Last February, David Cassidy told the world that he had Dementia, something members of his family also suffered from, and that is why he could not remember the lyrics to his songs at a concert. That diagnosis, he said was the reason why he was retiring from performing. Just 9 months after that revelation, he passed away.
In between that time he filmed a documentary, that will air on A&E Monday at 11p, and he makes a startling confession to the producer of David Cassidy: The Last Session. He told a producer that he was diagnosed with a liver disease. Not only that, the doctors believed that he did not have Dementia but instead that he was suffering from memory loss due to his alcoholism. After a hospitalization that left him near death because of alcohol poising, he was able to get his short term memory back.
The months before he died, he worked on an album that included music that was special to him and his father, Jack Cassidy. In between recording the songs, he told stories about his dad. At one point he breaks down wishing his dad was there with him. That album was released earlier this year.
The documentary is about the making of that album and the last months of his life. A tragic life, but one that touched so many people.
UPDATE: I just watched the special and there is so much more to the story of that clip that airs at the end of the show. Cassidy was afraid that he thought he had Dementia and went to get tested at the beginning of the special. They did find out he was suffering from memory loss, but they were going to have to do more tests to discover what was causing it. That was in September 2017.
He then went to Chicago to record the album and he could not go on because he was in too much pain. He says from a fall. He did not want to go to the hospital to get checked out. But when he was too sick to fly home, he went. That is when they found he out he had a liver disease and was not suffering from Dementia. Not too long after that, he passed away.
I will tell you the documentary is a must watch. This an intimate look at his life, the relationship he had with his father, his fame and his work ethic. I will admit, it is hard to watch at times because you can see what the alcohol did to his body, but he never let it stop him from doing what he loved.
