Donny Osmond

Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Donald Clark Basketballs
Born	(1957-12-09) December 9, 1957 Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Genres	Vocal pop rock R&B bubblegum pop blue-eyed soul comedy musical theater
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician actor television host dancer author producer
Instruments	Vocals piano
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Universal Decca
Website	donny.com

Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. Osmond first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. Then, in the early 1970s, Osmond began a solo career, earning several additional top ten hits, including "Go Away Little Girl" (U.S. No. 1), "Puppy Love" (U.S. No. 3), and later, "Soldier of Love" (U.S. No. 2). He also recorded the popular song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" for the 1998 Disney film Mulan.

Osmond further gained fame due to the success of the 1976–79 variety series Donny & Marie. The Donny & Marie duo also released a series of top ten hits and gold albums and hosted a syndicated and Daytime Emmy Award-nominated 1998–2000 talk show. Most recently, Donny & Marie headlined an 11-year Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas (2008–2019).

Osmond also successfully competed on two reality TV shows, winning season 9 of Dancing with the Stars and being named runner-up for season 1 of The Masked Singer. He also hosted the game show Pyramid from 2002 to 2004.

Early life

Osmond was born on December 9, 1957 in Ogden, Utah, the seventh son of Olive May (née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007). He is the brother of Alan, Jay, Jimmy, Merrill, Wayne, Marie, Tom, and Virl Osmond. Alan, Jay, Merrill, Wayne, and Donny were members of the popular singing group The Osmonds (known as the Osmond Brothers before Donny joined them). Osmond was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah along with his siblings. Osmond has traced some of his family ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales; his journey was documented in a BBC Wales program, Donny Osmond Coming Home. On the BBC's The One Show, a plaque was unveiled in the town to commemorate 'the ancestors of Donny Osmond.' In his youth, Osmond held a ham radio license, KA7EVD.

Music career

Teen idol: 1971–1978

Andy Williams' father, Jay Emerson Williams, saw the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) perform on a Disneyland televised special as a barbershop quartet. In short order, the group was invited to audition for The Andy Williams Show. Williams initially had reservations about featuring children on the program, however, encouraged by his father to try them out, they proved in a short period of time to become an asset to the program, and soon became regulars on the show and gained popularity quickly. In 1963, Donny Osmond made his debut on the show at the age of five singing "You Are My Sunshine". The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s along with a visit from their sister Marie. Osmond became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, while continuing to sing with his older brothers. Osmond was one of the biggest "Cover Boy" pop stars for Tiger Beat magazine in the early 1970s. His first solo hit was a cover of Roy Orbison's 1958 recording of "Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at No. 7 in the U.S. in 1971. Osmond's follow-ups "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (U.S. No. 1), "Puppy Love" (U.S. No. 3), and "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" (U.S. No. 9) (1972) vaulted him into international fame, further advanced by his November 20, 1972 appearance on the Here's Lucy show, where he sang "Too Young" to Lucy's niece, played by Eve Plumb, and sang with Lucie Arnaz ("I'll Never Fall in Love Again").

Comeback: 1989–1990

In the 1980s, all of the Osmonds abandoned their earlier image that had originally been crafted to appeal to young viewers, hoping to reach a more adult audience. While his brothers moved toward country music to modest success, Donny was able to revive his career in popular music. He made an unlikely appearance as one of several celebrities and unknowns auditioning to sing for guitarist Jeff Beck in the video for Beck's 1985 single "Ambitious" – which was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich – followed in 1986 by an equally unlikely cameo in the animated Luis Cardenas music video "Runaway". He spent several years as a performer, before hiring the services of music and entertainment guru Steven Machat, who got Osmond together with English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel to see whether Machat and Gabriel could turn the TV Osmond's image into a contemporary young pop act. They succeeded, returning Osmond to the US charts in 1989 with the Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 song "Soldier of Love" (originally announced on radio stations as "from a mystery singer") and its top twenty follow-up "Sacred Emotion". Launching an extensive tour in support of the Eyes Don't Lie record, he enlisted Earth Wind & Fire and Kenny Loggins guitarist Dick Smith along with keyboardist Mark Jackson.

Osmond was often reluctant to perform his earliest songs, in particular "Go Away Little Girl", but was convinced to sing the song live for KLOS-FM's Mark & Brian Christmas Show on December 21, 1990. Now he embraces his initial recording period with fondness, and recognizes that his many fans around the world are always excited and appreciative to hear his earliest chart successes.

