronisms capitalize on the show's then-and-now perspective -- a gap that disappears during a tuneful finale that finds Frank, Dino and Sammy (and, eventually, even Joey) interweaving witty banter, smooth harmonies, risque song parodies and excerpts from such pop classics as "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Pennies From Heaven," "Embraceable You," "A Foggy Day (in London Town)" and "Birth of the Blues."
      Powered by these imperishable musical standards, "The Rat Pack Is Back" cuts loose from its nostalgic premise to offer a convincing demonstration that some things -- the best ones, anyway -- never go out of style. "The Rat Pack Is Back" plays at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays, in the Congo Room at the Sahara, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Tickets are $34.95 and $44.95.
      Grade: B
(Visit the Las Vegas Review-Journal at www.lvrj.com)

Shaun Cassidy made a surprise guest appearance Saturday night, March 25,  at the Rusty's in Santa Monica, California, when he joined Billy Mumy and his band the Jenerators on stage for two songs. Brother Ryan was also in attendance, as was Shaun's 18-year old daughter Caitlin. The two songs were the Beatles' "Slow Down" and the Shirelles' "Baby It's You." Shaun looked and sounded great! Hope he enjoyed it as much as the audience did.

April 12, 2000: Press release: More 'Cover Me' coming on USA
    USA Network's original dramatic series Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family has received an order for an additional 9 episodes, bringing the total order to 22. The announcement was made today by David Eick, Senior Vice President, Original Series Programming, USA Network
    "We are excited about the early success of Cover Me," commented Eick. "The show's popularity is evidence of the audience's thirst for compelling original programming."
    USA Network's premiere of the critically-acclaimed Cover Me on Sunday, March 5th at 8:00 PM ET/PT was the most viewed series debut in USA Network history*, with 2,401,000 homes viewing. Cover Me airs every Sunday night on USA from 8:00 - 9:00 PM.
    Based on a true story, Cover Me follows an undercover agent who will go to any lengths necessary to protect his wife and their three children -- even if it means involving them in the extremely dangerous world of mob infiltration. The series stars Peter Dobson, Melora Hardin, Cameron Richardson, Antoinette Picatto and Michael Angarano. Shaun Cassidy serves as executive producer, Jim Michaels as producer.
    Cover Me is a Shaun Cassidy production distributed by USA Cable Entertainment.
    USA Network, owned and operated by USA Networks, a USA company (NASDAQ:USAI), is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is available in 77% of all U.S. homes, and is seen in more than 77 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com.
(* This refers to the cable network USA's ratings history, not 'in the history of all cable networks.')

If you haven't already, don't forget to order you David Cassidy Official Screensaver
Price: $24.95. To order, go to:
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y01Y6254233Y0078115/

You can listen to Danny Bonaduce on his radio station at www.star987.com

David's photo in the May 2000 issue of Metal Edge Magazine. David Cassidy with Firehouse guitarist Bill Leverty when they met at the Radio Megablast convention late last year at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. Visit Metal Edge at www.metaledgemag.com/

Your Favorite Partridge Family Songs:
From January 1 through April 30, 2000 we ran a survey on Freevote (http://www.freevote.com/booth/partridgefam), and these were the final results:

1. Brown Eyes (Sound Magazine) 646 votes (29.3%)
2. Echo Valley 2-6809 (Sound Magazine) 611 votes (27.7%)
3. Breaking Up is Hard To Do (single) 318 votes (14.4%)
4. Roller Coaster (Bulletin Board) 129 votes (5.8%) 
5. Together We're Better (Notebook) 96 votes (4.3%) 
6. It's One Of Those Nights (Yes Love) (Shopping Bag) 95 votes (4.3%) 
7. I Can Hear Your Heartbeat (Album) 79 votes (3.5%) 
8. Summer Days (Sound Magazine) 56 votes (2.5%) 
9. Storybook Love (Notebook) 28 votes (1.2%)
10. I Think I Love You (Album) 24 votes (1%)

Maybe a surprise that "I Think I Love You" only ended up as no. 10 with only one percent of the votes. A total of 2,203 votes were given.

