“I stopped touring when I was 21. Astrodome was my last show \u2014 not because I didn’t love touring. I did, I loved performing, loved singing, but I found that writing and producing TV gave me, frankly, a much better life,” he shared on the “Naked Lunch” podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n That decision came after Cassidy had already become one of the biggest teen stars of the late 1970s<\/a>. His 1977 self-titled debut album spawned the No. 1 hit “Da Doo Ron Ron,” while his role as Joe Hardy on ABC’s “The Hardy Boys\/Nancy Drew Mysteries” made him a familiar face in homes across America.<\/p>\n FORMER TEEN IDOL SHAUN CASSIDY CALLS OUT FATHER AS \u2018PHONY\u2019 AFTER GROWING UP ALONE IN HOLLYWOOD SPOTLIGHT<\/a><\/p>\n Former teen idol Shaun Cassidy says growing up in the Hollywood spotlight left him feeling alone. (John Atashian\/Getty Images; Brad Elterman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n But Cassidy wasn’t interested in spending the rest of his life inside the teen-idol machine.<\/p>\n “I got to stay home. I had kids at a young age. And I love writing,” he said about his decision to give up touring.<\/p>\n For Cassidy, writing and producing offered something performing couldn’t.<\/p>\n “I was a magician as a really young kid \u2026 when you write something, it’s like magic. You pulled something out of the air and 200 people have a job on a sound stage.”<\/p>\n FORMER TEEN IDOL SHAUN CASSIDY HAD TO RELEARN HIS OWN HITS FOR FIRST MAJOR TOUR IN 45 YEARS<\/a><\/p>\n Shaun Cassidy opened up about childhood, family struggles and the career path that changed his life. (Brad Elterman\/FilmMagic)<\/p>\n By the mid-1990s, Cassidy had largely traded the stage for the writers’ room and producer’s chair, working on shows<\/a> including “American Gothic,” “Roar” and “New Amsterdam.”<\/p>\n Cassidy said life as a teen idol left him feeling increasingly isolated.<\/p>\n He explained, “Because once you are well-known \u2014 at least in my case \u2014 I became insulated. I couldn’t go out \u2026 kind of a prisoner in your house.”<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n Shaun Cassidy reflects on his early years in Hollywood and the complicated relationship he had with his father. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n He added, “And that’s one of the reasons again, like I don’t want to be Elvis \u2014 not that I was Elvis, but you know what I mean \u2014 like I don’t want that life. I don’t want the Michael Jackson isolation, it’s not healthy.”<\/p>\n Instead, he said, he chose family and a life outside the glare of the spotlight.<\/p>\n GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n “I’m glad I made the choice I did because now I’ve got a great life, I’ve got a great family, I’ve got \u2026 107 children, and I’m a lucky man,” Cassidy, who is father to seven children, laughed.<\/p>\n “The Partridge Family” stars Shirley Jones, Brian Forster, Suzanne Crough, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce and David Cassidy pose leaning out of the windows of a bus in a group portrait circa 1973. (Silver Screen Collection\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Cassidy’s complicated relationship with fame began long before he became famous himself.<\/p>\n He grew up as the son of Broadway and television star Jack Cassidy and Oscar winner Shirley Jones, who became a television icon as Shirley Partridge on “The Partridge Family.” Jack Cassidy and Jones married in 1956 and divorced in 1975.<\/p>\n American actress and singer Shirley Jones, alongside her husband, actor and singer Jack Cassidy, circa 1972. (Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Cassidy has previously described his late father<\/a> as a “phony,” saying Jack’s larger-than-life showman persona didn’t necessarily translate into fatherhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n The former teen idol said that he and his brothers, including actor Patrick Cassidy and the late David Cassidy, experienced a very different reality behind the family’s Hollywood image.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/shaun-cassidy-then-now.jpg\")
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