‘70s TV Icon, Star of Hit Classic Sitcom, Shed His Bubblegum Image With Controversial Photoshoot 54 Years Ago Today
On May 11, 1972, David Cassidy stunned fans with a controversial photoshoot and interview for Rolling Stone. Titled "Naked Lunch Box," the spread shot by famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz included a nude cover photo of The Partridge Family star as well as a feature story that detailed his wild life on the road as a solo performer, which included groupies and experimental drug use.
The surprising piece was published smack in the middle of Cassidy's run as Keith Patridge on the wholesome family sitcom, which aired on ABC from 1970 to 1974. At the time, The Partridge Family was a hit on ABC's Friday night schedule, airing right after The Brady Bunch.
In the May 1972 Rolling Stone feature, Cassidy bared all, literally, at the height of his fame. He admitted he looked forward to the day when he wouldn't be "working a punch card schedule." "There'll be a time when this whole thing will be over. I won't do concerts anymore, I won't wake up in the morning feeling drained," he said in the interview.
In the article, Cassidy's one-night stand from the night before rated his bedroom skills, then added, "But seeing him doing his act, I can't believe it's the same person. This act is so Las Vegas. He's like a male Ann-Margret."
Cassidy wanted to change his image-and get back at others who profited off of him
Cassidy's decision to do the photo spread and interview was a bold move to distance himself from his goody-two-shoes TV image. "It was a very conscious decision to shed his image and become hip," Rolling Stone writer Robin Green later said of the actor and singer.
Cassidy, who had the largest fan club in history at the time, admitted he agreed to the photoshoot behind his manager's back. "I didn't tell my management I was doing that. They went insane. We shot it at my house in Los Angeles," he told the outlet
Unsurprisingly, the spread got him into trouble. ABC executives reportedly went berserk, and the "I Think I Love You" singer lost sponsorships for a planned TV special.
Cassidy once admitted that he posed for the shoot as a clapback at everyone who profited from his Partridge Family image. "It pissed off everybody that was really profiting from the business of David Cassidy," he said. "[I ]scratched my head and thought, You know, this David Cassidy business has really gotten outta hand."
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In 1998, Cassidy revealed he only received a small percentage of all of the merchandising of his likeness.
"When they make bubblegum cards and comic books of you, and you're on the back of cereal boxes, and they own your name and likeness, as they did, they can make anything they want," he told Yahoo!. "David Cassidy guitars, lunchboxes, magazines, pillowcases, dresses, Colorforms, books, anything they could sell to kids. And they made $500 million. I saw 15 grand."
Cassidy, who died in 2017 at age 67, also revealed that he didn't want to be remembered as a "former teen idol." "Don't call me a heartthrob," he said. "Don't call me a sex symbol. Call me a writer, a singer, a producer, an actor. Tell me I'm bad, tell me I'm lousy. But don't call me that."
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 11:06 AM.