Shaun Cassidy

Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, television producer and screenwriter. He has created or produced a number of television series, including American Gothic, Roar, and Invasion. Cassidy was also an executive producer and writer for NBC's medical drama New Amsterdam.

While in high school, Cassidy signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records, leading to his albums Shaun Cassidy, Born Late, Under Wraps, Room Service, and Wasp. Almost concurrently, Cassidy starred in the ABC television series The Hardy Boys (January 1977 – January 1979), as well as the short-lived television version of Breaking Away, and had a stint on the daytime soap General Hospital.

While appearing on Broadway in the musical drama Blood Brothers, Cassidy wrote his first television pilot, American Gothic (1995). In 2020, Cassidy returned to the stage with his one-man show The Magic of a Midnight Sky. Cassidy is the eldest child of Academy Award–winning actress Shirley Jones and the second child of Tony Award–winning actor Jack Cassidy. Shaun is the older brother of Patrick and Ryan Cassidy, and the younger half-brother of David Cassidy, and the uncle of Katie Cassidy.

Shaun Cassidy grew up in Los Angeles, California, and New York City; he is the son of Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. In addition to an elder half-brother, David Cassidy, he has two younger brothers, Patrick and Ryan Cassidy. He attended boarding school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at the Solebury School in Solebury Township, and graduated from Beverly Hills High School.

While still in high school, Cassidy signed a contract with Mike Curb's Curb Records division of Warner Bros. Records and began recording music. He scored a couple of hit singles in several countries, leading to an American release of his first solo album, Shaun Cassidy, in 1977. The multi-platinum album netted him a number-one U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards. 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 Mysteries (1977–1979).

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.