"When you have talent, no one can take that from you," Paula Abdul.

The Perpetual Cheerleader

Paula Abdul is a born-and-raised Valley girl who’s almost always smiling, dancing, singing, openly reveling in others’ talents and generously encouraging their dreams. But in response to her peppy, bubbly nature, what does she get? Vicious accusations of alcohol and illegal drug abuse.

Dawn Ritchie spoke with Abdul to get her own words about the allegations hurled against her, how she’s coped with health concerns, what she really thinks about Simon – and how she fights on, for herself and others, in the face of naysayers and considerable challenges.

Paula

Abdul

In the age of widespread schadenfreude – when so many take delight in the misfortunes of others – Paula Abdul is that rare individual who wants only the best for everyone. Eternally optimistic, she unabashedly refers to herself as “the gift that I am” and treats others within her zone of influ­ence with equal veneration. Which is exactly why the adoring screams from American Idol fans grow loudest when it’s Abdul’s limo pulling up to the audition hall.

In particular, Abdul is renowned for her munificent support of any aspiring performer who dares test the spotlight: “We’re oftentimes at the mercy of the suits who don’t know what it’s like to be an art­ist,” she said. “I’m the queen of the newcomers.”

The smash-hit show she works on, then, is right up her alley. “American Idol fuels the foundation of what I am all about – and that’s empathy, compassion, keeping dreams alive and believing in yourself,” she said.

Joined on the judging panel by straight-talking music producer Randy Jackson and hard-bitten A&R executive Simon Cowell, Abdul inevitably takes the high road in her contestant evaluations. Cow­ell’s withering critiques may grab headlines, but Abdul’s warm words of encouragement engender lifelong fan devotion.

Abdul’s unusual fan base bridges the gap between shrieking tween girls and graying-at-the-temple sports buffs. The latter group first encountered Abdul on the courts of Lakers games where she deter­minedly burst onto the scene to break the mold of the traditional blonde, leggy Laker girl.

“I’m vertically challenged,” laughed Abdul, who stands just an inch above five feet. “But that didn’t stop me.” The petite dynamo quickly rose to the coveted position of head cheerleader. “I just knew that I knew how to choreograph and make magic happen,” she said. And with that unbridled belief in herself, it was bye-bye pompoms and hello hot, sexy choreography that would forever change the face of cheer­leading – and soon, the career of Janet Jackson, who hired her for her fresh, new dance moves.

A LIFE OF TRIUMPHS

Abdul has risen to the top of virtually every field she has tackled. From senior class president at Van Nuys High School to choreographer of the breakout 62nd Academy Awards show (the one that rocketed Billy Crystal’s hosting career to star sta­tus), to Grammy-winning perform­ing artist with a stunning 30 million records sold. Along the way, she’s also managed to grab two Emmys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “You have to will yourself into the entertainment industry,” she said. “I’m a warrior.”

Abdul’s fighting spirit began the very day she was born. Paula Julie Abdul arrived on the scene as a dan­gerously at-risk preemie: “I was only three pounds and born with a broken windpipe and problematic lungs. I used to faint every time I woke up.” No one at the hospital expected the tiny girl to survive. But she proved them wrong, of course, and has gone on to surmount every hard knock since.

Like many dancers, Abdul was plagued by injuries; a rough plane landing exacerbated them. For years, she kept quiet about the chronic pain from an injury that resulted in 14 surgeries, three metal plates in her neck and temporarily damaged vocal chords. When others quickly counted her out, Abdul remained her own personal cheerleader. While battling her way back to health, she kept busy writing music and putting together demos.

One of the songs she worked on with Kara Dio Guardi, songwriter extraordinaire, became a number-one hit for Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. When auditioners for the U.K. version of Idol kept singing that “Spinning Around” dance anthem, Abdul became a contender for the American version of the show.

“I’m a winner,” Abdul said, “And I always need to remember that. But you’re never, ever done proving yourself.”

FACING THE FIRE

During an era with celebrity muck­raking at full tilt, almost every showbiz personality must weather a few bumps along the way. And this past year was Abdul’s turn. Stories about her allegedly unpredictable behavior raged across gossip mag­azines intimating yet another celeb­rity drug problem.

