Shaun remains my all time favorite teen idol. I remember buying his albums then when cassettes got big, recording the music from an open turntable to a portable cassette recorder. I never missed Hardy Boys Nancy Drew - I love to watch him on Hardy Boys Nancy Drew to this day (DVD), and will never be swayed from who I think is the all time cutest hunk of all time. I love you Shaun!!!! I'd like to SEE him in a movie or show that he gets some real face-time in, everyone else is making their comebacks - why not a true cutie-pie like Shaun?
I will always remember Shaun as the younger of the two Hardy Boys in The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries. He starred as Joe Hardy, blond haired, green eyed, 16 year old who with his brothr Frank (Parker Stevens) solved crimes and did a lot of singing and traveling. He sing such songs that he created as the "Do Ron Ron" and "Its Rock and Roll'. My favorite epsidoes of the series were 'Soul Survier' an episode where he is supposed to have been in a coma for 1 year. My other favorite episode with him was 'Deat Surf' where he tries to convince his brother on a pier that the girl he is falling in love with is dead. He also in the episode gets thrown across the room by a thug and still uses humor about it. I also liked all his songs. He was in my opionion a very good teen idol.
When Shaun was a teen idol I will admit that his acting skills were somewhat poor. The audience watching him, however didn't care about his acting! Being the intelligent person he is, however, he knew that this "career" wouldn't last and planned ahead.
His career as a teen idol lasted all of 3 years. That past career, however, has caused him (IMO) a lot of problems in his current career as creator/writer. No one can seem to let go of the teen idol thing and see that what Shaun creates is intuitive, intelligent, creative television series that are generally ahead of their time. His shows make you think and to me that is the sure sign of genius. He has been a creator/writer for almost 15 years and I think he's still trying to get respect (mostly from fans who can't seem to let his teen idol time melt into the past). If he isn't "seen" as much nowadays, it's understandable. The man lived approximately 4 years of his life (and even prior to that, being the son of Jack Cassidy & Shirley Jones and the brother of David Cassidy)being subjected to various invasions on his personal life. Let's give the man credit though..he didn't turn into a drunk/drug addict, didn't go bankrupt and boo-hoo all over the place with his woe is me tribute. No, he kept himself going and found his passion in creating and writing which is how he shares himself with his fans nowadays.
Don't get me wrong. I love "Invasion", but I can't stand Shaun Cassidy. I've only seen a few episodes of Hardy Boys but his acting was bad and stale. But in his lack of acting skills he makes up for it by creating the great show Invasion. But when I read the interview with TV.com the other day, I realized how much of jerk he is. Becuase of his one word, sarcastic, and brush off answers the interview was useless. You get the impression that he his only there for the money and doesn't want to be bothered by trivial things such as fans.
I was prompted to look at an old teen idol of mine, Leif Garrett to find that he is in an bottomless pit of drugs and self pity . This happens to so many of those I thought were great.
Shaun has kept himself pretty well. I have never seen one word about drug use, etc. I am glad to see that someone got out of their young pop idol lifestyles without having become addicted to some sort of drug or alchohol abuse. Thanks for making my wonder years a little better place to be. Each Sunday night would find me glued to the T.V. set so that I wouldn't miss my precious Shaun.
He is able to capture an audience right from the start. His imagination and creativity is outstanding. He puts the evil character as the main character in his writings. It's his personnal twist that makes it all that more exciting than any other writer.
I knew before I even saw his new show "Invasion", that I was going to like it. He puts a twist on his writings. You can't take your eyes off his creativity. It is remarkable how he can use his imagination and turn it into an exciting and captivating program. He has done it before with "American Gothic". Evil becomes the main character in his writings. You find yourself captivated by the "bad guy". How many shows do that? You know he, the "bad guy", won't go away or die because he is the show. That is the twist that Shaun is able to do when he creates. That is what makes him different from all the others. A show is nothing without the "bad guy".
So what does a teen idol do when the lights go down and the screeming fans go off to college? Well, Shaun Cassidy honed his talent and showed the world that he wasn\'t just some mindless pin-up. He took control of his career, spending time in theater and doing some television. But his true abilites rested in what he could do with his imagination, creating incredible characters and shows that touch several genres. Boys seeing their sister\'s ghost, FBI families working together, and now alien invasions. He is an awesome talent that is an asset to Hollywood.