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Donny Osmond

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Donny Osmond

Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, musician, actor and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk show and game show host, record producer, race car driver,[1] and author. He is known for being half of the brother-sister singing act Donny & Marie and a member of the "Osmond Brothers" singing group. From 1991-1997 he played Joseph in the Canadian production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Andrew Lloyd Webber, impressed by his talents and the show's long run, chose Osmond to do the film version in 1999. On November 24, 2009, he was crowned Dancing with the Stars champion.[2]

Early life

Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the seventh son of Olive May Osmond (née Davis) and George Virl Osmond. 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 (also known as The Osmond Brothers, which later included tracks with youngest brother Jimmy as well). Donny was raised as a Mormon in Utah along with his siblings. Osmond later traced his family ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales; his journey was documented in a BBC Wales program, Donny Osmond Coming Home.[3] On the BBC's The One Show with Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley, a plaque was unveiled in the town saying roughly: 'This plaque commemorates the ancestors of Donny Osmond."

Music career

Teen idol: 1971 — 1978

After seeing the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay) perform at Disneyland as a barbershop quartet, Andy Williams asked the boys to audition for The Andy Williams Show. They soon became regulars on the show and gained popularity quickly. Donny made his debut on the show at the age of 5 singing "You Are My Sunshine". The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s along with their brother Jimmy and sister Marie.

Donny became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, in addition to playing with his older brothers. He, Bobby Sherman, and David Cassidy were the biggest "Cover Boy" pop stars for Tiger Beat magazine in the early 1970s.[4] He had his first solo hit with "Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at #7 in the U.S. in 1971. His solo songs "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (#1 in the U.S.), "Puppy Love" (U.S. #3), and "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" (U.S. #9) (1972) vaulted him into international fame. The fame was further advanced by his appearance on the "Here's Lucy" show, where he sang "Too Young" to Lucille Ball's niece, played by Eve Plumb, and sang with Lucie Arnaz ("I'll Never Fall In Love Again").

Comeback: 1989 — 1990

In the 1980s, Osmond re-invented himself as a solo vocal artist and abandoned the earlier television show image crafted to appeal to young viewers. 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", followed in 1986 by an equally unlikely cameo in the animated Luis Cardenas music video Runaway.[5] He spent several years as a performer, before collaborating with Peter Gabriel and returning to the US charts in 1989 with the song "Soldier of Love" and its follow-up "Sacred Emotion". The campaign to market "Soldier Of Love" received considerable airplay with the singer being presented as a 'mystery artist', before his identity was later revealed.[6]

Donny 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.

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.

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.

Donny & Marie in Las Vegas

Following Marie's stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, the pair teamed up for a limited engagement in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel. Beginning September 2008, Donny and Marie began playing the 750-seat showroom at the Flamingo Hotel. "Donny & Marie" is a 90-minute variety show. The singing siblings are backed by eight dancers and a nine piece band. Donny and Marie sing together at the beginning and end of the show, and have solo segments in between. Patrons who purchase VIP tickets get to meet Donny and Marie after the show. "Donny & Marie" will appear Tuesday through Saturday (except for hiatus) through October of 2010. On July 30, 2009, Donny and Marie made an official announcement on NBC's Today Show that they had just extended their contract for another 2 years, to go until October of 2012.

Film and television

Hosting

Donny & Marie

In the mid 1970s, he and Marie co-hosted an episode of the "Mike Douglas Show", and were then were offered a show of their own, "The Donny & Marie Show", a television variety series which aired on ABC between 1976 and 1979.

Donny also co-hosted together in 20 years. Though ratings were high and they were nominated for an award as best talk show, the series was 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 television game show that ran two seasons in the US, from 2002-2004, and a British version of Pyramid on Challenge in 2007.

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 cancelled.[7]

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.

Musical theater

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 received negative reviews while the show was on its pre-Broadway tour.[8] After 29 previews and only 1 performance, the show closed on March 21, 1982.[9]

Osmond found success in musical theater through much of the 1990s when he starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for over 2,000 performances. 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.[10]

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.[11]

Film

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 1998, Donny Osmond was chosen to be the singing voice of Shang in Walt Disney's Mulan. He sang "I'll Make A Man Out Of You". Andrew Lloyd Webber asked the singer to do his movie version of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat saying, "to me there is no better selection".

Osmond remarked in an interview recently that with his movie appearance on College Road Trip and upcoming appearances on two Disney Channel shows he would 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?"[12]

Other projects

Donny and Marie were part of a Pepsi Twist commercial in 2006 with the Osbourne family. Osmond appeared in the North American version commercial for the PlayStation 2 video game Buzz! the Mega Quiz.