Abdul flatly denies the charge: “I have never fallen victim to peer pres­sure in the area of the drug culture. I have never been drunk in my life and I don’t do recreational drugs,” she said firmly. “I have  been a work­aholic. But a workaholic to me is getting a kick out of getting paid for something I actually love to do.”

While she places part of the blame on her grueling schedule and its accompanying exhaustion, she also attributes some of it to “that knucklehead to the left of me.” That would be American Idol co-host Simon Cowell, who secretly taunts her while the pair are on the air by whispering bizarre non sequiturs in her ear that throw her off her game.

Cowell had brushed off the accu­sations until one of his remarks was finally caught on the microphone. That deliberate type of professional sabotage goes against the grain of the way Abdul likes to operate, but she also acknowledges that “conflict is part of the chemistry on a show. It provides success in ratings” and that “it’s a dynamic that Simon has worked hard to keep alive.”

It’s only when the gossip rags “dig for dirt and are drumming it up even when it isn’t there” that Abdul becomes genuinely con­cerned – a song sung by many celebrities who’ve been subject to the poison pen.

“That has been the most icky part of my life, because now my reputa­tion, which was awesome, has been totally damaged and nothing’s true,” she said. “The power of creative editing can ruin people’s lives.” 

STAYING POSITIVE

Mere discussion of the issue of getting negative press sends Abdul’s normally composed, articulate way of speaking into a state of tongue-tied agitation. “I get nervous,” she said, “It affects business and endorsements.” Indeed, Abdul has lost at least one lucrative deal as a result of the rumors. “But,” she added, “when you have talent, no one can take that from you. They can throw you to the curb, under the bus, down the drain, but you will always come back.” 

When she faces that kind of harsh treatment, Abdul silences the inner torment by going to a place of gratitude. “Keeping a journal of your life is so important because when you’re busy running and running to catch up to the bullet train of whatever success you have in life, you forget how magical things have been and how they often came off of a low moment. Then there’s a breakthrough and the sun shines and the rainbows come. And then the rain comes again, but as I read back, I see that unbelievable things can happen when you tolerate and are able to hold it together during the toughest times. It gives you the strength of character to be that light and shining star that you have to be.” 

In addition to keeping a written chronicle of her life, Abdul also stays positive by reviewing DVDs of past triumphs and watching “the amazing artists I’ve worked with” to remind herself all of she’s accomplished. 

She also turns to close friends. “As a creative person, you need to have solid friends who only love you for being there as a friend. They don’t want anything from you. And they don’t need anything from you,” she said. “You have to build a team around you that will be there from the beginning, through the storms, through the highest of highs back down to the bottom of the lows. And that’s the most important thing that people need to survive in this business.” 

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Other entertainers would do well to take Abdul’s advice, since she has proven to be one of the industry’s toughest survivors, with comeback after creative comeback over the decades. Her latest, a return to her singing and dancing roots, is a hot new single produced by Randy Jackson, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow.” 

As for what her future holds, it’ll likely involve more TV, as a bevy of studios vying for new series deals are constantly wooing her. 

Whatever she chooses to do next, it’s clear that her fiery-as-ever ambition is poised for the next chapter: “This is an amazing and unique time in my life. I’ve only scratched the very tip-top of the surface.” 

PAULA’S FAVORITE VALLEY HOTSPOTS 

VEGA

(13301 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks) 

“For Mexican food. It’s amazing.” 

STANLEY’S

(13817 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks) 

“I love their Chinese chicken salad.” 

THE ARCLIGHT THEATER AT THE SHERMAN OAKS GALLERIA

“I grew up in the Valley, and I have such fond memories of the Galleria and the whole Valley girl Moon Zappa thing. It was an appointment, the teenage gathering at the Galleria mall. So I love going to the movies there now as an adult because it always brings back fond memories.” 

THE BOULEVARD

“I love walking up and down in Studio City. Art’s Deli and everything. It’s become this little fashionista place with cool boutiques and all these hidden jewels and gems right on Ventura Boulevard. And on Moorpark, these little artsy cafes and coffeehouses.” 

Dawn Ritchie is an author and television writer/producer who lives in the San Fernando Valley.