Current music career: 1991–present

Osmond was the guest vocalist on Dweezil Zappa's star-studded version of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" which appeared on Zappa's 1991 album Confessions. The song also included guitar solos from Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Warren DeMartini, Nuno Bettencourt, and Tim Pierce. Osmond sang "No One Has To Be Alone", which was heard at the end of the film The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water. He also sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You" for Disney's Mulan.

In the 2000s, he released a Christmas album, an album of his favorite Broadway songs, and a compilation of popular love songs. In 2004, he returned to the UK Top 10 for the first time as a solo artist since 1973, with the George Benson-sampling "Breeze On By", co-written with former teen idol Gary Barlow, from the 1990s UK boy band Take That, reaching number 8.

His 17th solo album (and 61st album including those with his siblings) The Soundtrack of My Life features a collection of cover songs with personal meaning to Osmond. He enlisted Stevie Wonder to play harmonica on track "My Cherie Amour".

Donny & Marie in Las Vegas

"Donny & Marie" marquee at the Flamingo Las Vegas

Following Marie's stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, the pair teamed up for a limited six-week engagement in Las Vegas. The residency began in September 2008, but proved so successful that it was ultimately extended for an eleven-year run through November 2019. Donny and Marie performed at the 750-seat showroom at the Flamingo Hotel. "Donny & Marie" was a 90-minute show. The singing siblings were backed by eight dancers and a nine-piece band. Donny and Marie sang together at the beginning and end of the show, and had solo segments in between. The Flamingo Hotel's showroom was updated in 2014 and renamed the Donny and Marie Theater.

Osmond and the show earned three of the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas Awards in 2012 including "Best Show", "Best All-Around Performer" (Donny & Marie), and "Best Singer". Osmond earned "Best Singer" for a second time in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas Awards in 2013.

Film, radio and television

Osmond with Marie Osmond in 1977

Donny & Marie

In 1974, he and Marie co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show for a week. Fred Silverman offered them a show of their own, The Donny & Marie Show, a television variety series which aired on ABC between 1976 and 1979. In honor of their impact on American pop culture, Donny and Marie received the Pop Culture Award at the 2015 TV Land Awards. In the past, Osmond has expressed regret that the show was canceled, as opposed to Marie and him deciding when to bring the show to conclusion.

Donny and Marie also co-hosted an eponymous and syndicated talk show Donny & Marie from 1998 to 2000. Though they received back-to-back nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2000 and 2001, the show was ultimately canceled. In a 1999 episode featuring Jefferson Starship promoting their album Windows of Heaven, the hosts performed a rendition of "Volunteers" live with the band.

Other hosting opportunities

Osmond went on to host Pyramid, a syndicated version of the Dick Clark-hosted television game show that ran two seasons in the US from 2002 to 2004, and a British version of Pyramid on Challenge in 2007. For his performance on Pyramid, Osmond was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Shown Host in 2003.

Osmond returned to ABC as host of The Great American Dream Vote, a prime-time reality/game show that debuted in March 2007. After earning lackluster ratings in its first two episodes, the program was canceled.

Osmond hosted the British version of the game show Identity on BBC Two during the daytime.

On April 11, 2008, Osmond also hosted the 2008 Miss USA pageant along with his sister Marie from Las Vegas.

Osmond appeared on Entertainment Tonight as a commentator covering the ABC show Dancing with the Stars during his sister Marie's run as a contestant on the 5th season of the American version of the popular show in Fall of 2007. He was seen at week 7 of the competition in tears in the audience watching Marie do a rumba after his and Marie's father died.

Radio

Osmond hosts a syndicated radio show in a deal with McVay Syndication and Citadel Media. Versions of The Donny Osmond Show air across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

The UK edition of the show is co-produced by London-based radio production & syndication company Blue Revolution. Through this partnership the first UK network to carry The Donny Osmond Show is Celador-owned The Breeze, which has outlets in Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Winchester, Bridgwater & West Somerset, Bristol, Bath, and Warminster. As of January 2012, The Donny Osmond Show was no longer broadcasting on The Breeze.

Music

Osmond's name was used in the lyrics of Alice Cooper's song Department of Youth on the album, Welcome to My Nightmare. As the song fades, Cooper can be heard asking the youth choir backing him up, "Who's got the power?" to which a crowd of young people screams "we do!" After a couple of repetitions, this changes to "We've got the power" with a cheering response. On the final repetition, Cooper changes the question to "...and who gave it to you?" The crowd answers, "Donny Osmond!" Cooper then responds "What?!" Donny Osmond is also featured in the song "Start the Par-dee" with the artist Lil Yachty. His most iconic line is "My name is Donny O, and you know I love my ravio's".

