Why did Susan Dey disappear from the limelight

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

In hindsight, I think it was a huge mistake on Susan's part to leave LA Law when she did. Love & War pretty much killed her career as a leading lady.

At the 18:07 mark of the video below, Susan goes into her departure from acting over 20 years ago now. Susan I presume, was trying to be diplomatic when she says that if she would ever act again.

I don't understand why actors who are retired or now long inactive/unemployed, vaguely say that they would act again if the "right role" came up. They're never specific with what kind role or project they would want to take. I recently heard Eva Mendes say something like this. Kim Basinger also said when talking to Kevin Nealon, that she's trying to find "the right thing", whatever that is. It isn't just limited to women, Dennis Franz, who retired as soon as NYPD Blue ended in 2005, once said that he would return to acting if the "right opportunity" arose.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by um

When it comes to actors saying their lines in a way that sounds "unnatural," for that matter the way most characters are portrayed on TV , the way they typically say exactly whats on their minds without having to stop and think what word they want to use or having to go back and restate what they are trying to say or using the wrong word etc (of course if an actor flubs his or her words the take is redone), is not the way real people talk in real life and even educated articulate people often say "what word am i looking for?" or "What" the name" and forget their train of thought.

Also if you watch any actor in different TV shows or movies you will often notice that even the best actors will do a scene poorly and will look as if s/he is looking directly at the camera and reading from a cue card

I did notice that on The Partridge Family at least, Susan had what I would consider to be a soft yet smooth and mature sounding speaking voice. I don't know if that necessarily means that she spoke or lines unnaturally or flatly.

[TMC]

ANDES TOWN BOARDS: ANYTHING BUT BORING! – March 2018

By Buffy Calvert

On Monday and Tuesday, February 12th and 13th, both the Town Planning Board and the Town Board held exciting meetings.

ANDEL INN: A NEW LIFE? PROPOSAL to the ANDES TOWN PLANNING BOARD

After the Planning Board approved an unopposed subdivision on Skunk Hollow, Frank Winkler, Chair, opened the floor to Jim Thomson of Delaware County’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and Ray Pucci, Chairman of the County Chamber of Commerce and the Catskill Development Foundation. IDA is in the process of buying the Andel Inn and the surrounding 3.9 acres of land on Route 28 for $310,000. They plan to lease it to the Catskill Development Foundation. Their primary tenant will be a store under the direction of Nicole Day Gray marketing homegrown produce as well as meats and goods that will be prepared in an USDA approved community kitchen on the lower floor.

They will also have aging rooms for local cheeses, beverages, and charcuterie (sausage, salami, etc.), classrooms to teach food safety and space for pop-up trial restaurants and caterers’ tasting menus.

They envision an agricultural business incubator not, they emphasized, for private use. They plan to start with the shop and a visitor’s center in the bar area run by the Chamber to showcase nearby farm stands and restaurants that feature local foodstuffs, as well as the shared kitchen space, and then phase in the fermenting rooms as feasible.

Thomson, Pucci and Day Gray all extolled the current owners Harold and Linda Cole’s fastidious care of the facility. “Move-in condition.” “You could cook there today!” “The plates gleam!”

The proposal was well-received by the Planning Board and also by Supervisor Bud Gladstone who was in attendance. Two concerns were raised: Chairman Winkler noted that since the buyer was a non-profit corporation, the property (currently assessed for $400,000) would be removed from the Town tax rolls. Audience member Susan Dey questioned how local businesses who may struggle to pay taxes and are equally community-minded would feel about that. Planning Board Member, Art Reed, asked Day Gray how much profit her shop makes. The figures are not yet available. Your reporter followed up with, “Where will the profits of the new shop go?” Pucci answered that when the Foundation currently makes a profit on an event (e.g. the Dairy Fest), they donate the profits to local nonprofits.

