Why did I think Jack Cassidy died in that big MGM Grand Fire?
According to ex-wife Shirley Jones, on December 11, 1976, Cassidy asked her over for drinks, but she declined his invitation. He then invited actress and singer
Donna Theodore out for a date. According to Theodore in a 1999 interview, which was featured in the
Mysteries and Scandals episode on Cassidy, she began noticing strange mood swings in Cassidy, notably one incident in which he ran all over the nightclub to which they had gone. Feeling uncomfortable, she asked him to take her back to her house, which he did. After eating dinner alone at a restaurant, Cassidy returned to his apartment alone, by which time he was drunk, as he had consumed alcohol at various bars across West Hollywood that evening. In the early morning hours of December 12, Cassidy lit a cigarette and fell asleep on his
Naugahydecouch.
[12] He then dropped the cigarette, which ignited the couch. The flames quickly spread throughout the apartment and the building.
[5]At 6:15 a.m., the blaze was discovered by Deputy Sherriff John DiMatteo, who evacuated the building and entered Cassidy's apartment. A charred corpse was found in the doorway of the apartment. As Cassidy's car was missing,
[1] his family hoped that he had traveled to Palm Springs, as he had apparently intended to do the following day. But
[13] the corpse was soon identified as Cassidy's by dental records and a
signet ring that he wore, bearing the Cassidy family crest.
[1][14] The car had been borrowed by a friend, who later returned it. Cassidy's remains were cremated and scattered on the
Pacific Ocean.
[15]
This is from Wikipedia