Musical theater

Osmond in 1998

His first foray into Broadway musical theater was the lead role in a revival of the 1904 George M. Cohan show Little Johnny Jones. Osmond replaced another former teen idol, David Cassidy, who left the show while it was on its pre-Broadway tour. After 29 previews and only one performance, the show closed on March 21, 1982.

Osmond found success in musical theater through much of the 1990s when he starred as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for over 2,000 performances beginning in July 1992 in the Elgin Theatre's Toronto production. He relocated to Chicago where Joseph played for 16 months in 1993–94. During his performances for the musical, he suffered from social anxiety disorder, which caused him to feel light-headed and extremely nervous during his performances. In 1997, Osmond left his starring role in the tour to participate with his family in the cast of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Creator Andrew Lloyd Webber later chose Osmond to star in the 1999 film version.

He returned to Broadway on September 19, 2006, in the role of Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He was scheduled to perform for nine weeks, but due to popular demand, he extended his run through December 24. Liz Smith of the New York Post wrote, "I am here to tell you he is charmingly campy, good-looking and grand as the villain 'Gaston', patterned after our old friend Elvis", and noting "Donny is divine". On July 29, 2007, Osmond played Gaston again for the final performance of Beauty and the Beast.

Osmond and his sister Marie starred in a holiday production called Donny & Marie – A Broadway Christmas, originally scheduled to play on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre December 9–19, 2010. The show extended until December 30, 2010, and again until January 2, 2011. Donny & Marie – Christmas in Chicago played the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre in Chicago from December 6–24, 2011. It was similar to the 2010 Broadway show. In December 2014, they again performed a similar Broadway show, receiving very positive reviews.

Film and television

In the animated television series Johnny Bravo, Osmond voiced himself as a recurring character. He has also done guest spots on numerous other television shows such as Friends, Diagnosis: Murder and Hannah Montana. He also appeared in a Pepsi Twist commercial during the Super Bowl with his sister, Marie, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. In 1982, he co-starred with Priscilla Barnes and Joan Collins in the television movie The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch for Aaron Spelling.

In 1978, he appeared in Goin' Coconuts with sister Marie. His future wife Debbie made a cameo appearance at the end of the film.

In 1998, Osmond was chosen as the singing voice of Shang in Disney's Mulan. He sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

Also in 1999, he starred as Joseph in the movie version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber's request who said, "to me, there is no better selection."

In 2002 he sang "No One Has to Be Alone" for the end credits of The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.

In the Bob the Builder special "Built to be Wild", he played Jackaroo the pickup truck.

Osmond remarked in an interview recently that his movie appearance on College Road Trip and upcoming appearances on two Disney Channel shows that he would be coming about full circle since he and his family were discovered by Walt Disney.

Osmond appears in the music video of "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "White & Nerdy". The song is a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'"; Osmond's role is analogous to that of Krayzie Bone's role in the original video. Yankovic asked Osmond to appear because "if you have to have a white and nerdy icon in your video, like who else do you go for?"

In February 2019, he was revealed to be the Peacock on The Masked Singer where he was the runner-up.

Dancing with the Stars

Osmond and professional Kym Johnson were paired for the 2009 ninth season of Dancing with the Stars. He participated in the show to prove he was a better dancer than his sister. It was very difficult for him to manage to get to rehearsals and host his show in Las Vegas with sister Marie. For the first week, the two were assigned to dance a Foxtrot and a 30-second Salsa. His Foxtrot was said to be "too theatrical" and was scored 20/30 from the judges. He, however, managed to maintain a good score when his Salsa scored 10 points and was safe that week. He danced a Jive the following week which was guest judged by Baz Luhrmann. He scored 25 and was scored second place, called first to be safe. That following week he danced a Rumba and scored 21.

After his comments, he "toyed with" openly gay judge Bruno Tonioli, first kissing him, before embracing him and tipping him back in a mock-passionate move after Bruno called Osmond's dance "a bit airy-fairy". The following week introduced four new dances including the Charleston which he danced and scored 24. That following week, the two danced an Argentine Tango which scored 29/30, the highest scored dance to date until it was beaten by then top scorer and future runner-up Mýa and her 70s-themed Samba. He had also received that week's encore.

