David Bruce Cassidy, born on April 12th, 1950, Manhattan, New York City, U.S., was an actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge, played by his stepmother Shirley Jones, in the 1970s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to his having become a teen idol and pop singer in the 1970s. Cassidy was born at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City, the son of singer and actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward. His father was of half Irish and half German ancestry, his mother having been decended from Americans of Irish and Swiss origin, some of whom were among the founders of Newark, New Jersey. As his parents were frequently on the road touring, he spent his early years being raised by his maternal grandparents, in a middle-class neighbourhood of West Orange, New Jersey. In 1956, he found out from his neighbours' children that his parents had been divorced for over two years, having not told him but they were often away with theatre productions, so his home life remained the same. In 1956, Cassidy's father married singer and actress Shirley Jones, having three children, David's half-brothers Shaun (b. 1958), Patrick (b. 1962), and Ryan (b. 1966). In 1968, after completing one final session of summer school, to get the credits he needed to be awarded a high-school diploma, David moved into the rental home of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones in Irvington, New York, where his half-brothers also lived. David remained there, seeking fame as an actor/musician, while working half-days in the mailroom of a textile firm, having moved out when his career began to flourish. Cassidy's father, Jack, has been credited with setting his son up with his first manager. After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Jack introduced him to former table tennis champion and close friend Ruth Aarons, who later found her niche as a talent manager, having had a theatrical background. Aarons had represented Jack and Shirley Jones for several years, later handling Cassidy's half-brother Shaun, becoming an authority figure and close friend to Cassidy, the driving force behind his on-screen success. After having earned low wages from Screen Gems for his work on The Partridge Family during season one, Aarons discovered a loophole in his contract, renegotiating it with much improved terms, of a four-year duration, a rare stipulation at the time.