Shaun Cassidy turns 68 on Sunday, and for the first time in his life he is about to hit the road singing Christmas songs. Born September 27, 1958, to Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, he was the teen idol of 1977, the year “Da Doo Ron Ron” went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and “That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” reached number three. “Hey Deanie” followed at number seven in 1978, and for two years he starred as Joe Hardy on ‘The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries’ while his half-brother David was still fresh from ‘The Partridge Family.’
Cassidy’s popularity extended well beyond the record charts. While still in high school, he signed with Warner Bros. Records and eventually earned three multi-platinum albums and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. He performed at Madison Square Garden and the Houston Astrodome, where his final major arena tour ended in 1980 before an estimated 55,000 fans. His face became a fixture in teen magazines, and his success alongside Parker Stevenson on ‘The Hardy Boys’ made him a familiar presence in American living rooms.
Shaun Cassidy crosses a major milestone
But Cassidy walked away from that level of fame while still in his early 20s. In a July 2026 interview with People, he explained that his decision had little to do with losing his love for music. Growing up in a famous entertainment family had left him longing for stability, something he believed a career behind the scenes could provide. “A normal life, a grounded life, a stable life was something I really didn’t have as a kid,” he explained. Writing and producing television eventually gave him the more ordinary family life he had been searching for.
Cassidy became one of television’s most respected writers and producers, creating ‘American Gothic’ in 1995, ‘Invasion’ in 2005 and ‘New Amsterdam,’ which ran on NBC from 2018 to 2023. He returned to live performance in 2021 with a one-man show called ‘The Magic of a Midnight Sky,’ and according to Yahoo Entertainment he has played 57 North American cities in the past year alone.
The next chapter is the 2026 ‘Unwrapped’ Holiday Tour, running through November and December with stops in Denver, Des Moines, Key West, New York City, Los Angeles and Pontiac, Michigan. “This November and December, we’ll be bringing you the songs you know and love, holiday favorites, new music, and stories from our many Cassidy family Christmases,” he said in the announcement, as reported by Yahoo. His mother recorded holiday albums decades ago, and now he is recording his first. “Thank you for bringing me back to the stage,” he added. “I can’t wait to see you all this holiday season.” Married to Tracey Lynne Turner and the father of seven, he is 68 on Sunday and apparently just getting warmed up.
