When The Partridge Family debuted on ABC 55 years ago, the made-for-TV band was introduced by a music legend. In the pilot episode titled “What? Get Out of Show Business?,” which aired Sept. 25, 1970, legendary musician Johnny Cash introduced the family at their first-ever gig with mom Shirley (Shirley Jones) as a bandmate—at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, no less.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, America’s latest success story, The Partridge Family,” Cash said in the surprise cameo, before turning his head toward the stage.
The camera then cut to David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, and the rest of the Partridges, all dressed in matching purple suits and paralyzed with stage fright. The family matriarch had to snap them out of it, and soon they were singing their breakout tune, “Together (Havin’ a Ball).”
Fifty-five years later, Cash’s cameo on the sitcom is still talked about online. In a post to X, Bonaduce’s wife Amy shared a photo of a Johnny Cash album and wrote, “Fun fact: Johnny Cash was in the pilot episode of The Partridge Family…. Legendary.”
“Wow, in the history-making Episode 1 of The Partridge Family, the entire family is petrified by stage fright, mom almost hurls, and there’s a cameo by Johnny Cash,” another wrote.
“If Johnny Cash introduces you, you are a kick-a– band!!” another commenter chimed in.
Other fans couldn’t believe the “Ring of Fire” singer appeared on the ABC sitcom.
“No way…shocked,” one X user wrote.
Cash’s cameo on The Partridge Familywas uncredited, but it is referenced on the late star’s official website. “Johnny Cash was no stranger to musical families (his wife June was, of course, part of The Carter Family’s trailblazing folk music lineage), so it’s fitting that he made a cameo in the first-ever episode of The Partridge Family, a sitcom about a family band. Cash introduced the group’s performance of ‘Together (Havin’ a Ball),’” a blurb on the website teases.
In a 1997 interview with Playboy, Cash revealed that he was open to unusual appearances because he liked to surprise his fans. “I never wanted to be boxed in. If it looked fun, and it felt honest, I’d do it,” he said.
He may have had a soft spot for The Partridge Family, given his famous wife’s musical history. Speaking with The Fresh Air podcast in 1997, Cash also reflected on the importance of families who sing together.
“Well, there’s something about families singing together that is just better than any other groups you can pick up or make, you know,” he said. “If it’s family, if it’s blood-on-blood, then it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be better. The voices, singing their parts, are going to be tighter and they’re going to be more on pitch. Because it’s, as I said, it’s blood line on blood line.”
Five years after his Partridge Family cameo, Cash surprised fans again with a role on Little House on the Prairie. The singer played ex-con Caleb Hodgekiss in the 1976 episode “The Collection,” and his wife, June Carter Cash, also appeared in the episode.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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