Danny Bonaduce
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| Danny Bonaduce | |
 Danny Bonaduce, June 2007
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| Born | Dante Daniel Bonaduce August 13, 1959 Broomall, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Child actor, Radio Host |
| Known for | The Partridge Family |
| Spouse | Setsuko Hattori (1985 - 1988) Gretchen Hillmer (1990 - present) (filed for divorce) |
| Children | Countess Isabella Michaela Bonaduce (daughter) Count Dante Jean Michel Valentino Bonaduce (son) |
| Parents | Joseph Bonaduce (father) Betty Bonaduce (mother) |
Dante Daniel "Danny" Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio/television personality, comedian, and former child actor who became known as an adult for his tumultuous personal life. The son of veteran TV writer/producer Joseph Bonaduce (Mayberry RFD, One Day At A Time, Good Times), the naturally redheaded Bonaduce gained prominence as a child actor of the 1970s, co-starring as Shirley Partridge's (played by Shirley Jones) wisecracking second son, Danny Partridge, on the sitcom/television series, The Partridge Family. Bonaduce was on The Adam Carolla Show from 2006-2007. He frequently makes personal appearances in television, radio, and at public events.
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[edit] Biography
Bonaduce achieved fame at the age of ten, starring as Danny Partridge on the television series The Partridge Family. Bonaduce's wisecracking Danny was a constant bane of the family's manager, played by Dave Madden. Bonaduce has said that he owes a lot to Madden, who took him into his home during his family's domestic strife.
By his own account, Bonaduce grew up in a dysfunctional family, with sexual molestation and emotional abuse from his father.[1] His early fame at the age of ten in The Partridge Family led to close relationships with co-stars Shirley Jones and Dave Madden. However, following the end of the series, Bonaduce's late teens and twenties saw drug abuse and a period of homelessness. After a 1977 TV movie about a hijacked passenger plane, which featured Sonny Bono and Farrah Fawcett Majors,and an appearance in 1978's Corvette Summer, the young actor's career withered. But by the late 1980s, Bonaduce had become an on-air radio personality. In the early 1990s David Cassidy signed Bonaduce on as his opening act. Since that time, Bonaduce has continued working regularly as a media personality.
In 1985, Bonaduce married real estate agent Setsuko Hattori. They divorced in 1988. On November 4, 1990, Bonaduce met his second wife, Gretchen Hillmer, on a blind date and the two were married the same day. The actor has credited Gretchen with building-up his diminished self image, which had been assailed by both chemical abuse and an arrest for assaulting a male transvestite. On April 9, 2007, Gretchen filed a divorce petition, citing irreconcilable differences. [2] They have two children together, Isabella and Dante. He now has a girlfriend named Amy Railsback who is 23 years Bonaduce's junior. She was formerly a school teacher but now manages Bonaduce's career full-time. They have been together since April 2007 and share a home in Hollywood.
[edit] TV
Bonaduce originally gained fame in the television series The Partridge Family. Bonaduce played the role of Danny Partridge. The character of Danny Partridge was a member of the musical Partridge family, a band and family that toured the country in their oddly-painted old school bus. Danny Partridge played the bass guitar though in reality, Bonaduce was not a musician. The young Bonaduce was reported to have a strong relationship with series' lead, Shirley Jones as well as the notable friendship he had with Madden.
He hosted his own syndicated talk-show, The Danny Bonaduce Show in 1996. It was during this time he brought together most of the cast of the Partridge Family for a reunion show on his own program, including last season regular Ricky Segall and the show's executive producer Bob Claver. Susan Dey was unable to attend, but called into the show and reminisced with Danny for a few minutes. David Cassidy was also absent as he was working on a new album at the time.
Bonaduce worked as co-host of The Other Half (TV series), a daytime talk show positioned as a complementary show to The View, on which he starred with Mario Lopez and Dick Clark. The show aired from 2001 to 2003. During this time, he was also a Hollywood correspondent for the Australian morning show Today
Bonaduce starred in Breaking Bonaduce, a 2005 reality television show on VH1. One famous scene involved Bonaduce gulping down a bottle of vodka, and then racing across the highway on his scooter. In August 2006, he hosted the tabloid-themed game show named Starface, which aired on the Game Show Network.
Bonaduce is currently hosting I Know My Kid's a Star, a reality show on VH1 featuring parents and children trying to break into show business. He also appears as a judge on the Australian version My Kid's a Star.
Bonaduce frequently appears as a featured guest on television news programs. He has made several incendiary statements regarding left-wing or liberal celebrities; on Fox News, Bonaduce stated that Jane Fonda should have been shot for treason for her role in support of the Vietnamese authorities during the Vietnam War.[3] He also stated on MSNBC's Scarborough Country that "personally I think at this point if anyone had a rope thick enough, I think that Rosie should be strung up for treason", referring to Rosie O'Donnell.[4]
[edit] Other work
As an adult, Bonaduce boxed Donny Osmond in a charity event and later boxed former Brady, Barry Williams, in a separate event. Bonaduce won both contests gaining a decision over Osmond and a TKO over Williams.[5] On June 11, 2007, Bonaduce boxed attorney Robert Shapiro for a charitable event.[6] In 2002, Bonaduce released an autobiography, Random Acts of Badness. It has been heralded as a smart, well-written comedic tragedy and was a New York Times bestseller.[1]
[edit] Media appearances
- Bonaduce made a cameo appearance in a 1994 episode of Married With Children along with Partridge Family costar Dave Madden.