Donny and Marie began a six month run as the new headlining act at the Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas, on September 9, 2008. On October 27, 2008, the Flamingo announced that Donny and Marie's contract had been extended until October 2010. Then on July 30, 2009, Donny & Marie made an announcement on NBC's Today Show that they had again extended their contract to go until October of 2012.

On the 15th December 2009, he appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show, along with his sister, Marie, being interviewed by the Channel 4 resident dinner lady, Susan.

Image struggle

Osmond states that he has had a tremendous public image struggle since Donny & Marie ended in 1979.[13] He has been described as "unhip",[14] as a "boy scout", and has been the butt of innumerable jokes, including appearing in "White and Nerdy" because Yankovic said he was the whitest guy he could think of. His image has seemed such a liability that one professional publicist even suggested that Osmond purposefully get arrested for drug possession in order to change his image.[15]

Personal life

Osmond married Debbie Glenn, on May 8, 1978 at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they have five sons: Donald Clark Osmond Jr. (b. July 31, 1979), Jeremy James Osmond (b. June 8, 1981), Brandon Michael Osmond (b. January 29, 1985), Christopher Glenn Osmond (b. December 12, 1990), and Joshua Davis Osmond (b. February 16, 1998). [16]

Osmond became a grandfather on August 21, 2005, when his second son Jeremy and daughter-in-law Melisa (married 2002) had a son, Dylan James Osmond. His granddaughter Emery was born on February 25, 2008. Osmond's third son Brandon married Shelby Hansen in 2008.

Like the rest of his family, he 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 being in the public eye, by living an exemplary life and sharing my beliefs in every way that I could".[17] He continues sharing his beliefs in an extensive letters-and-comments portion of his website.[18]

In the aftermath of Proposition 8 in California, which received large Mormon support, Osmond stated that he opposes gay marriage but that he condemns homophobia. He believes that gay and lesbian Mormons should be accepted in the church if they remain celibate.[19]

He has stated on his website that:

"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 gay 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."[20]

Discography

Main article: Donny Osmond discography

References

  1. ^ ABC TV website
  2. ^ "'Dancing with the Stars' crowns Donny Osmond". The Daily Herald. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  3. ^ Donny Osmond Coming Home from the BBC
  4. ^ Osmond as teen idol
  5. ^ Luis Cardenas Runaway Video with Donny Osmond as the Angry Neighbor on YouTube
  6. ^ Gold, Tayna. I hated being me, says former teen idol Donny Osmond. Daily Mail. 05 Oct 2007. Accessed 21 Nov 2007. "In 1988, after nearly ten years of playing high school halls, and waiting, Donny's promoter released Soldier Of Love as a mystery song - they played the song without revealing Donny as the singer."
  7. ^ ABC dumps Donny Osmond-hosted TV show, by Steve Gorman, Mar 30, 2007, Reuters
  8. ^ Cassidy, David; Deffaa, Chip (1994). C'mon, Get Happy ... Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus. New York: Warner Books. p. 221. ISBN 0-446-39531-5.
  9. ^ Little Johnny Jones (1982 revival) at IBDB
  10. ^ Donny Osmond Joins ADAA Board as Honorary Member from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America website
  11. ^ [1], by Bruce Glikas and broadway.com, July 29, 2007, broadway.com
  12. ^ The Weird Al Yankovic interview, by Robert Berry, September 27, 2006, retrocrush.com
  13. ^ "Donny Osmond: We suffer for his art", Salon.com, 21 September 1999, retrieved 2009-05-23.
  14. ^ "Donny Osmond: The Kid Re-invents Himself", Music Connection, 26 June 1989, retrieved 2009-05-23.
  15. ^ "Donny Osmond", BBC News, 6 December. In 1984 Osmond asked Michael Jackson for some career advise, and was told by Jackson to change his name, as it was considered too wholesome. 2004, retrieved 2009-05-23 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  16. ^ Biography for Donny Osmond. Imdb.com Accessed April 9, 2008.
  17. ^ Did You Ever Serve A Mission. donny.com Accessed April 9, 2009.
  18. ^ My Beliefs. donny.com Accessed April 9, 2009.
  19. ^ Mormon stars face backlash after gay marriage ban. By Guy Adams. The Independent. Published 9 November 2008.
  20. ^ Donny Osmond Wades into Prop 8 Debate. Variety. Published December 2, 2008.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dancing with the Stars (US) winner
Season 9 (Spring 2009 with Kym Johnson) 		Succeeded by
current

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