Susan Dey, the actress does the last time that I checked, at least in more recent times since her retirement, live in or around Andes, New York. So I naturally assumed that the "Susan Dey" that was mentioned in that article is one of the same.

[TMC]

Here's some relatively recent photos of Susan that I found on Twitter:

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[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

In hindsight, I think it was a huge mistake on Susan's part to leave LA Law when she did. Love & War pretty much killed her career as a leading lady.

Fans Haven’t Seen This ‘Partridge Family’ Star in Decades — Here’s Why

You may recognize her as America’s sweetheart Laurie Partridge.

By Isabella Torregiani

Aug 7, 2025 9:36 PM EDT

Susan Dey captured America’s heart as the beloved Laurie Partridge on The Partridge Family in the 1970s. However, it’s been over two decades since the beloved actress quietly vanished from Hollywood — and fans desperately want an update.

While millions of viewers watched the musical family across television screens, behind the scenes, Dey’s journey was far more complicated. The pressure of growing up in the public eye took a toll on the star.

“[You] feel like an adult but you are not an adult,” Dey revealed to The Washington Post, describing the challenges of stardom at such a young age.

This dynamic led to serious consequences for the actress. Dey developed an eating disorder during the show’s run, she later told the Post. When The Partridge Family ended in 1974, Dey faced a familiar hurdle for many child stars — being typecast.

Rather than letting these setbacks define her career, Dey pushed through, and landed a role in 1978’s Little Women miniseries. Starring alongside fellow ’70s TV icon Eve Plumb, Dey played Jo March, successfully showing her range in drama.

Her next big role came with L.A. Law in 1986. As district attorney Grace Van Owen, she showcased her acting chops across eight seasons, appearing in 126 episodes — surpassing even her Partridge Family episode count of 96.

The role earned her multiple Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 1989, finally silencing those who had typecast her as just another teen star.

After L.A. Law ended, Dey’s career slowly wound down through various TV movies, a stint on Love & War from 1992 to 1993 and guest appearances. Her last professional acting credit came in 2004 with two episodes of Third Watch – and then, complete silence from the actress.

Dey’s commitment to privacy became evident after experiencing what she reportedly felt were violations of her personal boundaries. Years after The Partridge Family ended, her former co-star David Cassidy revealed details about their personal relationship in his 1994 memoir.

This public disclosure, combined with unauthorized tabloid coverage of her private struggles with alcoholism, reinforced her determination to maintain strict boundaries around her personal life. When addressing these challenges, Dey explained her perspective to Parade magazine. “I usually don’t talk about it because I feel it’s my business and nobody else’s.”

In another rare 2013 interview, Dey opened up about her permanent departure from entertainment. With the industry’s massive changes in film and TV, she revealed she’s unlikely to return unless she finds “the perfect role.”

Despite her career success, the pain of missing out on acting still haunts her. “I miss acting as much as I miss my mom, as much as I miss my little girl, as much as I miss my first home. I do miss acting, but I’m really happy with what’s going on in my life right now. It’s full. It’s so full.”

As of the latest reports, Dey lives quietly with producer husband Bernard Sofronski, whom she married in 1988. She has a daughter from her previous marriage to Lenny Hirshan in 1978.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

This is what somebody said on YouTube about what possibly "happened" to Susan Dey and why he haven't heard or seen much of her over the past 20 years. I must stress to take this with a huge grain of salt since this isn't fully verified:

What are the biggest factors that hurt Susan Dey's acting career?

What are the biggest mistakes that Susan Dey made during her acting career?

[TMC]

Originally Posted by um

It is possible. That is a practical scenario after all, but also Ms Dey was probably able to see the most harsh side of fame during David Cassidy's heyday in the early 1970s. She reasonably might have decided right then and there not to stay in show business after the cancellation of The Partridge Family.
Also , if her last acting role was sometime in 2002 , that was before Cassidy's life really spiraled into chaos: He was 60 when he started getting in trouble with DWIs.




