Tributes Pour in for Bigger Than the Beatles and Elvis Teen Idol David Cassidy

American actor and singer David Cassidy who found fame in The Partridge Family television series has lost his battle for life on Tuesday, November 21, after suffering multiple organ failure.

A family statement later confirmed that the entertainer had passed away in hospital, saying: "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 the singer said he had dementia and would stop touring in order to "enjoy life."

In recent years he has spoken about his struggles with alcohol, having been arrested three times for drink driving. He was ordered to rehab as part of his sentence in 2014.

In 2015, he filed for bankruptcy, having been divorced three times. He has two children.

Tributes to Cassidy have been widely shared on social media.

Teen Heartthrob

Cassidy was born in New York to a family familiar with the entertainment industry. His gather was a singer and actor, while his mother was an actress.

His big break came when the youthful-looking star won the lead role in The Partridge Family.

Cassidy became a teen heartthrob in 1970s after appearing in the television sitcom, playing the role of Keith Partridge, the eldest of five children in a family that forms a pop band with their mother that goes out on tour in a multicolored bus.

With his feathered haircut and green eyes, his character was periodically swooned over by young women and teenagers both in the United States and across Europe.

The show spawned a series of hit songs including I Think I Love You during its four year run between 1970 and 1974.

No More Boy Next Door

At the height of his fame, Cassidy admitted becoming weary of the squealing mobs of hysterical girls. "Oh, they're cute. They get flustered and I get flustered, and it's all kind of fun," he said.

"But it's no fun when they rip your clothes and take rooms next door in hotels and keep pounding on the door and slipping notes under it."

In an attempt to shake-off his squeaky clean image, the singer posed nude in a photo shoot for Rolling Stone magazine in 1972.

In the cover article, he said he was already dreaming about the end of his acting career.

"I'll feel really good when it's over," he said, adding: "I have an image of myself in five years. I'm living on an island. The sky is blue, the sun is shining. And I'm smiling, I'm healthy, I'm a family man."

At the peak of his career, Cassidy headlined Madison Square Garden, wearing the kind of white jumpsuit Elvis Presley also favored in the 1970s — and even had a bigger fan club membership than The Beatles and Elvis.

Cassidy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1970, while his 1972 solo album Cherish went gold.

After the television show ended, Cassidy pursued an adult career, in and out of acting and music for the next several decades, regularly performing in Las Vegas.