David Cassidy lied about his alcohol abuse

Late musician and actor David Cassidy told producers before dying that he had lied about having a drinking problem to hide sadness.

In the last years of Cassidy's life, the former teen idol apparently struggled with alcohol abuse, resulting in three DUI arrests in five years. After a 2014 trip to rehabilitation centre, he told family and friends that he had stopped drinking.

But in a new documentary which will air in the US next week on A&E network, Cassidy will be seen making a shocking admission just two months before he died of organ failure on November 21 at the age of 67, reports people.com.

After being rushed to the hospital when he fell ill in a recording studio, Cassidy called producers to explain what had happened.

"I have a liver disease. There is no sign of me having dementia at this stage of my life. It was complete alcohol poisoning. The fact is that I lied about my drinking. I did this to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness," Cassidy told A&E producer Saralena Weinfield in a recorded conversation.

As it turned out, Cassidy was still abusing alcohol until the last months of his life.

It was shocking for the star's family including his children Katie, 31, and Beau, 27, who assumed he was living a clean and sober life.

Producers of the docuseries debated what they should do with the footage and ultimately decided to edit it into a documentary titled "David Cassidy: the Last Session".

In the documentary, a frail and weak Cassidy deals with health problems and memory loss as he records a new album in an attempt to stage a comeback.

--IANS

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