Danny Bonaduce

Dante Daniel "Danny" Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio/television personality, comedian, professional wrestler, and former child actor who, as an adult, became known for his tumultuous personal life. Born in Broomall, Pennsylvania, Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer/producer Joseph Bonaduce (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mayberry RFD, One Day At A Time, Good Times).

The younger Bonaduce became famous as a child actor of the 1970s on the sitcom/television series The Partridge Family. Bonaduce co-starred as Danny Partridge, the wisecracking, redheaded middle son of the singing pop band (headed by Shirley Jones). He and Shirley Jones were the only Partridge cast members whose actual names were also that of the character he/she portrayed on screen. Danny was the fictional pop group's bass guitar player.

Bonaduce was part of The Adam Carolla Show in 2007. In 2008 he was given a daily one-hour solo spot known as Broadcasting Bonaduce, which was broadcast locally on the L.A.-based KLSX station. Broadcasting Bonaduce was removed from KLSX in February 2009, as the station had changed its format from talk to Top 40. On November 10, 2008, Bonaduce began hosting the morning drive time on WYSP in Philadelphia, where he remains today.

Personal life
By his own account, Bonaduce grew up in a dysfunctional family and suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father.

The younger Bonaduce became famous at the age of ten in the television series The Partridge Family, starring as the middle son, Danny Partridge. Danny stood out with his naturally red hair and wisecracking that was a constant bane of the family's manager, Reuben Kincaid, portrayed by Dave Madden. In real life, Madden was something of a second father to Bonaduce, taking Danny into his home during periods of domestic strife in the boy’s own home. Bonaduce also had a close relationship with co-star Shirley Jones. However, following the end of the series, Bonaduce's late teens and twenties involved drug abuse and even a period of homelessness. On his own radio show on August 4, 1997, the actor related how he lived in his car behind Grauman's Chinese Theatre, while being greeted by fans and autograph seekers.

In 1985, Bonaduce married real estate agent Setsuko Hattori. They divorced in 1988. On November 4, 1990, Bonaduce met second wife Gretchen Hillmer on a blind date, and the two were married the same day. They had two children together, Isabella and Dante. By the time he met Hillmer, he had been fired by WEGX-FM in Philadelphia for drug use and had been arrested in Phoenix, Arizona for an altercation with a male transvestite. Bonaduce has publicly stated that Hillmer took an interest in him when no one else did, and that she went to great lengths to help him maintain his sobriety, which only lasted for brief periods. In an episode of A&E's Biography first telecast in 2006, Bonaduce openly discussed his long struggle with drugs and alcohol. On April 9, 2007, drug and alcohol abuse had taken its toll on the marriage, and Hillmer filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences.

Bonaduce is currently engaged to Amy Railsback; Railsback, who is 23 years his junior, was formerly a substitute school teacher and now manages Bonaduce's career full-time. They have been together since April 2007 and maintain homes in both Hollywood and Philadelphia.

Acting
In the television series The Partridge Family, the role of Danny Partridge was played by Bonaduce, a member of the musical Partridge family, a band and family that toured the country in their hip, Mondrian-inspired painted school bus. The bass guitar was played by Danny Partridge. The backbone of the band's sound was provided by the rhythm section led by Danny and also including percussionist siblings Tracy and Chris.

Bonaduce's eponymous debut LP was released in 1973 by Lion Records, a subsidiary label of MGM Records. Bonaduce has admitted that his vocals can barely be heard on the album; most of the singing was provided by Bruce Roberts.

Bonaduce made several movies during and after the run of The Partridge Family. Perhaps the most memorable of his films was Corvette Summer (released in 1978), starring Mark Hamill (of Star Wars fame.) Hamill and Bonaduce played high school students who went in search of a stolen customized Corvette Stingray. Bonaduce also made guest appearances on several TV shows, including multiple appearances on the popular police dramedy CHiPs. His career withered in the early 1980s.

A cameo appearance was made by Bonaduce in a 1994 episode of Married... with Children along with Partridge Family costar Dave Madden. That same year, he appeared on an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast; he has also guest-starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Season 7 Episodes 1 and 2 and the fourth season of The Drew Carey Show as the son of Shirley Jones' character.. Bonaduce has appeared as himself on the detective series Monk, and on the show Girlfriends. Bonaduce guest-starred with J. D. Roth (who he would later reunite with for Breaking Bonaduce) on an episode of Sex Wars. In 1999, Bonaduce appeared in the Christmas episode, "Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose", of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, after Salem buys a Twelve Days of Christmas package at the 89 Cents Store, Bonaduce appears sitting in a pear tree, which Salem then exclaims, "Danny Bonaduce! This is the best "Partridge" in a pear tree I could ask for!".

He also played a small cameo role in The Jerk Theory.

Hosting and presenting
In the late 1980s, Bonaduce had become an on-air radio personality. In the early 1990s David Cassidy signed Bonaduce on as his opening act.

Bonaduce hosted his own syndicated talk-show, The Danny Bonaduce Show 1996. Most of the cast of The Partridge Family was brought together by Bonaduce for a reunion show on this program, including last season regular Ricky Segall and executive producer Bob Claver. Susan Dey was unable to attend, but called into the show and reminisced with Bonaduce for a few minutes. David Cassidy was working on a new album at the time and was unable to participate in the show.