I don't know. It is very well known or reputed that the older that actresses get, the fewer acting roles they get. As true as it is, it can be inaccurate to jump to the conclusion that just because Ms Dey reached her 50s that she was considered to have too many older features to assign to acting roles.
She was successful in certain TV series after TPF and David Cassidy himself said that he assigned his own agent to work with Susan and that is how she went on to have the best acting career of all TPF cast members as Cassidy himself put it in his autobiography.

Some of us take little bits of information, and though it may be all we have to go on, we speculate sometimes using our wildest imaginations about the issue along with our own haughtiness.

I am not an expert on acting ability. I have seen some movies which critics have lauded as having "great acting" but I myself did not think it was so good, and I have seen movies that critics have said contain bad acting and I thought the acting was very well done and not deserving of being panned.

It seems that under the right director and also if she is in the right role an actress like Susan Dey can do a great acting job. It just might be that regardless of having had significantly established herself in LA Law (which is a TV show that I actually did not watch) she still was remembered as Lori Partridge.

Also there are just times in which a successful actor or actress just feels it is time to leave the business and do something else with his or her life.
I heard that the actress who gave Elvis his first screen kiss went on to become a nun. Also the kid who became famous as "Charlie" in the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory decided never to make a movie again and just tried to hide the fact that he was not merely a kid actor but that kid actor in Willy Wonka.
Sometimes it can be because of frustration with the business and getting the right roles for you. SOmetimes it is just that you suddenly feel that should have been doing something else all along. who knows ? Though we are free to discuss and make guesses we should not take it so personally so as to
say that Susan Dey failed to maintain her attractiveness and just has a bad attitude so it serves her right that she is forced to quit show business.
Sometimes a celebrity just knows that she or he can further a social or political cause by lending his or her name to it. Susan Dey seems to, at least partially, be using her past fame to do some good in helping victims of sex crimes.



Susan did not "Refuse to take part in any Partridge Family reunions."
She may not have done it to the perfect satisfaction of every Partridge Family fan, but she made an appearance in a "This Is Your Life" broadcast in which David Cassidy's life was reviewed, also she called in and talked with Danny Bonaduce and other members of TPF when Danny featured his former co-stars on his show.
I think Susan is given a great deal of criticism for not taking part in reunions as much as other cast members but she has to make a decision that is right for herself. She probably feels that it was a part of her acting career that should not become the emphasis even though other people have decided that Susan Dey's celebrity is unavoidably all about a 1970s sitcom that has been off the air for decades.
I am sure it was a difficult time for her too as she has stated that she was under pressure to be thin and attractive according to the current standards and dealt with an eating disorder.
I think that no one should judge her if she feels that she rather move on to other things . Maybe she is a bit angry about what David revealed in his autobiography. She is the only one who knows what it is like and if she believes it is best for herself to avoid the public eye, no one should second guess her decision .

I recently read a comment about Susan that said that she's a pretty unique case in that she had two hit shows, one in adolescence (The Patridge Family) and one in adulthood (L.A. Law) and THEN left the business, relatively voluntarily. And Susan did all of that while struggling with an eating disorder alcoholism. So, it's within perfect reason to believe or suspect that maybe it just took its toll. Susan was also, I want to say, 50-51 when she last acted back in 2004 (her last credited on-screen role was on Third Watch). By that point, she had been acting since at least when The Patridge Family started back in 1970.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

To follow-up on this, I also found this:

I don't know for sure of course, but maybe Susan after a while, became something of a "high risk, low reward" type of actress. Especially when you take into account, her struggles with alcoholism and getting fired from Love & War after only a single season. Plus, you take into account Susan pretty much publicly avoiding anything to do with The Partridge Family despite the fact that it was her star making role. So, that for better or for worse, fed into the narrative that Susan was "ungrateful" over where she "came from". I think that people started getting this idea that Susan was a moody actress who took herself way too seriously.