Fame and Fortune: Patrick Cassidy
'Bubble fear' and family put him on the road -- Page 2

Bankrate: You have an autobiographical one-man show in the works. Tell me about the process of getting that off the ground.

Patrick Cassidy: It's been a long time coming, growing up in a family where every single person is in show business. It's our family business, just like another family might own a shoe store or a drug store. We still have our squabbles, our pitfalls and heroic events. I do songs both my parents did. As for financing the show, I'm in the process of working it out. I got an offer. I did my first rendition, about 40 minutes, in Newport Beach at a ladies' luncheon. I also did it at the Manhattan Theater Club. I hired an agent.

Bankrate: Tell me about the pros and cons of trying to carve out a career when you come from a famous family.

Patrick Cassidy: The pros: All these people are ahead of you. You have examples of what to do or not to do. But the higher you climb, the harder you fall. I made a conscious choice to study acting in New York. I worked with people like Treat Williams, Ellen Burstyn.

Bankrate: You made the decision to go into acting, after seeing their examples, and not recording. Why?

Patrick Cassidy: I saw how short-lived it is, with the last name Cassidy. Sure, there were offers after I finished high school, "Dress him just right, give him a catchy tune to sing." I had that all accessible.

Bankrate: Unlike filming a television show, for example, a Broadway show requires you to use your vocal chords almost every night. What precautions or expenses do you have in preserving your voice?

Patrick Cassidy: As many expenses as you can think of. Any musical person will tell you. Like, quiet, staying quiet. Humidifiers in my room and dressing room. All kinds of remedies. I had vocal chord surgery; my range was decreasing. As a young child, I did a lot of screaming. It's made me very conscious of how I use my voice.

Bankrate: The income of an actor can go up and down. Do you have investments?

Patrick Cassidy: Yeah. For the first time since I was single, all the money I make goes for investments, for my wife and children. We were cash poor, and then the job came. I have very few bills: no mortgage, insurance payments, car payments. I just have cell phone and credit card bills. Now, the government might come calling to get me to pay up, now that I don't have all the write-offs!

Bankrate: Do you manage your own money, or do you get help?

Patrick Cassidy: I've always had a business manager. Both my brothers and I didn't get a lot of money from my father's estate. I got $80,000 from an insurance policy. Then, my mother's business manager embezzled it. Now, with my manager, I was with him for 20 years, he's retiring. The new guy, he's almost like family. And, my cousin is a broker. I have a bookkeeper, too.

Bankrate: You are active with AIDS causes. How did you select that charity?

Patrick Cassidy: Through being a member of the theater: It's been decimated by HIV and AIDS. I have seen some of the greatest artists taken away from this planet. It's my obligation to bring some awareness.

Patrick Cassidy's official Web site.