Hollywood caterers do it for their celebrity clients and now you, too, can create a buzz at your next party. Ready to take your entertaining to the next level? Then personalize those party libations with a unique signature cocktail. We’ll show you how in six simple steps.

Step 1: Design Your Cocktail Around Your Party’s Theme

Choose a cocktail theme that gels with your event. For yuletide celebrations, think frosty, sparkly, spicy, creamy holiday concoctions — the Santa’s Sleigh, the Jack Frost, the Gingerbread Crumble.

The same goes for a celebration around any major achievement, such as a wedding shower or even a significant weight loss. Dropping the pounds and reveling with friends? How about tall, thin highballs filled with muddled herb creations? Call it The Last Ten, the Skinny Shinny or the New Me.

Step 2: Choose Your Spirits

Selecting spirits has a lot to dowith your party’s vibe. If it’s a quiet gathering around a fire, a full-bodied liquor is in order — something with a slow burn, like bourbon or a creamy chocolate liqueur. An afternoon brunch, on the other hand, calls fora sparkling berry burst of gin or an orangey Aperol spritz. Will there be dancing? Nothing gets a party rolling faster than a flight of festive shooters. Tequila shooters are standard fare, but layered shooters are signature drinks!

Creating a layered shooter: Pick three different-colored liqueurs. Form distinct layers by pouring the liquor over the back of a spoon into a shot glass very slowly. It will prevent the liquor from plunging into the layer below and mixing.

Step 3: Build Your Recipe

Your aim is to deliver a delicious drink with a level of complexity. Take the palate ona ride by firing off several taste buds — sweet, sour, salty, savory, bitter.

Use the fundamentals of perfume formulation — top note, heart note and base note — as a model to build your drink.

Top note: The introductory sensation. Think bright, citrusy fizzes that tickle, or luscious, creamy, chocolatey hits.

Heart note: After the top note subsides,it sneaks in as the body of the main spirit bleeds through. Choose something savory.

Base note: The lingering taste. This is your closer, that herb you mashed in, a spice or that splash of bitters. Go for sour or bitter.

Your three ingredients don’t have to include a mix at all; all three notes could be alcohol. Just keep in mind, you want to take the palate on a ride and give your guests a friendly buzz, not have them crashing into furniture.

Step 4: Mix It Up

Decide how you want to mix your cocktail during the party. Here are your options.

The straight pour: This works for layered drinks and triple-note alcohol drinks.

Shake and stir: Shake or stir your cocktail in front of guests and let them be a part of the show. Have all mixes, herbs, berries and bitters ready ahead of time.

Infuse: Infuse flavor in syrup or alcoholin advance; then just pour and dress it up. Consider spices, herbs, or oral infusions like lavender or elder flower. Simple syrup recipe: 2 cups of sugar dissolved into 1 cup boiling water. Add spices or flavoringsto infuse. Let steep, then strain and cool before using.

Muddle: A muddler is a long, wooden pestle, great for crushing herbs, spices and berries right in the glass. Herbs are de rigueur in signature cocktails. A muddled drink also brings out the strong flavour of an herb or spice.

Step 5: Master Presentation

It’s theatre! The color, the glass, therim, the ice, the garnish. And for the adventurous, smoke, fire and foam. This is where your signature drink will truly shine.

The color: A shot of Blue Curaçao liqueur and you have a sapphire in a glass. Add pineapple juice and you have an emerald. Layered drinks also supply that rainbow explosion.

The glass: Don’t just use highballs, snifters and martini glasses; be creative — jam jars, coconuts, even small bowls can be used as a glass.

The rim: Dip your rim in a syrup, plunge it into a bowl of shredded coconut and you’ve created a snow treatment. Drip puréed raspberry coulis inside the rim and guests relive summer in December. Make your own rim salts using colorful spices and salts. Rub the rim with a lemon, dip in the salt and voila! It adds to the complexity and hits that salty taste bud receptor.

The ice: Plain cubes are so yesterday. Theice for signature cocktails should be unique. Buy molds to create ice balls. Infuse ice with flavor or embed it with flowers, herbs, berries, even gumdrops or chocolates. What a nice surprise when the ice melts and there’s still a treat to be had.

