Ironically, more was written about Ryan before the age of ten due to the popularity of the Partridge Family. The Hollywood tabloids liked to keep track of Shirley Jones and her brood, especially young Ryan who just seemed to be the media favorite. It's not hard to understand why!

A 1973 Tiger Beat article supposedly written by David (but probably not) profiled the three younger brothers. In the section about Ryan (and taking the journalistic integrity of those publications with a grain of salt), "David" stated that "Ry-Ry" was six and resented being called a baby. He'd gotten to the point where he was tagging along and when the older three went into the backyard to play ball, Ryan was given the title of "Retriever and Purveyor of Nourishment". They convinced him that this was a prestigious title even though what it meant was he chased the ball for them and brought them drinks when they wanted them. "David" noted that there would come a day when Ryan would probably want to get even for that. For those of you who are younger siblings, isn't it somewhat comforting to know that the same things happen even when you're a member of a famous family?