Jonathan from Zionsville, IN writes in to ask, “Mitch, did you ever meet David Cassidy?” I should say I did, Jonathan! Back when I was making TV shows at the Knitting Factory, my friend Allen Newman called to tell me that he was working on a project with David Cassidy and they were looking for a location; he thought the Knit would be perfect. They came by and I gave David the grand tour.
David had a sort of beatnik/film noir concept in mind which I thought might be really interesting. After looking at the many spaces in the club, he really liked the KnitActive lounge. He was very energetic, very imaginative and engaging. He got excited about something he was thinking about and it was very easy to get swept up in that energy.
I asked him to tell me more about the idea but I didn’t get much out of him. It’s possible that he was keeping his cards close to his vest (why wouldn’t he? I know I would) but I got the sense that his notion of “beatnik/film noir” was pretty superficial, kinda showbiz as opposed to a really developed, insightful point of view. I was a little disappointed although I don’t know why I should have been. He was never known to be anything more than a glossy pop guy as far as I knew. Why would that change?
He was a very pleasant guy, seemed as if he would be a good work partner. I guess it sounds like a cliche but it was very true in this case: he was much smaller than I expected! Couldn’t have been more than 5’5″, as I recall.
I gave him my card although I never heard from him again and I don’t know if that project ever went anywhere.