# Danny Bonaduce
**Danny Bonaduce** (Dante Daniel Bonaduce; born 1959) is an American retired radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler who became famous as a child star playing Danny Partridge on the ABC sitcom *The Partridge Family* (1970–74).[1](https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/bonaducedan/danny-bonaduce) After the series ended, his troubled young adulthood, decades in radio, and the VH1 reality show *Breaking Bonaduce* (2005–06) kept him in the public eye long after his acting career peaked.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Dante Daniel Bonaduce, born 1959 in Broomall, Pennsylvania, to television writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce and his wife Betty Steck[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) |
| Signature role | Danny Partridge, the wisecracking, freckle-faced middle child and bass player on *The Partridge Family* (ABC, 1970–74)[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/partridge-family-the) |
| Musical role | Like most of the cast, he did not actually sing or play an instrument; studio artists supplied background vocals and music[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/partridge-family-the) |
| Radio career | Morning shows in Detroit (WKQI) and Chicago (WLUP) in 1996, *The Jamie and Danny Show* in Los Angeles (1999–2005), and a morning show at Seattle's KZOK-FM from 2011 to 2023[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [1](https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/bonaducedan/danny-bonaduce) |
| Reality television | *Breaking Bonaduce* (VH1, 2005–06), which followed his marriage counseling and personal crises[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [4](https://spectator.com/article/danny-bonaduces-guide-to-survival/) |
| Marriages | Setsuko Hattori (1985, divorced about 1988); Gretchen Hillmer (1990–2007, two children); later Amy Railsback, his manager[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/happened-partridge-family-cast-111500000.html) • [6](https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Book_XChildStars.pdf) |
| Health | Underwent brain surgery in 2023[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) |
## Early life
Danny Bonaduce grew up in Woodland Hills, California, the youngest of four children of Betty and Joseph Bonaduce; his father was a television comedy writer.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-20-ca-24121-story.html) He was already a working child actor with a SAG card by age 11, with roles in commercials and shows including *Bewitched* (ABC, 1964–72) and *Mayberry R.F.D.* (CBS, 1968–71).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) He attended California Prep High School in Encino, where his classmates included [Michael Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jackson) and [Christian Brando](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-brando).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/)
His home life was difficult. Bonaduce later alleged physical abuse by his father, and stories circulated during *The Partridge Family*'s run of extra makeup needed to cover his bruises; his television mother [Shirley Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/shirley-jones) sometimes took him home to live with her.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/)
## The Partridge Family
*The Partridge Family*, broadcast on ABC from 1970 to 1974, portrayed a fatherless family of six that formed a rock band and toured in a psychedelically painted school bus.[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/partridge-family-the) Bonaduce was 11 years old when the show premiered in 1970.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/1281037/danny-bonaduce-partridge-family-whatever-happened-to/) His character, Danny Partridge, was the ten-year-old freckle-faced bass player always looking for the big score, whose special nemesis was band manager Reuben Kinkaid ([Dave Madden](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-madden)).[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/partridge-family-the)
While [David Cassidy](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cassidy), Shirley Jones's real-life stepson, became the show's teen idol and actually sang, Bonaduce supplied comedy instead: his rapid-fire delivery made him an instrumental part of the cast and a driver of the stories.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) The show was a commercial success, spawning merchandise, a series of albums, and the short-lived cartoon *The Partridge Family, 2200 A.D.* (CBS, 1974–75), voiced by the original cast.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) Bonaduce later described the abrupt end of childhood fame: "I came to the lot one day for work, and the security guard told me the show was canceled and to go home."[9](https://www.deseret.com/1991/8/21/18937253/life-is-no-joke-for-ex-sitcom-kids/)
## Troubled years after the show
After *Partridge* wrapped, Bonaduce's life became turbulent. He has described a period of homelessness, living in his car, and abusing drugs and alcohol.[6](https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Book_XChildStars.pdf) His arrests included possession of cocaine in West Hollywood in 1985, drugs again in Florida in 1990, and punching a transvestite prostitute in Phoenix in 1991.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-20-ca-24121-story.html) He spent several stints in rehab; reflecting on the stereotype of the fallen child star, he told [CBS News](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-news) in 2000, "When I went to rehab, I was the only ex-child star but there were nine dentists," and said he did not blame stardom for his problems.[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-stars-have-their-say/)
