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Danny Bonaduce
Danny Bonaduce 2017.jpg
Bonaduce in 2017
Born
Dante Daniel Bonaduce

(1959-08-13) August 13, 1959 (age 65)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • radio personality
  • television personality
  • professional wrestler
Years active 1967–2023
Known for The Partridge Family
Spouse(s)
  • Setsuko Hattori
    (m. 1985; div. 1988)
  • Gretchen Hillmer
    (m. 1990; div. 2007)
  • Amy Railsback
    (m. 2010)
Children 2

Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American actor and radio personality. He is also known as a television personality and professional wrestler. Danny is the son of Joseph Bonaduce, a well-known TV writer and producer.

Danny Bonaduce became famous as a child actor in the 1970s. He starred on the TV show The Partridge Family. He played Danny Partridge, the smart, red-haired middle son in the singing family band. He was the bass guitar player for the fictional pop group. Since then, Bonaduce has appeared in many other TV shows. He also hosted radio shows in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle.

Danny's Early Life

Danny Bonaduce was born in Broomall, Pennsylvania. He started acting when he was young.

Danny's Career Highlights

Acting Roles and TV Shows

The Partridge Family Danny Bonaduce 1970
Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge in 1970
Partridge Family first cast 1970
The first cast of The Partridge Family in 1970. From left to right: Shirley Jones, Jeremy Gelbwaks, Suzanne Crough, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, and David Cassidy.

Danny Bonaduce first appeared on TV in 1969. He had a small role in the show Bewitched. He also appeared in an episode of The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. His father, Joseph Bonaduce, wrote that episode.

His most famous role was Danny Partridge on The Partridge Family. This show was about a family band that traveled in a colorful school bus. Danny Partridge played the bass guitar. The show ran for four years, from 1970 to 1974. In 2003, Danny received an award for his work as a child star on the series. He also voiced Danny in the cartoon Partridge Family 2200 A.D..

After The Partridge Family, Danny acted in several movies. One was Corvette Summer (1978) with Mark Hamill. They played high school students looking for a stolen car. Danny also made guest appearances on TV shows like CHiPs.

Later, Danny Bonaduce appeared on other popular shows. He was in Married... with Children and The Drew Carey Show. He also played himself on the detective show Monk and on Girlfriends. In 1999, he was in a Christmas episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

From 2001 to 2003, Danny co-hosted The Other Half. This was a daytime talk show. In 2005, he starred in Breaking Bonaduce, a reality show about his life. He also hosted the game show Starface. In 2007, he was a host and judge on I Know My Kid's a Star. This reality show helped parents and kids try to get into show business. From 2008 to 2013, he was a commentator for TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest....

Radio and Music Career

Danny Bonaduce also has a music career. His first album, called Danny Bonaduce, came out in 1973. The song "Dreamland" from the album was a small hit.

In the late 1980s, Danny became a radio host. He worked at radio stations in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. In 1998, he hosted a morning show in New York City.

From 2007 to 2009, he was part of The Adam Carolla Show. He also had his own one-hour show called Broadcasting Bonaduce.

Danny Bonaduce became a minister online in 2011. He did this to perform a wedding ceremony for a radio event.

From 2011 to 2023, Danny co-hosted the morning show for Seattle radio station 102.5 KZOK. In April 2022, he took a break for medical treatment. In December 2023, he announced that he was leaving radio.

Boxing and Wrestling

As an adult, Danny Bonaduce has participated in charity boxing matches. He boxed Donny Osmond and Barry Williams from The Brady Bunch. Danny won both of these fights. In 2009, he fought retired baseball player José Canseco to a draw.

Danny Bonaduce has also been involved in professional wrestling. In 1994, he made his wrestling debut. He fought Christopher Knight, another TV star from The Brady Bunch. Danny won that match. He also wrestled in a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling event in 2009.

Writing a Book

In 2002, Danny Bonaduce wrote a book about his life. It is called Random Acts of Badness.

Danny's Personal Life

Danny Bonaduce has a black belt in karate.

He has been married three times. His first marriage was to Setsuko Hattori from 1985 to 1988.

In 1990, he married Gretchen Hillmer. They had two children together. They were married for over sixteen years before divorcing in 2007.

Danny started dating Amy Railsback in 2007. They met at a Starbucks. Amy is a former teacher and now manages Danny's career. They got married on November 22, 2010, in Hawaii. They have homes in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Danny Bonaduce remained good friends with David Cassidy, his co-star from The Partridge Family. They stayed close until David's death in 2017. Danny also had a special bond with actress Shirley Jones from The Partridge Family. Shirley often let Danny stay at her home when he was a child. She said he was smart and talented. Danny later said that Shirley Jones was very kind to him.

