Donny Osmond
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Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former
teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...
. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as
the Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...
, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the early 1970s, Osmond began a solo career, earning several additional top ten songs. He further gained fame due to the success of the 1976–1979 variety series ''Donny & Marie'', which Osmond hosted with his sister,
Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...
. The ''Donny & Marie'' duo also released a series of top ten hits and gold albums and hosted a syndicated and
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
–nominated 1998–2000 talk show. Donny & Marie retired from headlining an 11-year Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas in 2019. He also successfully competed on two reality TV shows, winning season 9 of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'' and being named runner-up for season 1 of '' The Masked Singer''. He also hosted the game show ''
Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
'' from 2002 to 2004.


Early life

Osmond was born on December 9, 1957, in Ogden, Utah, as the seventh child of Olive May (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007). He is the brother of Virl, Tom,
Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...
, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Marie, and
Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
Osmond. Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Donny were members of the popular singing group Osmond Brothers. Osmond was raised as a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church) in Utah along with his siblings. In his youth, Osmond held a
ham radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communi ...
license, listed as KA7EVD.


Music career


Teen idol: 1971–1978

Jay Emerson Williams, the father of
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
, saw the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) perform on a
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
televised special (Disneyland After Dark) as a
barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella). The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...
. The group was then invited to audition for '' The Andy Williams Show''. Williams initially had reservations about featuring children on the program but was encouraged by his father to try them out. The Osmond Brothers proved themselves as an asset to the program, soon becoming regulars on the show and quickly gaining popularity. In 1963, Donny Osmond made his debut on the show at the age of five singing "
You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by ...
". The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s, along with an occasional 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'', Flip and '' 16'' magazines in the early 1970s. His first solo hit was a cover of
Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
's 1958 recording of " Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at no. 7 in the U.S. in 1971. Osmond's follow-ups Steve Lawrence's "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (U.S. no. 1),
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...
's "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 ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...
'' show, where he sang
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
's " 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—which 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 Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
in the video for Beck's 1985 single "Ambitious", which was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich. This was 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 Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
to see whether Machat and Gabriel could turn 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 guitarist Dick Smith of
Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling b ...
and
Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...
, along with keyboardist Mark Jackson.


Current music career: 1991–present

Osmond was the guest vocalist on
Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...
'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 Warren Justin DeMartini (born April 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for glam metal band Ratt, which achieved international stardom in the 1980s. Early life DeMartini was born on April 10, 1963, in Chicago, ...
,
Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...
, and
Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1958 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and th ...
. 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 Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
''. 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 George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
-sampling "Breeze On By". The song was co-written with former teen idol Gary Barlow, from the 1990s UK boy band
Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
, and reached number 8 on the UK charts. 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 Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
to play harmonica on the track "My Cherie Amour".


Donny & Marie in Las Vegas

Following Marie's stint on ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2007, the pair reunited at MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre in Las Vegas for eight performances, July 17 – 23, 2008. It was their first Las Vegas run since 1979. The show's success led to a limited six-week engagement at the 750-seat showroom at the Flamingo Hotel. The residency began in September 2008 but proved so successful that it was ultimately extended for an 11-year run totaling 1,730 performances through November 9, 2019. "Donny & Marie" was a 90-minute show in which they sang together at the beginning and end of the show and performed solo segments in between. The singing siblings were backed by eight dancers and a nine-piece band. The Flamingo Showroom was updated in 2014 and renamed the Donny & Marie Showroom. It reverted to its old name after their show closed. The last song they performed together there was "May Tomorrow Be a Perfect Day." Osmond and the show earned three of the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''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


''Donny & Marie''

In 1974, Osmond and his sister, Marie, co-hosted ''
The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...
'' for a week.
Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...
offered them a show of their own, '' The Donny & Marie Show'', a television variety series which aired on ABC from 1976 to 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, and that he and Marie were unable to decide when to end the show. Donny and Marie also co-hosted the eponymous and syndicated talk show '' Donny & Marie'' from 1998 to 2000. They would occasionally perform with musical guests. Though they received back-to-back nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
and
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, the show was canceled.