He also kept working in odd corners of the industry, including a stint as a stable boy for [Kenny Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-rogers) and more than 20 years of martial arts study under [Chuck Norris](https://www.edgepedia.org/chuck-norris), earning black belts in Okinawan Chinan Ryu, Shorin Ryu, Tae Kwon Do, and Tokyo-Ryu; he used those skills in eight episodes of *CHiPs* (NBC, 1977–85).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/)
## Radio and television career
Bonaduce's gift for talk made radio his main adult career. In 1996 he worked two stations in two cities at once, doing the *Danny Bonaduce and the Q-Crew* morning show on WKQI in Detroit five days a week, then flying to Chicago for the afternoon drive show on WLUP.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) His most notable co-hosting job was *The Jamie and Danny Show* with Jamie White on Star 98.7 in Los Angeles, which began in 1999 and ended by termination in 2005.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-20-ca-24121-story.html) He later hosted a morning talk and music show at Seattle's KZOK-FM from 2011 to 2023.[1](https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/bonaducedan/danny-bonaduce)
On television, most of his later acting roles were self-referential, playing on his child-star past in shows such as *That '70s Show* and the film *Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star* (2003).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) He narrated and consulted on the 1999 TV movie *Come On Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story*, which a Washington Post reviewer called his "petty payback movie" toward his abusive father and Cassidy.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/11/13/revenge-of-the-red-headed-partridge/71cc3a1d-3619-4441-8839-9eb7ff31ad04/) He boxed [Barry Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-williams-actor) on *Celebrity Boxing*, co-hosted the daytime show *The Other Half* with [Dick Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-clark) and [Mario Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-lopez), and hosted the GSN game show *Starface* in 2006.[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-31-et-bonaduce31-story.html) • [13](https://time.com/6078607/barbara-walters-the-view-legacy/)
## Breaking Bonaduce and later life
*Breaking Bonaduce* premiered on VH1 in 2005, starring Danny and Gretchen Bonaduce and their dysfunctional relationship. Viewers saw him inject steroids, drink a bottle of vodka straight, have to be restrained from attacking the show's producers and his marital therapist, and attempt suicide off camera; the suicide attempt and another rehab stay left plans for a second season uncertain.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) [The Spectator](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-spectator) described the series as either a refreshingly unfiltered reality show or the epitome of trainwreck TV.[4](https://spectator.com/article/danny-bonaduces-guide-to-survival/)
Bonaduce married Gretchen Hillmer in 1990 after a first blind date; their daughter Isabella was born in 1994 and son Dante in 2001, the latter birth chronicled on the TLC reality show *A Baby Story*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/happened-partridge-family-cast-111500000.html) The marriage ended in 2007.[5](https://www.aol.com/articles/happened-partridge-family-cast-111500000.html) He later married Amy Railsback, who manages his career through their company Gravel Tones Productions.[6](https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Book_XChildStars.pdf) In 2023 he underwent brain surgery.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/) Geneastar describes him as retired from radio.[1](https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/bonaducedan/danny-bonaduce)
## References
1. [Family tree of Danny Bonaduce, Geneastar](https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/bonaducedan/danny-bonaduce)
2. [Danny Bonaduce – Actor, Comedian, Personality, Wrestler, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/danny-bonaduce/)
3. [The Partridge Family, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/partridge-family-the)
4. [Danny Bonaduce's guide to survival, The Spectator](https://spectator.com/article/danny-bonaduces-guide-to-survival/)
5. [What Happened to "The Partridge Family" Cast?, AOL](https://www.aol.com/articles/happened-partridge-family-cast-111500000.html)
6. [Child Stars: Where Are They Now?](https://www.davidcassidy.com/fansite/InPrintPages/Book_XChildStars.pdf)
7. [Bonaduce, Tuned In, Los Angeles Times (October 20, 1999)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-20-ca-24121-story.html)
8. [Whatever Happened to 'Partridge Family' Star Danny Bonaduce?, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1281037/danny-bonaduce-partridge-family-whatever-happened-to/)
9. [Life Is No Joke for Ex-Sitcom Kids, Deseret News (August 21, 1991)](https://www.deseret.com/1991/8/21/18937253/life-is-no-joke-for-ex-sitcom-kids/)
10. [Child Stars Have Their Say, CBS News (August 30, 2000)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-stars-have-their-say/)
11. [Revenge of the Red-Headed Partridge, The Washington Post (November 12, 1999)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/11/13/revenge-of-the-red-headed-partridge/71cc3a1d-3619-4441-8839-9eb7ff31ad04/)
12. [Capacity for controversy, Los Angeles Times (July 31, 2006)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-31-et-bonaduce31-story.html)
13. [In the Last Act of Her Groundbreaking Career, Barbara Walters Changed Daytime TV Forever, Time](https://time.com/6078607/barbara-walters-the-view-legacy/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born before 1986*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license