The garnish: You can’t get too crazy here. Swizzle sticks can hold sliders, sushi, candies, fruit and flowers. Make the garnish outrageous enough to fit the event. A baby shower with frothy milky drinks and candy soothers on swizzle sticks? Why not?

Smoke, fire and foam: Molecular gastronomy has entered the world of cocktails, but if you don’t have the wherewithal to create a foamy froth, a little whipped egg white with a spray of flavoring will do. You can also shake a teaspoon of gelatin in a cocktail shaker with your mix to create that velvety texture top.

Smoke guns are a slightly pricier addition to your bar set, but create a spectacular effect that will really impress your guests. Tip: Experiment first.

Step 6: Name Your Drink

Give your signature drink a snappy, fun, memorable name — the Snowball Splatter or Naked at the Off-Ramp are two examples. Guests will love using it and you’ll hear it repeated numerous times around the party. It cements your party’s theme. Bottoms up!

The look, the food, the entertainment, an element of surprise and basic creature comforts: these five fundamentals will make or break your next holiday party.

 Impress them with a look
that stirs the holiday spirit.

Red and green Christmas color schemes are a definite no-no as organizations become increasingly sensitive to diversity in the ranks of their employees and customers. Which means buoying holiday spirits without offending religious proclivities is the order you’ll have to fill. White on white and blue and silver color schemes are hot color combos, but anything that doesn’t say Christmas works. “We used to have carolers and Christmas trees,” says Janet Elkins, president of EventWorks, and a 27-year veteran of the business, “Now it’s winter wonderlands.”

The winter wonderland is the answer most event planners have used to successfully sidestep the whole loaded Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza issue. But how you present your wonderland is where your creativity blossoms. Polyurethane floors with professional skaters, falling snow and virtual fireplaces will put your guests into the spirit of the season. Conceptual events like an Unforgettable Holiday with a tribute to Nat King Cole or The Holidays in New York with a salute to Broadway offer musical textures for the physical elements of an event to wrap around.

“People are looking for conceptual looks, architectural elements, more out-of-thebox cozy celebrations that don’t fit into a theme,” says Thomas Budas, account executive and director of marketing for An Original Occasion, who has used all of these approaches. His company creates “the look” by working off color, style and architecture. Arranging tables around faux ice rinks conjures fond memories of a favorite holiday pastime. Creating holiday dinner theaters featuring playbills on tables, gobo projections of Broadway show logos and the atmosphere of a happening New York club invokes a longing for cold weather delights like chestnuts roasting on sidewalk carts, steaming yellow cabs and decorated holiday storefrontson Fifth Avenue. Budas suggests booking a snow machine for the show’s finale. This effect is guaranteed to bring the house down when your singers belt out “Let It Snow.”

“I always start with the venue because every one has its limitations,” says Elaine DeLong, event planner for Good Gracious! Her company has produced corporate parties in office buildings and high rises using the twinkling view below as a magical starry backdrop. “You just can’t build that,” says DeLong. “We spend a lot of time designing the look, linens and chairs. Trying to not make it look like a rented situation.”“

People are looking
for conceptual
looks, architectural
elements, more out of-
the-box cozy
celebrations that don’t
fit into a theme.”

—Thomas Budas, An Original Occasion

Parties continue to split 50-50 between sit-down dinners and buffets, but there is a distinct move toward creating more lounge areas. Many planners are transforming predinner cocktail areas into after dinner lounges as a matter of course.

Feed them with a new
twist on familiar favorites.

More than any event, holiday parties induce a hankering for comfort food. Dessert soups served in cocktail glasses are a hot new item. Panini and sandwich bars always satisfy. And new twists on old favorites, like Good Gracious’ signature mac and cheese cupcakes topped with a crispy gratin layer, or their popular mini gourmet meat loafs, invariably hit the spot.

Clients like cuisine that is recognizable and comforting. Which may explain why, despite reports of the demise of the mashed potato bar, it’s still showing up on menus. Served in a martini glass with an array of fun toppings, taters never tasted so good. At the end of the evening milkshakes and cookies comfort the inner child lurking within us all… even that hard-boiled CFO who’s signing your check.