DAVID CASSIDY:
Partridge Family airing 5pm, 5:30pm, and 11:30 pm (central) on Family Channel airs the following episodes:
4/24 Home is where the heart was; Fellini Bergman and Partridge; Home is where the heart was
4/25 Waiting for a bolero; I am curious partridge; Waiting for bolero
4/26 My heart belongs to a 2 car garage; Hellllp!; My heart belongs to a 2 car garage
4/27 Promise her anything but give her a punch, the partridge papers; Promise her anything but give her a punch
4/28 The partridge papers 11:30pm (centrl) only

Starting 5/1 KWKB will also air Partridge Family episodes at 1pm (centrl). 5/1 Whatever happened to the old songs; 5/2 Love at first slight; 5/3 Who's Max Ledbetter, and why is he saying those..." 5/4 Go directly to jail; 5/5 Fellini Bergman and Patridge.

4/30 Behind the Music -David Cassidy VH1 Channel 9 am (centrl)
4/27 at 12:00 pm (centrl) or 5/1 Behind the Music- The Partridge Family VH1 Channel 10:30 pm (centrl)

SUE SHIFRIN: 
5/6 6:30 pm (centrl) or 5/7 12:30 am (centrl)AMC 2 hours and 30 minutes "Superman (1978)". Sue plays the "7th 
reporter".

PATRICK CASSIDY:
4/19 at 12 PM (CENTRAL): Oklahoma City: A Survivor's Story on Lifetime. This movie is listed at two hours.
4/20 at 11:50 AM (CENTRAL): Just the Way You Are on STARZ.
4/22 at 5:00 AM (CENTRAL): I'll do Anything on HBO Plus
5/1 11:30 am (cntrl) Max Channel "I'll Do Anything"
5/2 5:20pm (centrl) Encore Channel (1 hr. 40 m.) "Just the Way You Are"
5/2 9-10 am (centrl) or 3-4 pm (centrl) A & E Channel "Murder She Wrote: Roadkill"
5/6 5 pm (cntrl) Pax Channel "How the West Was Fun"

SHIRLEY JONES:
4/16 11:30 pm (central) and 4/29 2:30 am (central) Oklahoma AMC
4/18 11-12 (central) and 4/19 12-1 (central) Love Boat Part 1 & 2 also starring Parker Stevenson Goodlife channel
4/18 8:40 am (central), 4/28 12:10 pm (central) Beyond the Poseidon Adventure Encore channel
4/20 and 4/23 5:30 am, 4/28 7:30 am, 4/29 3:00 am (central) Carousel Showtime 3 channel
4/28 9:30 am (central) A ticklish affair TCM
5/3 11 pm (centrl) AMC Channel "Oklahoma"
5/6 9 am (centrl) Max Channel "April Love"

JACK CASSIDY:
4/19 at 7 PM (CENTRAL): Eiger Sanction on Action Channel.
4/28 7:30-8 PM (CENTRAL) or 4/29 8:30-9 PM (CENTRAL) E! channel Mysteries and Scandals - The one about Jack's death...
5/1 8:30am or 2:30 pm (centrl) E! Channel "Mysteries and Scandals".
5/6 8-10pm or 5/7 12am-2pm (cntrl) A&E Channel "Columbo:Now You See Him".

SHAUN CASSIDY (ACTOR):
4/14 at 1:35 PM (CENTRAL), 4/18 at 3:40 PM (CENTRAL), and 4/24 at 3:50 PM (CENTRAL): Breaking Away (TV SERIES) on Encore. Listed at 1 h 45 min each.

SHAUN CASSIDY (PRODUCER/ETC.):
4/22 at 1:30 AM (CENTRAL): Midnight Run: Midnight Run For Your Life on TNT. Listed at two hours.
And of course Cover Me on Sundays. 

SUSAN DIOL:
4/23 at 8-10 pm (central) Diagnosis Murder Part 1 & 2  Pax channel
4/24 at 9-10 pm (central) Star Trek Voyager: Resolutions  Fox channel 
Note: Susan plays the same character as in the episode Lifesigns that aired last week.
4/26 1:20 pm or 8:40 pm and 4/30 12:25 am or 11:10 pm (centrl) Love Channel "Seduction:3 tales from the Inner Sanctum".
5/2 6:30 pm -7:00 pm(centrl) KGAN "Seinfeld the Nose Job"

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/