Other hosting opportunities

For two seasons in the US, Osmond hosted ''
Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
'' (2002–2004), a syndicated version of the
Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...
-hosted television game show. He reprised hosting for 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 Show Host in 2003; the award went to
Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...
. Osmond is one of two game show hosts to host two different versions of the same game show in different countries; the other being Howie Mandel for the American and
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
versions of ''Deal or No Deal''. Osmond returned to ABC as host of '' The Great American Dream Vote'', a primetime
reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...
-game show that debuted in March 2007. After earning lackluster ratings in its first two episodes, the program was canceled. Osmond hosted the daytime British version of the game show '' Identity'' on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
in 2007. On April 11, 2008, he hosted the 2008 Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas with his sister, Marie. He appeared on ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'' as a commentator covering the ABC show ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'' during his sister Marie's run as a contestant on the 5th season of the American version of the show in 2007.


Music

Osmond is mentioned in the lyrics of
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
'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?!" Osmond is featured in the song "Start the Par-dee" with Lil Yachty, written as a promotion for Chef Boyardee's throwback recipe ravioli. His most iconic line is "My name is Donny O, and you know I love my ravio's".


Film and television

In the animated television series '' Johnny Bravo'', Osmond voiced himself as a recurring character. He has done guest spots on numerous television shows such as ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'', '' Diagnosis: Murder'', and ''
Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cy ...
''. He appeared in a Pepsi Twist commercial during the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
with his sister, Marie, and Ozzy and
Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...
. In 1978, he appeared in '' Goin' Coconuts'' with sister Marie. His future wife Debbie (credited as Debbie Glenn) made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. In 1982, he co-starred with
Priscilla Barnes Priscilla Barnes (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Terri Alden in the ABC sitcom'' Three's Company'' between 1981 and 1984. Barnes also has appeared in films, including '' A Vacation in Hell'' (1979), ''Licence to ...
and
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...
in the television movie ''
The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch ''The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch'' is a 1982 American made-for-television Western romantic comedy film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Priscilla Barnes, Lee Horsley, Joan Collins, Donny Osmond, Morgan Brittany, and Lisa Whelchel. ...
'' for Aaron Spelling. In 1985, he appeared in a cameo role impersonating himself on
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
's video for the track "Ambitious", written by
Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...
. In 1998, Osmond was chosen as the singing voice of Shang in
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's ''Mulan''. He sang " I'll Make a Man Out of You". In 1999, he starred as
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
in the movie version of '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' by
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
'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 ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...
'' special "Built to be Wild", he played Jackaroo the pickup truck. Osmond remarked in an interview that his movie appearance on '' College Road Trip'' and upcoming appearances on two Disney Channel shows would mean that he would be coming full circle since he and his family were discovered by
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
. Osmond appears in the music video of
"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
's song " White & Nerdy". The song is a parody of
Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...
's "
Ridin' "Ridin is a song by American rapper Chamillionaire featuring fellow American rapper Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released on November 12, 2005, as the second single from his debut studio album '' The Sound of Revenge'' (2005). Produce ...
"; Osmond's role is analogous to that of
Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Career Solo After finding success with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Krayzie Bone recorded his so ...
'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 have portrayed "Peacock" on the first season of '' The Masked Singer,'' where he was the runner-up. Osmond was a guest on
Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He has earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He first gained widespread attention during his tenure as a cast member on ...
's web series on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, ''Hiking with Kevin'', in March 2019. The
webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cab ...
begins with the two hiking through the snow at the Sundance Resort in Utah, and ends with them walking a crowded
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
until Osmond brings Nealon backstage at the Donny & Marie Showroom in the Flamingo Hotel, at which he was to perform that evening. In 2020, Osmond was invited as a celebrity panelist for Fox's ''
I Can See Your Voice ''I Can See Your Voice'' (abbreviated as ''ICSYV'') is a television mystery music game show franchise created by Lee Seon-young and produced by CJ ENM, which originated from I Can See Your Voice (South Korean game show), the South Korean program ...
'', appearing on episode 5 in the first season of the show (4 November).