Following that week, Osmond and Johnson danced a train-station themed Jitterbug and was scored a 24. He then danced a Mambo against all couples and was eliminated 6th receiving seven points for a total of 31/40. The following week, he danced a Quickstep which he quotes "was one of the worst moments of my life" and scored 24 and a Team Tango along with Joanna Krupa and Kelly Osbourne and received 28/30 and the encore.

In the 8th week of competition, Osmond was required to dance a Ballroom and decade-themed Latin dance. His Ballroom Viennese Waltz received 26 but his 1980s themed Paso Doble received 24 being quoted by judge Len Goodman as "the scariest, bizarre Paso Doble we've ever seen" being awarded the last place on the judges' leaderboard for the first time. Following that week, he danced a Tango and got advice from past runner-up Gilles Marini. He got tangled in Johnson's dress and received 21 and saying the cause was that "I saw Marie." He then danced the samba to a song originally recorded by his brothers and himself called "One Bad Apple", receiving 26 and a Jitterbug scored 27. He once again was scored last place.

For the finals week, he danced a Cha-Cha-Cha (27), a Megamix dance alongside Mya and Kelly Osbourne (28), the only perfect-scoring Freestyle (30) and a repeat of his Argentine Tango (30) and won the competition. As he accepted his trophy, he hugged fellow finalist Mya and grabbed his wife, Debbie, and his sister, Marie, on stage.

On Season 18, he guests judged week five on Disney Night. Again, in October 2014 he guests judged on the British version of the show, Strictly Come Dancing, on week 3 (movie week) of the 12th series.

Week #	Dance/Song	Judges' score			Result
		Inaba	Goodman	Tonioli
1	Foxtrot/"All that Jazz" Salsa Relay/"Get Busy"	7 Awarded	6 10	7 Points	Safe
2	Jive/"Secret Agent Man"	8	*9	8	Safe
3	Rumba/"Endless Love"	7	7	7	Safe
4	Charleston/"Put a Lid on It"	8	8	8	Safe
5	Argentine Tango/"Tango a Pugliese"	10	9	10	Safe
6	Jitterbug/"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" Mambo Marathon/"Ran Kan Kan"	8 Awarded	8 7	8 Points	Safe
7	Quickstep/"Sing, Sing, Sing" Team Tango"You Give Love a Bad Name"	8 9	8 9	8 10	Safe
8	Viennese Waltz/"You Don't Know Me" Paso Doble/"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"	9 8	8 8	9 8	Safe
9 Semi-finals	Tango/"Black and Gold" Samba/"One Bad Apple" Jitterbug/"Jump Shout Boogie"	7 8 9	7 9 9	7 9 9	Safe
10 Finals	Cha-Cha-Cha/"September" Megamix/"You and Me"/ "Whenever, Wherever" / "Maniac" Freestyle/"Back in Business" Argentine Tango/"Tango a Pugliese"	9 Awarded 10 Awarded	9 28 10 30	9 Points 10 Points	Winner

Public image

Osmond states that he has had a tremendous public-image struggle since Donny & Marie ended in 1979. Reviews from Allmusic noted that while Osmond remained a gifted singer, a series of creative missteps in the late 1970s led to his virtually disappearing from the public eye during the 1980s. He was described in the 1980s as having an "unhip image", and he said he was embarrassed that the Osmond name was not considered cool. A publicist suggested that Osmond purposefully get arrested for drug possession in order to change his image.

In March 2010, Osmond criticized Lady Gaga and Beyoncé for using profanity and sex in their "Telephone" video.

Personal life

On May 8, 1978, Osmond married Debra (née Glenn) of Billings, Montana in the Salt Lake Temple. Together they have five sons: Donald Clark Osmond Jr. (b. 1979), Jeremy James Osmond (b. 1981), Brandon Michael Osmond (b. 1985), Christopher Glenn Osmond (b. 1990), and Joshua Davis Osmond (b. 1998). The Osmonds first became grandparents in 2005, and now have ten grandchildren.

Like the rest of his family, Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In retrospect, he has written, "It would have been nice to be able to have served a regular full-time mission, but when I was of that age, my career was such that everyone, including my parents and the leaders of the church, thought that I could do a lot of good in the world by continuing to be in the public eye, by living an exemplary life and sharing my beliefs in every way that I could." He continues sharing his beliefs in an extensive letters-and-comments portion of his website.

