Light Comedic Acting, You Say?

Recognize anyone in this John Laroquette Show clip? How about in this one? He did the music for the show's opening theme as well. Crazy thing is I used to watch this show and I remember the bottled water scene. How did it not register who I was seeing? I, assiduous reader of show credits, missed this?! I swear, the nineties must be to me what the sixties are to hippies: a lost decade.

Favorite Keith Scene in The Partridge Family

Well, seeing as David Cassidy considers himself "first and foremost an actor", I would be remiss not to muse about his acting roles once in a while. Honestly, when I rediscovered him via YT, his talent as a vocalist wowed me so much that it overshadowed his acting for me and fueled pretty much half of my blog posts.

Let's turn to his acting now. Most of us discovered him through "The Partridge Family", so tell me about your favorite scene of his in that show. Now that the whole series is available on DVD, it will be easy for us to identify the scenes correctly.

First, let's get some obvious assumptions out of the way:

-Keith Partridge was NOT a complex role and no one is proposing that David Cassidy's performance was Emmy-worthy
-"The Partridge Family" was a lighthearted sitcom built around selling records - its creators and producers had no aspirations to create a show worthy of critical acclaim or a spot in a time capsule (if they had, perhaps they would have paid more attention to story continuity!)
-We are commenting on DC's acting here (did he elicit the correct emotions from you and was he believable in the scene?), not the script quality nor the story plausibility

When I can actually stop my eyes from ping-ponging all over David Cassidy's gorgeous face during close-ups and concentrate on his expressive eyes and his delivery, one scene does stand out. It's from the first episode in Season 3, "This Male Chauvinist Piggy Went To Market". You remember the episode? Keith loses a "battle of the sexes" challenge to his sister Laurie and Goose, the school bully, makes fun of Keith for losing to a girl. Their verbal exchange escalates and Laurie intervenes and physically prevents Goose from hitting Keith. To be disabled by a girl further humiliates Goose who vows revenge on Keith.

The confrontation between Keith and Goose happens after a concert (from the 19 minute mark) and Keith plainly tells Goose he has no intention of fighting him. Cassidy plays this scene subtly and convincingly. His stance, his voice and his eyes especially, convey the natural fear, defiance and resignation one would expect to feel when standing up to a bigger opponent. Look at his eyes when Goose asks him "You mean you're going to stand there and let me take a poke at you?". He even gulps at the right time. That might be my favorite scene of DC's in the show.

Your turn.

Homage to David Cassidy's Keith Partridge

So, David Cassidy does not care to be remembered for his role on The Partridge Family. I really don't understand why. Does he not realize how awesome his acting was in that role? Keith Partridge might have been a simple guy but David Cassidy gave him three-dimensional life. Yes, David Cassidy was so good-looking that it still hurts to watch him on DVD but his looks alone don't explain Keith Partridge's appeal or why the character is still remembered so fondly today.

It's David Cassidy's credible performance in the PF musical numbers that inspired countless of young people to pick up a guitar or a hairbrush and sing their hearts out (e.g. Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls). And to think he didn't care for the music he sang back then! I don't recall one musical segment where he looks uncomfortable singing the material. Serious kudos for just keeping a straight face as lead singer of the make-believe band.

He had great comic timing. One of my favorite moments is in episode 15 of Season 3, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", when Keith and Laurie arrive home to discover that a "burglar" is inside their house leaving with their couch. Crouching in the bushes beneath the living room window, the pair debate what to do and Laurie tells Keith he must stop the thief. When Keith balks, she accuses him of being afraid. All his protests are for naught when the "burglar" (really their band manager Reuben Kincaid) pokes his head out the window and says "hi". Keith's surrender is total and instantaneous, with both hands in the air and a gulping "Take my money." Well played.

The show didn't offer him much chance to play the serious card but I loved him in "Partridge up a Pair Tree" (Season 1, episode 21), when Keith buys a clunker of a car and is forever borrowing money from his family. He has no money to take out his girlfriend, Carol, and ends up having a couple of serious talks with her to discuss his predicament. Totally believable teenager here. (He does look as if he's about to crack up when watching the veggie slicer demo but that's not supposed to be a serious scene ;-))

Where is the shame in this role? Keith Partridge was a straightforward character in a show with an implausible premise but David Cassidy couldn't have played him more perfectly. He was riveting as Keith Partridge. So many fans of the show still have fond memories of Keith Partridge today, almost forty years later. Just because it's not Shakespeare doesn't make it a legacy to disown.

An actor could be remembered for worse things.