“We don’t need fois gras and truffle oil,” says DeLong. “People are coming back to good, natural, organic food.” Hospitality professionals across the board are reporting on this trend and clients are demanding the particulars on the origins of the food being served.

As for holiday spirits in liquid form, cash bars are out. Fine wines, bourbon and tequila tastings are in. Since having a few too many drinks at corporate events is being frowned upon more than ever, many party planners are resorting to issuing bar tickets with a limit of two or three drinks.

Entertain them by making
them part of the action.

“What’s a party without a show?” says Janet Elkin of EventWorks, who regularly books tribute bands, explosive-energy Krumpers and Cirque De Soleil acts for her events. At larger parties she creates entertainment stations in different rooms that offer a range of musical and entertainment styles for different ages and tastes, including Latin music, karaoke, alternative and big band.

While great stage performances are imperative, Elkins insists guest participation is the key to a successful event. Casino nights, game shows and “anything virtual that gets people involved is a hit,” whether it’s the old standbys like dancing heads, (www.danceheads.com) golf and racecar simulators or novelty activities like oxygen bars or retro photo booths. Elkin often suggests costume parties for this reason. “It helps people come out of their shell and promotes the theme of the event.”

During a recent white dress code party, Elkins played off the popularity of the TV series, Dancing With the Stars, by having guests literally dance under the stars outdoors while receiving lessons from professional dance instructors. She’s also staged an audience-drivenAmerican Idol-type competition with secretly pre-rehearsed singers from the client’s company. The supposedly randomly picked vocalists gave staggeringly slick performances and knocked the audience’s socks off.

Good Gracious! insists little things like dressing wait staff in T-shirts with the name of hors d’oeuvres they are serving can energize staff and open up a dialogue between guests.

Surprise them with
memorable moments.

Stimulating entertainment, striking table settings and inventive menus are essential, but in the end, it’s not the truffle infused demiglace or spring vegetable mélange that hangs in guests’ memories. It’s those unexpected moments that no one anticipated that makes an impact and generates repeat bookings.

 Halfway through the party is the perfect time for an element of surprise, says Elkins, who has booked surprise guests like Sheryl Crow or suddenly opened a curtain to reveal a holiday gift shopping experience for invitees. Jaw-dropping moments always ensure success.

Care for them with
creature comforts.

Besides the bells and whistles, creature comforts are crucial. “If guests can’t get to food lines or the bar, have difficultly accessing bathrooms or get hung up at the valet, it puts a damper on the whole event,” says Elkins. “Everything else is secondary to those things.”

Event staff should make regular sweeps through these areas to check for and remedy backlogs. Long lines at the ladies room are often a source of frustration for female guests. 

Be sure to add this item to your location scout checklist and consider repurposing extra men’s rooms if necessary.

 Good traffic flow around food stations can be achieved with creative solutions like Elaine DeLong’s food library, a series of open bookshelves with food items in different cubbies. The food library is both a décor item and a working buffet that allows access from both sides. This inventive idea is bound to be a conversation starter as guests mingle amongst the stacks.

Good Gracious! also builds in safeguards like “coffees to go” to occupy guests as they wait for vehicles to arrive. And it doesn’t hurt to arm staff with trays of cookies as a way of calming impatient tempers. A delicious solution!

The Art of Mixology

Five fun drinks from Good Gracious!

The Life Support
Green tea vodka with ginger mixer Elixir G gives new meaning to the
maxim “go for the burn.”

The Cherry Vanilla Kiss
Vanilla vodka and cherry cider in a martini glass rimmed with vanilla
scented sugar bestows a sugary kiss to the lips with every sip.

The Code Blue
Grey Goose vodka and Hpnotiq liquor blended together are like
defibrillator paddles to the chest.

The Vintage Martini
Riesling, vodka and Cointreau stirred, not shaken, will speak to the
sophisticates in the crowd.

The Russian Mud Bath
One slug of this vodka, Kahlua, milk and Bailey’s Irish Crème makes
the insides feel like they are at the spa.

Dessert Soups
Sweeten the Night
+5 tempting dessert “soups”
from Good Gracious!