The Other Half was co-hosted by Bonaduce, a daytime talk show positioned as a complementary show to The View, on which he starred with Mario Lopez, Dick Clark, and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Jan Adams (who was later replaced by actor Dorian Gregory). The show aired from 2001 to 2003. During this time, he was also a Hollywood correspondent for the Australian morning show Today.

In 2007, Bonaduce was the host and judge of the show I Know My Kid's a Star, a reality show on VH1 featuring parents and children trying to break into show business. He also appeared as a judge on the Australian version My Kid's a Star.

Bonaduce has been known to take a particular interest in the political scene and enjoys appearing as a featured guest on television news channels. He is a strong supporter of capital punishment and a strong military. He has made several controversial 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. 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.

Bonaduce, admitting his own less-than-stellar track record, gets the last laugh as a commentator for TruTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest.... On the show, he ripped off one of his own eyebrows on-screen.

Bonaduce appeared in a Christmas Day episode of 1 vs. 100, where much of the mob was connected to The Twelve Days of Christmas including Bonaduce as the "partridge in a pear tree" in reference to Danny Partridge.

Reality television
On September 8, 2005, it was announced that Bonaduce would be starring in Breaking Bonaduce, a reality television show on VH1. In one famous scene, Bonaduce gulped down a bottle of vodka, and then he raced across the highway on his scooter.

In August 2006, it was announced that Bonaduce would host the tabloid-themed game show named Starface, airing on the Game Show Network.

Also in August 2006, it was announced that Bonaduce would appear in two episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. In the first episode, Bonaduce helped Shannon Tweed to determine if a lie detector could possibly be defeated by Simmons. In the second episode, Bonaduce is in studio with Adam Carolla when Simmons is hooked up to a lie detector. Several questions were asked by Bonaduce to Simmons and then questions were also asked to Shannon when she eventually is hooked up to the machine.

When Bonaduce received an "award" from The Soup, he refused to read his speech, then kissed the host, Joel McHale. This was scripted.

Altercation with Jonny Fairplay
On October 2, 2007, Bonaduce was involved in an altercation with infamous Survivor show participant Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton during the Fox Reality Awards. Dalton was on stage towards the end of the awards show, which resulted in him being booed by the audience. Dalton seemed to be perplexed by the booing. Bonaduce walked on stage and explained that the audience reaction was "because they hate you", and then Bonaduce walked off the stage without another word.

Dalton evidently interpreted this comment as a provocation and called Bonaduce back, saying something to him which the stage microphones did not pick up. Dalton then jumped into Bonaduce's arms, straddled him and repeatedly thrust his crotch into him, supposedly as a joke.

Bonaduce was shocked by Dalton's unprovoked actions, and stated later that he was uncomfortable with Dalton's hands near his throat. Bonaduce adjusted his balance and his grip on Dalton and then threw him up and over his head. Dalton subsequently collided with the stage floor face first.

It was later stated by Bonaduce the two had met occasionally beforehand, and that he had never liked Dalton--due mostly to the fact that Dalton, in true "Jonny Fairplay" form, had lied about his grandmother's death during his first run on Survivor. The two had never previously had any negative altercations or words. While Bonaduce did not believe Dalton was significantly hurt at the time, TMZ.com reported that Fairplay bled significantly, lost some teeth and suffered a broken toe.

Dalton chose to press charges and the police opened a felony battery investigation. Bonaduce was named as a suspect. 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 the contact had been initiated by Dalton and Bonaduce had acted in self-defense.

Boxing
As an adult, Bonaduce, who is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, boxed Donny Osmond in a charity event and later boxed former Brady, Barry Williams, in a separate event. Both contests were won by Bonaduce, gaining a decision over Osmond and a TKO over Williams. On June 11, 2007, it was announced that Bonaduce would box attorney Robert Shapiro for a charitable event.

On September 13, 2008, it was announced that "Reverend" Bob Levy had been defeated by Bonaduce by a TKO in the second 1 minute round of a planned 3 round fight. Prior to the event, Levy had slapped Bonaduce while Bonaduce's dressing room was being visited by Levy. The circumstances leading to the altercation have not been clarified by a video of the moment, and Bonaduce, who has been noted for his temper, did not retaliate; however, the comic being confronted by Bonaduce is shown in the video.

It was announced in early January 2009 that Bonaduce would box against retired baseball player José Canseco at a charity event in the Philadelphia area. He reportedly trained for the bout in Sacramento, California with boxing great Angelo Nuñez. On January 24, 2009, it was announced that Bonaduce and Canseco had fought to a majority draw, even though Canseco outweighed Bonaduce by 100 lbs and had a one foot height advantage.

Professional wrestling
Bonaduce was a key player in the series Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling.

In April 1994, it was announced that Bonaduce would be making his professional wrestling debut in a "Dark Match" at the Spring Stampede in Chicago. On April 17, 1994, Bonaduce stepped into the squared circle at the Rosemont Horizon (Allstate Arena). His adversary was another 1970s TV star, the Brady Bunch's Christopher Knight. Bonaduce triumphed.

Bonaduce had his second professional wrestling match at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's April pay-per-view event Lockdown against Eric Young, in which he lost.

Ashley Massaro, former WWE Diva and winner of the 2005 Diva Search contest, was Bonaduce's personal trainer.

Writing
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.