The Partridge Family bus was a 1957 Chevrolet model.
Describing the Partridge Family's bus on the iconic television show that ran on the ABC Network from 1970 to 1974 is merely a matter of understanding what it represents. The show tells the amusing story of a family of pop singers who perform around the country and travel to their various gigs in an old multicolored school bus. The bus has long since been scrapped after having been parked for many years behind Lucy's Tacos, a restaurant on Martin Luther King Blvd. in Los Angeles. When the restaurant repaved its lot in 1987, the dilapidated bus was hauled away.
Instructions
1. Explain that the Partridge Family bus was actually a 1957 Chevrolet school bus purchased by Screen Gems Television from the Orange County, California School District. The storyline on the TV show showed the family buying the bus from Al's Used Cars.
2. The color scheme on the bus was yellow, red, blue, gray and black.
Be aware that in the opening episode of The Partridge Family, the kids paint the bus in a distinct and memorable paint scheme of yellow, red, light blue and gray rectangular patches divided by straight black lines. On both sides of the bus, where the name of a school or school district would have appeared, was printed "The Partridge Family" in large black letters. The paint job was done with brushes at the family home at 698 Sycamore Road, San Pueblo, California, according to "The Partridge Family Album" by Joey Green.
3. Describe the bus' blocky patchwork design as inspired by Dutch painter Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan. His 1921 proto-modernism work "Composizione" bares a striking resemblance to the geometric pattern on the bus.
4. Describe how a red square is painted in the back of the bus with large black letters that say, "Careful, Nervous Mother Driving." It is a reference to actress Shirley Jones who played Shirley Partridge, the designated bus driver and mother of the Partridge children.
5. Explain that the wild paint job on the old school bus was symbolic of the family's rise to stardom. The old yellow bus, retired from hauling school children, found new life as transportation for a pop band. This happened when the Partridges went from a fatherless family desperately in need of income to international stars.
6. Note that in 1993, David Cassidy did a revival tour of The Partridge Family and traveled in a similar bus, painted to match the original. Universal Studios in Florida also has a duplicate of the original bus.
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