While David Cassidy fights dementia, Friday may have been his last Las Vegas performance

David Cassidy’s performance at the Golden Nugget on Friday might have been a Las Vegas farewell for the former teen idol who lived and worked in Las Vegas in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Cassidy, 66, confirmed he had been diagnosed with dementia after videos surfaced from a difficult performance in Southern California on Saturday, a day after the Nugget show, part of its weekly “52 Fridays” concert series.

During that performance, he reportedly forgot lyrics to his songs and appeared to fall off the stage.

Cassidy completed the Nugget show, but a staffer (who is not an authorized property spokesperson) said the performance did generate some complaints from angry patrons.

The performer, made famous by starring in TV series “The Partridge Family,” came to Las Vegas in late 1996 as the leading man of “EFX,” the MGM Grand review that first starred Michael Crawford. He stayed in the show through 1998. In early 2000, Cassidy developed a show for the Rio called “At the Copa” and co-starred in it with Sheena Easton.

Cassidy also co-created and co-produced the first version of the tribute show “The Rat Pack is Back,” which still plays (without his involvement) at The Tuscany. Cassidy’s spouse Sue Shifrin-Cassidy co-promoted a musical conference EAT’M - Emerging Artists and Talent in Music - during their years as Las Vegas residents.

The singer and actor told People magazine he was fighting the mental disorder, a disease which his mother also suffered from.

“I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming,” Cassidy told People.

Cassidy told the magazine he had decided to stop touring as a musician to concentrate on his health.

“I want to focus on what I am, who I am and how I’ve been, without any distractions,” he said. ‘I want to love. I want to enjoy life.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Contact Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mikeweatherford on Twitter.