Written by Bernard Slade
Produced by Paul Junger Witt
Directed by Harry Falk
Original Air Date: December 18, 1970
Sheila Faber, a famous syndicated columnist, writes an item about the
Partridge Family after catching their performance. However, her article
singles out Danny -- praising him for his "personal magnetism" and
"star quality." When Danny reads Sheila's column, all the praise
goes straight to his head and that night he dreams he leaves the family act
and becomes the biggest star in show business. The next night, he calls Reuben
Kincaid and Danny's mysterious urgency has Reuben on the next plane. When
Reuben arrives, Danny proceeds to tell him about his plans to leave the family
act and make it as a single -- stressing that his only reason for making this
decision is financial security for his family. Because Reuben is worn to
secrecy, Shirley and the rest of the family don't know what to make of Danny's
strange behavior -- or Reuben's unexplained visit.
A few days later, Shirley sees children and their mothers heading for the
garage. When she goes to investigate, she finds Danny holding auditions to
find his replacement and Shirley learns of his plans. Shirley, Reuben and the
rest of the family launch a psychological attack on Danny -- acting blase
about his plans to leave the group. They even get a replacement, Norman, who
can sing and play better than Danny! On the night of their big performance in
a famous Hollywood club, Danny finally realizes his real reason for wanting to
quit -- glory, and the Partridge Family act stays together. After the concert,
Sheila Faber visits the family backstage. It turns out that she has mistaken
Chris for Danny -- so Danny didn't have "star quality" after all!
Song:
"Singing My Song," music and lyrics by Wes Farrell and Diane
Hilderbrand (on The Partridge Family Album)
Guest Cast:
Sheila Faber ------------------------------------------- Mitzi Hoag
Norman ----------------------------------------------- Gerald Michenaud
Mother ------------------------------------------------ Judy March
Dick Clark --------------------------------------------- Himself
Tube Trivia:
- Mitzi Hoag is best known for playing Elsie Gillis on "Here Come the
Brides." She also appeared in Episodes 43, 51,
and 89.
- Dick Clark is best known for hosting "American Bandstand,"
"The 25,000 Pyramid," "TVs Bloopers and Practical Jokes,"
as well as "The Other Half," with Danny Bonaduce.
- For the first (and last) time, the Partridge girls wear funky red velvet
hats during their performance of "Singing My Song!"
- When Danny and Reuben climb up to the tree house, they're actually in their
neighbor's yard!
- This episode was written by series creator Bernard Slade. He also wrote
Episodes 1, 3, 5,
8, 17, 25,
36, and 38. To read our
exclusive interview with Bernard Slade, visit the People and Places section of
the website!
- Songwriters Wes Farrell and Diane Hilderbrand also wrote "When We're
Singing," the theme song for the first season.