''Dancing with the Stars''

Osmond and professional Kym Johnson were paired for the ninth season of ''Dancing with the Stars''. He participated in the show to prove he was a better dancer than his sister, Marie, who made it to the finals of season 5. For the first week, Donny and his partner were assigned to perform a
foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...
and a 30-second salsa. His foxtrot was said to be "too theatrical" and was scored 20/30 by the judges, however he managed to maintain a good score when his salsa scored 10 points. He performed a jive the following week, which was guest-judged by
Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...
. He scored 25 and was scored second place, called first to be safe. That following week he performed a rumba and scored 21. The following week introduced four new dances including the Charleston, for which he scored 24. That following week, the two performed an
Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...
. The couple scored 29/30, which was the highest-scored dance to date until it was beaten by then-top scorer and future runner-up
Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...
and her 70s-themed
samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
. Donny also received that week's encore. Following that week, Osmond and Johnson danced a train-station-themed
jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...
and scored a 24. He then performed a
mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
against all couples and was eliminated 6th, receiving seven points for a total of 31/40. The following week, he performed a
quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal ...
, which he quotes "was one of the worst moments of my life" and scored 24 and a team
tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
along with Joanna Krupa and
Kelly Osbourne Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne (born on October 27 1984) is an English television personality, singer, actress, and fashion designer. She is a daughter of Ozzy Osbourne, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and came to prominence while appearing on the reali ...
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 Viennese waltz () is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, dance ...
received 26 but his 1980s themed pasodoble received 24 being quoted by judge Len Goodman as "the scariest, bizarre pasodoble 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 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, making him the oldest winner. As he accepted his trophy, he hugged fellow finalist Mya and brought his wife, Debbie, and sister, Marie, on stage. On season 18, he guest-judged week five on Disney Night. In October 2014, he guest judged on the British version of the show, ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
'', on week 3 (movie week) of the 12th series.


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 ''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Ba ...
''. Osmond replaced another former teen idol,
David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...
, who left the show while it was on its pre-Broadway tour. After 29 previews and only one performance, the show closed in March 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. Osmond suffered from
social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some asp ...
during his performances for the musical, 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 Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
later chose Osmond to star in the 1999 film version. He returned to Broadway on 19 September 2006 as Gaston in
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's ''
Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
''. He was scheduled to perform for nine weeks, but due to popular demand, he extended his run through December. Liz Smith of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' 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 29 July 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 The Marquis Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater on the third floor of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1986, it ...
9–19 December 2010. The show was extended through December 2010 and again until 2 January 2011. ''Donny & Marie – Christmas in Chicago'' played at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre in Chicago in December 2011. It was similar to the 2010 Broadway show. In December 2014, they again performed in a similar Broadway show, receiving very positive reviews. Osmond is set to play the role of Pharaoh, in the upcoming production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' for a limited run over Christmas 2024 at the Edinburgh Playhouse opening on 3 December 2024 as part of the UK Tour going into 2025.


Other ventures


Donny Osmond Home

''Donny Osmond Home'' is a furniture and decor accessories collection, established in 2013 by Osmond and his wife Debbie, in collaboration with decor manufacturers.


Author

''Life is Just What You Make It: My Story So Far'', his autobiography co-written with Patricia Romanowski, is a "tell-all", Donny Osmond style. The book, released in 1999, includes stories from behind-the-scenes as a teen star, to his thought of tarnishing his "goody-two-shoes" image as he started his solo career, to him describing the intense panic attacks he suffered on stage.


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 purposely plan an arrest for drug possession in order to change his image. "I remember hiring a publicist who figured out this whole campaign to get me busted for drugs and change my image." Osmond commented on his opposition to same-sex marriage after the 2008
Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. It passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned by the ...
in California. The LDS Church were one of many groups that supported Proposition 8 (to ban same-sex marriage), and Osmond stated that he opposes same-sex marriage but that he does not condemn homosexuality. He believes that homosexuals should be accepted in the LDS Church if they remain celibate. He stated on his website: In March 2010, Osmond criticized
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
and
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
for using profanity and sex in their "Telephone" video.


Personal life

On May 8, 1978, Osmond married Debra Glenn of
Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...
, in the
Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...
. Together they have five sons: Don, Jeremy, Brandon, Chris, and Josh. The Osmonds became grandparents in 2005 and have 16 grandchildren. Chris, who is also a musician, appeared on season 2 of the American reality series '' Claim to Fame'', in which contestants have to determine their competitors' famous relative; Chris advanced to the final episode, having repeatedly survived numerous eliminations because the other contestants could not guess Donny's identity. Like the rest of his family, Osmond is a member of the LDS Church. 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. Osmond's two oldest brothers, Virl and Tom, are
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
, and his nephew, Justin, is hearing impaired. He has talked about the experience of growing up with his brothers and their use of
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...
when performing together. