Shaun Cassidy | |
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Cassidy (right) with Parker Stevenson in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
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Background information | |
Birth name | Shaun Paul Cassidy |
Born |
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
September 27, 1958
Genres | Pop rock |
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, actor, singer, television producer |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
Years active | 1976–present |
Labels | Warner Bros. (USA) |
Associated acts | Utopia |
Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American television producer/creator, screenwriter, and former singer-actor. He is the eldest son of singer-actress Shirley Jones and singer-actor Jack Cassidy. His older half-brother is singer-actor David Cassidy.
He is known for starring in the television series The Hardy Boys Mysteries (1977–79) and Breaking Away (1980–81), as well as having several hit records in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he had a three-month stint on the daytime soap General Hospital and acted on Broadway and in the West End of London. Since the mid-1990s, Cassidy has worked exclusively as a writer/producer in television, creating a number of television series, including American Gothic, Roar (with Heath Ledger in his American debut), and Invasion.
While still in high school, Shaun Cassidy signed a contract with Mike Curb's division of Warner Bros. Records and began recording music. His debut studio album Shaun Cassidy was initially released in Europe and Australia in 1976, and he scored a couple of hit singles in several countries, leading to an American release of that album in 1977. The multi-platinum album netted him a No. 1 U.S. single with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. The Eric Carmen-penned "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (which had already been a hit in Australia and Europe) was the follow-up single and peaked at No. 3. His popularity continued with the concurrent arrival of his television series, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, which also starred Parker Stevenson.