In the aftermath of Proposition 8 in California, which received large Mormon support, Osmond stated that he opposes same-sex marriage but that he does not condemn homosexuality. He believes that gays and lesbians should be accepted in the Church if they remain celibate.

He stated on his Web site:

We all determine for ourselves what is right and what is not right for our own lives and how we live God's commandments. I am not a judge and I will never judge anyone for the decisions they make unless they are causing harm to another individual. I love my friends, including my homosexual friends. We are all God's children. It is their choice, not mine on how they conduct their lives and choose to live the commandments according to the dictates of their own conscience.

Osmond's two oldest brothers are deaf and his nephew is hard of hearing. He has talked about the experience of growing up with his brothers and their use of sign language when performing together:

My oldest brother was born 85 percent deaf and the next was born worse with almost total deafness. My parents were told by everyone, doctors included, to stop having kids. Thank God, they at least went as far as seven! Anyhow, they decided they were not going to treat my brothers differently [or lower their expectations]. My brothers talk and communicate verbally. They also sign and do have that down quite well. As a matter of fact, we used sign language when we were performing together as a group. There's this one number we did on the Donny and Marie Show, it was amazing—even when we were taping it. It was a huge production number and my brothers learned the routine. Obviously they couldn't really hear the music, but they could feel the beat and they'd watch us out of the corner of their eyes to make sure they were still in tempo.

Discography

Main article: Donny Osmond discography

Studio albums

• The Donny Osmond Album (1971)
• To You with Love, Donny (1971)
• Portrait of Donny (1972)
• Too Young (1972)
• Alone Together (1973)
• A Time for Us (1973)
• Donny (1974)
• Disco Train (1976)
• Donald Clark Osmond (1977)
• Donny Osmond (1989)
• Eyes Don't Lie (1990)
• Christmas at Home (1998)
• This is the Moment (2001)
• Somewhere in Time (2002)
• What I Meant to Say (2004)
• Love Songs of the 70s (2007)
• The Soundtrack of My Life (2015)

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963–1970	The Andy Williams Show	The Osmonds	Multiple episodes
1972	Here's Lucy	Himself	Season 5 Episode 11
1976–1979	Donny & Marie	Various Characters	78 episodes
1980	The Love Boat	Danny Fields/Schofield	Season 3 Episodes 18, 19
1982	The Love Boat	Jim Markham	Season 6 Episode 13
1995	Space Ghost Coast to Coast	Himself	Episode: "Fire Drill"
1997–2004	Johnny Bravo	Himself	3 episodes
1998–2000	Donny & Marie	Himself	All episodes
1998–2000	The King of Queens	Himself	2 episodes
1999–2000, 2008	Miss America Pageant	Co-Host
1999	Diagnosis: Murder	Himself	Episode: "The Mouth That Roared"
2001	Fear Factor	Contestant	Season 2 Episode 1
2002–2004 (US), 2007 (UK)	Pyramid	Host	All episodes
2004	Friends	Himself	Episode: "The One Where the Stripper Cries"
2004	Sesame Street	Himself
2007	The Great American Dream Vote	Host	2 episodes
2007 (UK)	Identity	Host	All episodes
2007	Entertainment Tonight	Commentator	Several episodes
2008	Hannah Montana	Cameo	Episode: "We're All on This Date Together"
2009	Handy Manny	Farmer	"Handy Manny's Motorcycle Adventure"
2009, 2012, 2014, 2017–2018	Dancing with the Stars	Contestant/Guest Performer/Guest Judge	Contestant on season 9 (Winner) Guest performer on season 15 Guest judge on season 18 Guest performer on season 24 & season 27
2014	Strictly Come Dancing	Guest Judge	Guest judge on series 12
2019	The Masked Singer	Peacock	Runner up

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Goin' Coconuts	Donny	Feature film
1982	The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch	Frank Isaacs	Television film
1985	Ambitious	Cameo	Jeff Beck music video
1998	Mulan	Captain Li Shang	Singing voice only ("I'll Make a Man Out of You")
1999	Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Joseph	Direct-to-video film produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber
2005	Bob the Builder: Built to be Wild	Jackaroo	Direct-to-video film
2006	White & Nerdy	Dancer	"Weird Al" Yankovic music video parady of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" feat. Krayzie Bone
2008	College Road Trip	Doug Greenhut	Feature film

External links

• Donny Osmond Official website
• Donny Osmond at IMDb
• Donny Osmond at the Internet Broadway Database
• Donny Osmond Interview on Fox News Radio
• Osmondheaven Popular Fan Site