Danny's Health

In June 2023, Danny Bonaduce shared that he would have surgery. This was for a condition called hydrocephalus, which caused him to have trouble walking and keeping his balance.

Danny's Retirement

In December 2023, Danny Bonaduce announced that he was retiring from radio. He plans to move to Palm Springs, California.

Filmography

Film Appearances

Year Title Role Notes
1969 The Fight George Short Film
1973 Charlotte's Web Avery Arable (voice)
1976 Baker's Hawk Robertson
1978 Corvette Summer Kootz
1978 Born Again First Male Student
1979 H.O.T.S. Richie Walker
1985 Deadly Intruder John
1993 America's Deadliest Home Video Doug Direct-to-video; credited as Dante Daniel Bonaduce
2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Self
2005 Lil' ... Ugly Midget (voice) Direct-to-video
2006 Dr. Dolittle 3 Ranch Steer (voice) Direct-to-video
2009 PWU: 5th Anniversary Show Dewey Bonaduce Direct-to-video
2009 The ... Theory Self

Television Appearances

Year Title Role Notes
1967 Accidental Family Danny Episode: "Halloween's on Us"
1967 The Second Hundred Years Small Boy Episode: "Luke's First Christmas"
1969 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Danny Shoemaker Episode: "Jonathan Tells It Like It Was"
1969 Mayberry R.F.D. Rick / Danny / Boy 3 episodes
1969 Bewitched Robert / Boy 2 episodes
1969–1970 My World and Welcome to It Leonard / 2nd Boy 2 episodes
1970 The Good Guys Stevie Episode: "Deep Are the Roots"
1970–1974 The Partridge Family Danny Partridge Main cast; 96 episodes
1972 Call Holme Boy TV movie
1972 Invitation to a March Cary Brown TV movie
1973 Goober and the Ghost Chasers Danny Partridge (voice) 8 episodes
1974 Partridge Family 2200 A.D. Danny Partridge (voice) Main cast; 16 episodes
1975 Shazam! Paul Episode: "Speak No Evil"
1975 Police Story Joey Episode: "The Empty Wagon"
1975 Murder on Flight 502 Millard Kensington TV movie
1977–1978 Fred Flintstone and Friends Danny Partridge (voice) 95 episodes
1978 Eight Is Enough Jimbo O'Hara Episode: "A Hair of the Dog"
1978 Fantasy Island Hot Rod Episode: "Let the Good Times Roll/Nightmare/The Tiger"
1978 CBS Afternoon Playhouse Sukie 5 episodes
1978–1983 CHiPs Billy Rogers / Myron Handelbaum / Fred 4 episodes
1979 California Fever Larry Episode: "The Good Life"
1988 Rags to Riches Vince Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Slumber?"
1992 The Ben Stiller Show Self Episode: "With Dennis Miller"
1994 Married... with Children Surveyor Episode: "How Green Was My Apple"
1996–1997 Biography Narrator (voice) 2 episodes
1996 Boston Common Gordon Episode: "The Finals Curtain"
1998 The Drew Carey Show Chip Episode: "Drew's Holiday Punch"
1998–2001 That '70s Show Ricky 2 episodes
1999 Pacific Blue Johnny Osiris Episode: "Stargazer"
1999 Diagnosis: Murder GBS Executive Episode: "Trash TV: Part 2"
1999 Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story Narrator (voice) TV movie
1999 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Self Episode: "Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose"
2000 The Amanda Show Blockblister customer/Mr. McOliver Episodes: Episode 14 and Episode 15
2001–2003 The Other Half Co-Host 2 episodes; uncredited
2001 The Weakest Link Himself Classic TV Stars Edition
2002 Girlfriends Self Episode: "Taming of the Realtess"
2002 The Rerun Show Danny Partridge Episode: "Diff'rent Strokes: The Rivals/The Partridge Family: Keith and Lauriebelle"
2002 Ozzy & Drix Smirch (voice) Episode: "Street Up"
2003 Monk Self 1 episode
2003 Rock Me, Baby Self Episode: "A Pain in the Aspen"
2004 The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember Himself TV special guest star
2005 The New Partridge Family Mr. Partridge TV movie
2005 Less Than Perfect Ron Episode: "Playhouse"
2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Izzy Delancey 3 episodes
2006 Starface Himself (Host) Game show
2008 truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... Self 170 episodes
2009 TNA Xplosion Self Episode: "TNA Xplosion #243"
2012 Bigfoot Harley Anderson TV movie
2013 The (206) Episode: "Episode #2.1"
2019 The Kids Are Alright Boris / Danny Partridge Episode: "Low Expectations"
2019 How It Really Happened Himself Episode: "David Cassidy: Fatal Secret"
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