Shaun Cassidy Says Late Famous Father, Jack Cassidy, Was a 'Phony' Who 'Invented’ an Accent (Exclusive)  

Jack Cassidy was a well-known talent successful nan ‘60s, but moreover those closest to nan Tony victor opportunity they ne'er knew who he really was. 

Shaun Cassidy exclusively tells PEOPLE that his begetter was a spot of a “phony,” astatine slightest publicly.

"My dada was truthful complicated,” the erstwhile teen idol, 66, says. “He fundamentally invented this nationalist persona pinch an accent that didn't beryllium successful immoderate state ever.”

Born successful New York City, Jack hailed from a family of engineers, and it was each but assumed he’d travel successful nan footsteps of his railroad family, that is, until he fell successful emotion pinch nan intermezo world aft seeing nan agleam lights of Broadway astatine nan ripe property of 14.

As his prima rose, nan He & She actor began appearing connected talk shows and speaking successful his borderline-British accent, leaving Shaun and his younger siblings — Patrick, 63, and Ryan, 59 — baffled by their dad's phonetics, which they hadn't heard astir nan house.

“Patrick and Ryan and I would beryllium like, 'What is up pinch this dude?' ” Shaun recalls. “I mean, it seemed truthful phony to us, and that wasn't for illustration who he was. I'm not judge he ever really figured retired who he was.”

Jack died successful an flat occurrence successful 1976. He was 49.

“He was not a bully begetter — and I don't opportunity that pinch disrespect. I conscionable opportunity it pinch objectivity,” Shaun adds. “And yet I wouldn't person traded him for nan world. I sewage truthful galore gifts from him, truthful many.”

Still, nan W. C. Fields and Me prima wasn’t precisely nan astir coming dada erstwhile his boy was coming of age.

“I didn't get nan dada who went to my Little League games aliases took maine connected camping trips aliases immoderate of that stuff. My mom did,” Shaun says of his mother, Oscar-winning character Shirley Jones. “My mom showed up for a batch of that stuff, but she was besides gone a lot. She was making movies astir nan world. I deliberation 1 of nan reasons she took The Partridge Family job is because she wanted to beryllium adjacent to home.”

Jack and Shirley, who joined successful 1956 and divided successful 1975, weren't who galore perceived them to be, their boy says.

"Who they really are is not really they're perceived by nan nationalist anyway. The nationalist has an thought of who they are," Shaun tells PEOPLE. "If you turn up successful a family of show folk, everything is very presentational."

"I talked to my brothers astir this nan different day. I had very, very fewer photographs of our family conscionable sitting astir nan surviving room. Almost each nan pictures I person were taken by master photographers, often for magazines."

It didn't return agelong for Shaun to recognize his parents were very concerned astir their nationalist perception, but he besides liked that group fawned complete his mom and dad.

"Going retired successful nationalist pinch them arsenic a small kid, everyone was successful emotion pinch my mother, and everybody was benignant of dazzled by my father," he reflects. "I retrieve being proud of that, emotion like, 'Oh, isn't that cool?'"

"I retrieve reasoning my mother's really beautiful, and I didn't cognize really beautiful she was. I was conscionable a small kid. Now I spot her, though, successful context. She is still. She's 91 years old and she looks younger than us."

In galore ways, Shaun raised himself while his parents were disconnected working. Growing up successful Los Angeles, he often confided successful nan children of different actors who faced akin challenges. 

“I person a full friend group, kids, we were for illustration Peanuts,” he says, referring to nan famed cartoon. “The parents weren't around. And yet each of america had akin backgrounds. I mean, Carrie Fisher was 2 doors down, and she was a bully pal of mine. We each sewage done it pinch challenges, for sure. We not only survived but thrived, and I deliberation we looked aft each other.”

A teen idol increasing up, nan “Da Doo Ron Ron" vocalist retreated from nan spotlight successful nan ‘90s and soon began a profession arsenic a writer, shaper and creator of TV shows.

However, nan shape is calling him again. Shaun kicked disconnected his 50-city The Road to Us circuit astatine Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry connected Sept. 13. It will people nan "That's Rock 'n' Roll" singer’s first afloat arena circuit since 1980 and his longest circuit ever.