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‘Partridge Family’ Star Dead at 82 — He Was a Familiar Face on TV for Decades

Jan 17, 2014  •  Post A Comment

An actor who was a familiar presence on television from the 1960s through the 1990s has died. The New York Times reports that Dave Madden, who was a regular on "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In" in the late 1960s and on "The Partridge Family" in the early 1970s, died Thursday at a hospice center near his home in Florida. He was 82.

The comedic actor is remembered for his role as agent Reuben Kincaid on ABC’s “The Partridge Family,” which aired from 1970-1974. Kincaid, who managed the band, clashed with the band’s bassist, the pre-teen Danny Partridge, played by Danny Bonaduce. The show’s premise was that a widowed mother, played by Shirley Jones, and her five children formed a band to make a living.

“His relationship with Danny Bonaduce is what made the show work,” Jones said of Madden, “this strange, mad little boy and the grown man who was even worse as a father figure.”

Madden, whose character appeared to be annoyed by the children in the family, actually loved kids, Jones said. Bonaduce later wrote that Madden was a surrogate father to him during his troubled youth, the piece adds.

Before “The Partridge Family,” Madden was a regular on the “Laugh-In” sketch comedy series, and from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s he had a recurring role as customer Earl Hicks on “Alice.”

Madden also appeared in guest roles on a number of TV series over the years, including “Bewitched," "Happy Days" and "Barney Miller," with appearances later in his career on "Boy Meets World" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," among other shows.

dave madden.pngDave Madden

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