1. Chocolate soup with whipped cream and graham cracker rim

2. Mango smoothie with lemon crystal stirrer

3. Vanilla milkshake with cinnamon dust

4. Kiwi cooler

5. Muscat berry soup

Venerable Venues

Deck these halls for
spectacular holiday
events.

Mission San Juan Capistrano
Located halfway between San Diego and Los
Angeles. Ten acres of Old World charm with
adobe structures, lush gardens, Koi fountains,
and museum areas. Accommodates groups
from 50 to 800. { Rita Gibby-Granard /
rgibby@missionsjc.com / 949.234.1321 /
www.missionsjc.com/corp_events.html }

The Highlands
In the heart of Hollywood at Highland and
Hollywood Blvd. 30,000-square-foot area
with indoor stages, state of the art sound
system, video screens and outdoor terraces.
Accommodates 25 to 1400 guests. Wolfgang
Puck caters. { Elsa O. Winter / elsa@thehigh
landsla.com / 323.461.9820 / www.thehigh
landshollywood.com/special_events.html }

Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center
East Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara.
A landmark facility built in the 1920s with
a beachfront patio promising sultry sunset
views. Ballroom accommodates 200 seated,
250 for cocktails. Small conference rooms
seat a dozen. { Leslie Lund / eRecreation@
ci.santa-barbara.ca.us / 805.897.1983 / www.
santabarbaraca.gov/Beachfront/cabrillo.htm }

Fess Parker’s Wine Country Inn and Spa
On Grand Avenue, Los Olivos in Santa Ynez
wine country. A 714-acre ranch surrounded by
rolling hills of vineyards. Outdoor veranda and
tented events for groups of 50 and indoor
fireplace tasting rooms for intimate gatherings
at the winery. Or book executive boardrooms,
the banquet hall and garden room at
the stunning boutique inn, fully catered.
{ carlos@fessparker.com / catering@fess
parker.com / 800.446.2455 / www.fess
parker.com/html/wine_country_inn.htm }

• IN TOUCH

AN ORIGINAL OCCASION
Los Angeles / 323.467.2111
www.aooevents.com

EVENTWORKS
Los Angeles / 323.321.1793
www.eventworks.com

GOOD GRACIOUS!
Los Angeles / 949.250.6326
www.goodgraciousevents.com

Article

Family

Business

Patrick Cassidy, the Cassidy you may not know you know

By Dawn Ritchie

“It’s in the DNA,” says actor Patrick Cassidy of the renowned Cassidy showbiz lineage. From the moment I was conceived, someone said ‘smile’ and there was a camera in my face.”

Cassidy, who was conceived during the filming of the Oscar winning musical The Music Man by mother Shirley Jones, isn’t overstating. Jones tried to hide her pregnancy during filming but once the cameras rolled, baby Patrick grabbed the limelight, kicking furiously as Robert Preston smooched the expectant actress during the love scene on the footbridge. A startled Preston reacted visibly and the cat was out of the bag. Forty-six years later Cassidy and his mother reprised that auspicious Music Man connec­tion onstage at Bushnell Center in Hartford, Conn. But this time Patrick was playing the lead role of Harold Hill and starring opposite his mother, who assumed the char­acter of Mrs. Paroo. It was a completion of the circle and a dream finally realized.

Cassidy was bit by the theater bug early in his school days at Beverly Hills High. Like older brother Shaun and half-brother David, his heartthrob good looks and inborn musical talent poised him for a career as a pop teen idol … but the footlights beckoned.

“I watched my brothers’ careers and after the teen thing wore off they were like, ‘Now what do we do?’ They didn’t have the foundation laid for a career. In the industry they weren’t taken seriously.”

Shaun has since transitioned into a highly respected television writer/producer, David continues to perform and younger brother Ryan opted for below-the-line employ­ment in television art departments. But it was Patrick who followed in his parents’ footsteps and sought career longevity on the stage. He hit the Big Apple at the tender age of 19 and within two weeks was cast in the Broadway production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance opposite Kevin Kline. Cassidy credits this experience of working with Kline, and later Treat Williams, for “propel­ling” him further in the direction of stage work.

