14:38Classic TV · 1977The Partridge Family Cast Then and Now
Episode: The Partridge Family (1970) Cast: Then & Now 2026 — Who Was Still Alive in 2026?
From Hollywood Legends Era · 15 min ·
About The Partridge Family Cast Then and Now
The Partridge Family cast then and now is a story of a TV band that looked carefree on screen while real lives unfolded behind the scenes. The ABC sitcom premiered on September 25, 1970, and ran for four seasons and 96 episodes, ending on March 23, 1974.
For its first three seasons it aired on Friday nights, where it led its time slot. The family rode to gigs in a brightly painted 1957 Chevrolet school bus, and "I Think I Love You" spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1970.
Here is what became of the people on that bus, checked against reliable records. As of October 2026, several of them have passed away, and a few are still with us.
Who Was in The Partridge Family Cast, and Where Are They Now?
Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge
Shirley Jones played Shirley Partridge, the widowed mother who joins her children's band. Before that, she was already an Academy Award winner. She won Best Supporting Actress for Elmer Gantry (1960), playing Lulu Bains, a woman corrupted by Burt Lancaster's title character.
Director Richard Brooks had at first fought against casting her. After seeing her first scene, he told her she would win an Oscar, and she did.
Away from the set, life was hard. Her husband, Broadway and TV actor Jack Cassidy, lived with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. They divorced in 1975. In December 1976 he invited her over for drinks, and she declined. Early the next morning, December 12, he died in a fire at his West Hollywood apartment after falling asleep with a lit cigarette.
Born March 31, 1934, Shirley Jones is 92.
David Cassidy as Keith Partridge
David Cassidy, Jack Cassidy's son, played Keith, the oldest Partridge son and the band's lead singer. He was one of the only cast members who actually sang on the records, and he became one of the biggest teen idols of the 1970s. At his peak, his fan club was reportedly larger than those of Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
His later years were difficult. He married three times, was arrested for drunk driving three times between 2010 and 2014, and filed for bankruptcy in 2015. In February 2017 he announced he was living with dementia and retiring from performing.
Later that year, in a phone call with an A&E producer, he admitted that he had lied about his drinking and that his illness came from alcohol. David Cassidy died of liver failure in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 21, 2017, at age 67. His daughter, actress Katie Cassidy, said his last words were "So much wasted time."
Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge
Susan Dey was 17 when she was cast as Laurie, the smart and level-headed older sister. She had been working as a model and had no acting experience.
She has said she struggled with anorexia while the show was on the air. She also had romantic feelings for David Cassidy, and after the series they briefly dated before he ended it. When he described their relationship in his 1994 memoir, C'mon, Get Happy, she cut off contact with him.
Her biggest success came later as Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law (1986–1992), which earned her the 1988 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Her last screen work was in 2004 on Third Watch, and she has since retired. She is 73.
Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge
Danny Bonaduce played Danny, the wisecracking, red-haired middle child. Off camera, he has said he suffered severe abuse from his father. Shirley Jones often let him stay at her home, and Dave Madden also took him in during his family's troubles.
His road after the show was rocky. He was arrested in 1990 while trying to buy cocaine in Daytona Beach, Florida, and in 1991 he was arrested in Phoenix after an assault, later pleading guilty to reduced charges. He rebuilt his life through a long career in radio.
In 2023, after months of trouble walking and keeping his balance, he had surgery for hydrocephalus, and his wife Amy later said his walking had improved. He retired from Seattle radio that December. Born August 13, 1959, he is 67 and splits his time between Seattle and Palm Springs.
Dave Madden as Reuben Kincaid
Dave Madden played Reuben Kincaid, the band's grumpy manager who claimed not to like children. He was born on December 17, 1931, in Sarnia, Ontario. After his father died, he went to live with an aunt and uncle in Terre Haute, Indiana.
A bicycle accident at 13 kept him laid up for months, and during that time he became interested in magic, which later became part of his comedy act. In the Air Force he was assigned to Special Services in Libya, where he performed for King Idris. Before the Partridges, he was a regular on Laugh-In.
Danny Bonaduce has said he owes Madden a great deal. Dave Madden died in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 16, 2014, at age 82, of complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder.
Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris Partridge (Season 1)
Jeremy Gelbwaks played Chris, the band's drummer, in the first season only. When his family moved away from Los Angeles in 1971, the role was recast. Shirley Jones later said he was not happy doing the show and that it was his parents who wanted him there.
He never returned to acting. He graduated from Potsdam College in New York in 1983 and built a career in computers and consulting. He now lives in New Orleans, where he works as a business and technology planner. He is 65.
Brian Forster as Chris Partridge (Seasons 2–4)
Brian Forster took over as Chris in 1971 and stayed until the show ended. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of the novelist Charles Dickens.
Like most of the cast, he did not play on the band's records. In the early 2000s he was racing cars in northern California and acting in community theater there. Born April 14, 1960, he is 66.
Suzanne Crough as Tracy Partridge
Suzanne Crough was seven when she joined the cast as Tracy, the freckled youngest Partridge with the tambourine. She appeared in all 96 episodes.
After the show she stepped away from acting. She graduated from Los Angeles Pierce College, ran a bookstore, married William Condray in 1985, and raised two daughters. At a 2010 Today show reunion, she said she was managing an OfficeMax in Bullhead City, Arizona.
Suzanne Crough died suddenly at her home in Laughlin, Nevada, on April 27, 2015, at age 52. The coroner attributed her death to a rare heart condition, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. Her TV brother Danny Bonaduce was among those who publicly mourned her. That July would have marked her 30th wedding anniversary.
Ray Bolger as Grandpa Renfrew
Ray Bolger appeared in three episodes as Shirley's father. Audiences already knew him forever as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a role whose makeup left permanent lines on his face. Asked whether he received residuals from the film, he answered, "No, just immortality."
When Judy Garland died in 1969, he was the only one of her Oz co-stars at her funeral. He was married to Gwendolyn Rickard from 1929 until his death. Ray Bolger died in Los Angeles on January 15, 1987, at age 83.
Meredith Baxter, Guest Star
Meredith Baxter guest-starred in 1971 in the episode "Where Do Mermaids Go?" She later became famous as Elyse Keaton on Family Ties (1982–1989).
In her 2011 memoir, Untied, she wrote about her recovery from alcoholism and alleged abuse by her second husband, David Birney, who denied it. On December 2, 2009, she came out as a lesbian in a Today show interview with Matt Lauer.
Why The Partridge Family Still Feels Close to Home
The Partridge Family offered a simple picture: a mother and her children making music and taking care of each other. The real stories were more complicated, but there were acts of kindness behind the scenes too, as when Shirley Jones and Dave Madden opened their homes to a child who needed safety.
Do you remember gathering around the TV for The Partridge Family, and which member of the band was your favorite?
Sources and Further Reading
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