ACTOR and singer David Cassidy, who shot to fame in the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, has died aged 67.
The 1970s heartthrob, who sold more than 30 million records worldwide, had been hospitalised last week - reportedly in need of a liver transplant - and died on Tuesday surrounded by family.
Born in New York, his parents, actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward, both had Irish heritage.
Evelyn Ward had Irish and Swiss roots and her ancestors were among the founders of Newark, New Jersey, while Cassidy's paternal grandfather, William, was of Irish descent and worked as an engineer in Long Island.
His representative said in a statement: "David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long.
Earlier this year, Cassidy revealed he was battling dementia and said he had decided to stop touring, adding: "I want to focus on what I am... I want to love. I want to enjoy life."
Married and divorced three times, he had two children.
Arrested three times for drink-driving in four years from 2010, he was ordered to undergo rehab as part of his sentence in 2014. He filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
His nephew Jack Cassidy said on Twitter: "In the process of mourning I can't help but thank God for the joy that he brought to countless millions of people!"
Beach Boys musician Brian Wilson tweeted: "I'm very sad to hear about David Cassidy. There were times in the mid-1970s when he would come over to my house and we even started writing a song together."
At a concert in 1974 in London, hundreds of revellers were injured during a stampede to the stage, with 14-year-old Bernadette Whelan dying of a cardiac arrest days later.
