Few people knew the late David Cassidy like Monkees band member and former teen idol Mickey Dolenz.
Dolenz told Billboard that he met Cassidy early on in their careers and kept in touch with him through the years. They even toured together with Peter Noone in 2013 in "The World's Greatest Teen Idols" tour.
He told the publication after Cassidy’s death:
We just sort of immediately hit it off in the same way that Davy Jones and I hit it off early, and I think for the same reason. I'd been a child star. I remember Davy Jones from the very early days of the auditions before we were even cast. David Cassidy [had] been born and raised in the business, as had I. So yeah, there was a camaraderie. That happens a lot in any business, but in our business especially. You meet people that have run the gauntlet [and] been through the fire. So you do tend to identify and commiserate with people that have been through the same thing that you have.
Dolenz said that Cassidy always struggled with fame and the business he was raised in, wanting to branch out artistically.
“Like many others, I know he got frustrated in that he wanted to move on. He wanted to play rock 'n' roll. He wanted to play blues. And let’s face it: The hardcore fans and the people that came to see him, they obviously wanted to hear those hits,” Dolenz said.
He continued, “I knew, of course, that David had his demons. Everybody has had their demons in their lives, especially as you start getting older. I kind of wish, and I tweeted this recently, I kind of wish I’d been more help. But I don’t know what I could have done.”
Cassidy died in a Florida hospital surrounded by his family on Tuesday after being admitted days earlier with organ failure. He was 67 years old.
Following his death, many of his famous fans shared tributes to him on social media, and his nephew, Jack Cassidy, thanked fans for their support.
"Thank you all for the love and support your giving my uncle, my family, and me … The responses have been sincerely beautiful!" he tweeted.
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