Manager on ‘The Partridge Family’

Dave Madden, the actor and comedian who played the curmudgeonly band manager on the popular 1970s TV series “The Partridge Family,” died Thursday at a hospice in Jacksonville, Fla. He was 82.

The cause was complications of the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome, said his wife, Sandra Madden.

Madden played Reuben Kincaid, who managed the family band and clashed with the wisecracking pre-teen bassist played by Danny Bonaduce.

“The Partridge Family” ran on ABC for three seasons starting in 1970 and has endured in reruns. It starred Oscar winner Shirley Jones as a widowed suburban mom who goes on the road with her five musical children, including teen heartthrob David Cassidy as her oldest son.

Playing the Partridges’ manager was Madden’s best-known role in a long acting career that included regular appearances as a member of the comedy ensemble on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” He also had a recurring role as a customer at Mel’s Diner on the long-running sitcom “Alice.”

Madden was born Dec. 17, 1931, in Ontario, Canada, and grew up in Terre Haute, Ind. He graduated from the University of Miami, where he majored in radio, TV and film, and served in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

He began in show business as a magician and nightclub comic and landed his first acting job on the short-lived sitcom “Camp Runamuck” in the mid-1960s. His other TV credits include “Barney Miller,” “Love, American Style” and “Bewitched.”

Madden lived in Los Angeles for four decades before moving to Florida about eight years ago. Besides his wife, his survivors include two children from his first marriage, Selena Madden and Michael Fox; a stepdaughter, Alexandra Martin; a sister; and two grandchildren.

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