As you have probably heard by now, the actor who played Reuben Kincaid on The Partridge Family has died. His name was Dave Madden, and I know almost nothing about him–he was Canadian, he lived to be 82–except what I remember of what I saw on TV.

And what I remember isn’t much. I’ve seen news reports describing his character as child-hating. But I think of Kincaid as a decent beleaguered, manager of a squeaky-clean pop band who had to deal with the annoying Danny Bonaduce character.

That long-suffering decency and the absurd idea of  a music manager-as-super-hero/spy lead me to the idea of Reuben Kincaid III, the son of the Partridge Family impresario. My character frequently recalls his TV dad,  which allows him to share lessons learned, show biz gossip, and riffs on a Hollywood childhood.  You can read it all here in The Kincaid Chronicles, which began as promotional emails form my band, but gradually morphed in something more twisted.