- Bonaduce received an "award" from The Soup and refused to read his speech then ended up kissing the host, Joel McHale. This was not scripted.
- Bonaduce's self-titled LP was released in 1973 by MGM Records. Bonaduce has admitted that his vocals can barely be heard on the album; most of the singing was provided by Bruce Roberts. www.cmongethappy.com findarticles.com
- Bonaduce has appeared as himself on the detective series Monk, and on the show Girlfriends.
- Ashley Massaro, current WWE diva and winner of the '05 diva search, was Bonaduce's personal trainer.
- Bonaduce guest-starred with J. D. Roth on an episode on Sex Wars. Five years later, Bonaduce would later work with Roth, behind-the-scenes on Breaking Bonaduce.
- Bonaduce guest-starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Season 7 Episodes 1 and 2. He plays the first victim of the Miniature Killer.
- Bonaduce appeared in the fourth season of The Drew Carey Show as the son of Shirley Jones's character.
- Bonaduce, admitting his track record as not perfect, gets the last laugh as a commentator for TruTv's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest Criminals.
- Bonaduce is referenced in Taking Back Sunday's song "12 Days of Christmas, where they replace the lyrics "and a partridge in a pear tree" with the "and a danny bonaduce." They also have a short conversation talking about him.
- Danny is in 2 episodes of "Gene Simmons Family Jewels". In the first episode Danny is helping Shannon Tweed determine if Gene could possibly beat a lie detector. In the second episode he is in studio with Adam Corolla when Gene is hooked up to a lie detector. Danny asks several questions to Gene and then asks questions to Shannon when she eventually is hooked up to the machine.
[edit] Altercation with Jonny Fairplay
On October 2, 2007, Bonaduce was in an altercation with former reality-show participant Jonny Fairplay during the FOX Reality Channel Reality Awards[7]. Fairplay was on stage towards the end of the Awards show and being booed by the audience, which seemed to perplex Fairplay. Bonaduce walked on stage and told Fairplay the audience reaction was "because they hate you", and then started walking off the stage without another word.
Fairplay called Bonaduce back and said something to him which the stage microphones did not pick up. Fairplay then leapt into Bonaduce's arms, straddled and thrust his crotch into him, allegedly as a joke - part of Fairplay's shtick.
Bonaduce, who stated that Fairplay's hands near his throat made him uncomfortable, adjusted his balance and his grip on Fairplay and then threw him over his head. This caused Fairplay to hit the stage floor, face first.
Bonaduce later stated the two had met occasionally beforehand (and Bonaduce had previously indicated a dislike of Fairplay due to him lying about his grandmother's death on Survivor), but they had never actually fought before. While Bonaduce did not believe Fairplay was significantly hurt at the time, TMZ.com subsequently reported that Fairplay bled significantly, lost some teeth and suffered a broken toe. Fairplay may also have struggled with firefighters and/or medics trying to assist him.
Fairplay pressed charges and police opened a felony battery investigation with Bonaduce as the named suspect. Bonaduce maintained his innocence and stated he was acting in self-defense. Bonaduce also stated he expects to be sued by Fairplay and if so, will counter sue. On October 5, 2007, the L.A. district attorney's office concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bonaduce had committed battery because Fairplay had initiated the contact and Bonaduce had acted in self-defense.[8]
[edit] Controversies
In late 2007, celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton posted a photograph of a fully nude Danny Bonaduce. The photograph was taken during the 2007 Exotic Erotic Ball in San Francisco. Bonaduce was reported to have been upset about the photo as many internet gossip sites ridiculed him for having what appeared to be a small penis. Bonaduce then announced that he would dispel such discussion by appearing fully nude along with nude female models in the March 2008 issue of Penthouse magazine[2]. Reports thus far however state that the photos were not revealing enough to allow the viewer to make up his or her own mind, as all images were obstructed frontal nudes where little could be seen.[citation needed]
On March 2008 prior to a celebrity boxing event, comedian Bob Levy slapped Bonaduce while visiting Bonaduce's dressing room[3]. Video shot of the moment doesn't make clear what circumstances led to the altercation and Bonaduce, who has been noted for his temper did not retaliate though the video does show him confronting the comic.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bonaduce, Danny (November 1, 2002). Random Acts of Badness. Hyperion, 432. ISBN 0786890479.
- ^ The Associated Press. "Danny Bonaduce Facing Divorce." ABC News go.com April 11, 2007 [1]
- ^ FoxNews.com
- ^ Bonaduce, Danny. (2007, June). Danny Bonaduce on Scarborough Country, 2007 [TV]. Bonaduce supported and voted for Republican President George W. Bush and has voiced support for the on-going Iraqi liberation and belives 911 was an inside job.
- ^ Biography.com
- ^ Podcast of The Adam Carolla Show describing Bonaduce's boxing match with Robert Shapiro
- ^ October 3, 2007. http://www.knbc.com/news/14268886/detail.html
- ^ http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1004_bonaduce_wm_opt.pdf
[edit] External links
- Danny Bonaduce -vs- Jonny Fairplay (the fight)
- Danny Bonaduce at the Internet Movie Database
- Danny Bonaduce at nndb.com
- Latest News and Information on Danny Bonaduce at dannybonaduce.net
- Interview with Danny, and more about the music.
- When Young Stars Burn Out MSN Movies
- Bonaduce to (c'mon!) get naked?
