Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Did You Know Tuesday: The Partridge Family - Fun Facts

The Partridge Family just turned 45 years old, which really does not seem possible.  I was obsessed with this show as a little girl, and was pretty sure that I would grow up to marry David Cassidy.  This did not happen, although he was my first concert.  In honor of this retro tv anniversary, here are a few fun facts about the show:

The show originally aired on Friday nights (ABC), as part of a tv line-up that included:  The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Partridge Family, and That Girl.

The Partridge Family aired four seasons (1970 - 1974) and launched the career of teen idol David Cassidy, as well as lots of child and teen oriented marketing:  record albums, coloring books, paper dolls, paperback books, and lunch boxes.  (I had a Partridge Family lunchbox as a little girl!)

Shirley Jones, who was married to Jack Cassidy, was the real-life stepmother of David Cassidy.

The show was loosely based upon the lives of The Cowsills.

Shirley's mother was played by Rosemary DeCamp.  Her father was originally played by Ray Bolger, and later played by Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester from The Addams Family).

The youngest son, Chris, was originally played by Jeremy Gelbwaks but replaced after one season by Brian Forster.

The show was set in San Pueblo, California - a fictional town.

Shirley Jones and David Cassidy are the only cast members who sang on the Partridge Family record albums.

The Partridge Family bus was inspired by the geometric paintings of Piet Mondrian.

If the Partridge house looks familiar, it's because you've seen it before as the home of Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched.

So ... did you watch The Partridge Family?  What do you remember about this show?   And did you prefer The Partridge Family or The Brady Bunch?   I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below!



8 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome facts! I've never seen this show but I loved the Brady Bunch!

Mary Huckaby said...

Trish, I used to love watching The Partridge Family, so I especially enjoyed your fun facts! On a sad note, I read recently that the youngest cast member, Suzanne Crough, died in April of this year at only 52 years of age.

Shann Eva said...

45 years old...that does not seem possible. I honestly didn't watch it, but did watch the Brady Bunch. I love the background of your blog, by the way.

Alana said...

Interesting facts ! I've heard of this show but never actually seen it. My sister and I used to watch the re-runs of the Brady Bunch when we were little in the early 80's. Fun times :)

Rachel Gault said...

Neat facts! I've only seen a couple episodes but my mom is a huge fan!

Unknown said...

I loved watching that show with my mom!! She had a crush on David Cassidy growing up too!

Erlene said...

I used to watch this the Partridge family reruns when I was little. Neat to know these facts. I had no idea that Shirley Jones was David's IRL step-mom.

Birdhouse Books said...

Thanks for your visits and comments! Love talking retro with y'all.

I loved The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch as a little girl -- The Partridge Family had, of course, David Cassidy and the fun music. :-)

Mary, yes, that was so sad about Suzanne Crough. Way too young!