“TV is so fickle. One minute you are the flavor of the month; next thing no one cares,” says Cassidy, who ironi­cally has managed to wrack up dozens of series television credits on prime timers such as CSI Miami, Without A Trace and ER. “TV and film is never an actor’s medium, but in the theater you get to drive the boat. There are always the mishaps of live theater … and the triumphs.”

Since Pirates of Penzance, Cassidy has tackled the work of musical masterminds Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, starring in New York productions of both Assassins and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This month he goes into rehearsals at Jason Alexander’s Reprise Theater in L.A. for a concert version of I Love My Wife.

“My career has predominantly been theatre,” says Cassidy, who, of all the Cassidy boys, most resembles his late father, the debonair silver-haired Broadway trouper, Jack Cassidy. “My hair began turning grey in my 20s, which opened up even more opportunities,” he says. “Hair color alone allows me to play a variety of roles from 25 to 45. In the span of five years I went from Frank Butler in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, to Radames in Aida, to playing Julian Marsh in 42nd Street and then back to Joseph in Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I’ve been very fortu­nate and blessed.”

Not all performers can boast the same providence. With a glut of cheaply produced reality shows flooding the airwaves, the creative side of the industry has been hit hard. Media reports voraciously dissect the financial woes of mega stars, like singer Michael Jackson and perennial co-host Ed McMahon. “It’s a tough economy,” says Cassidy, “but I’ve never lived beyond my means.” That’s due in part to his parents dogged coaching about the pitfalls of fame and the harsh realities of a life in show business.

“Our parents told us that you’re only as good as your last audition. They knew the hard­ship of this business. It’s feast or famine and there will be lean years, but that’s all part of the business. In any career there’s no for-sure thing.”

That’s not to say Cassidy hasn’t taken risks with his career. He courageously starred in the groundbreaking AIDS film Longtime Companion in 1990 at a time when many straight actors shied away from playing homo­sexuals for fear of being black­listed. Longtime Companion had been released a full three years before Philadelphia changed that perception when rock-solid hete­ros Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks portrayed lovers on screen. Cassidy is proud of that milestone and has worked hard for AIDS awareness in his chari­table work ever since.

“I do a big benefit for AIDS Project Los Angeles every year. I was in New York when the AIDS epidemic hit,” he recalls som­berly. “So many friends and col­leagues passed away that I had to do something. Longtime Com­panion was a labor of love.”

Cassidy still works frequently in New York and in regional the­aters across the country, but he makes the West Valley his home. “I’ve had the best of both worlds. I’ve lived all over New York for 25 years in sublets, from Chelsea to the Upper West Side, East Side and in Midtown — but always kept a house here.” Here was first Sherman Oaks, now

Westlake Village. (Spot him at favorite hangouts Suki 7, Dako­tas and Wood Ranch.)

“It was a no-brainer to come out here. Education and the schools are great. I’m not the guy you see at Hollywood pre­mieres and parties. I’m basi­cally a homebody and I’ve met incredible people here. There are actually real, regular peo­ple. I’m drawn to people who are not in the business.”

Staying close to family is important, too. Brother Shaun lives close-by in Hidden Hills and mother Shirley in Encino. Sadly, Cassidy’s father died tragically in a fire when Patrick was only a teenager. “My father was not a typical dad. He was a huge force, a huge entity and his presence was really felt but he wasn’t around a lot. That taught me that I wanted to be there for my children. I wanted to improve on the things I didn’t get. It’s made me a better father.”

That loss may be just one rea­son why family remains at the core of everything — work and leisure. “My parents and my brothers have been very influen­tial. They’re my best friends.” And there’s no doubt that bond will grow even stronger when they join talents later this year in a three-camera sitcom pilot for ABC Family. Produced by Shaun Cassidy and Ed Yeagar, Ruby and The Rockits tells the tale of a successful pop duo from the ‘80s (played by Patrick and David) who suffer a public breakup and then are reunited as adults through their talented children. Ed Yeagar penned the script with story work by Shaun Cassidy.

The whole endeavor has been “a new version of The Partridge Family,” says Cassidy. “The Par­tridge Family meets Two and Half Men meets Hannah Mon­tana. It’s life imitating art.”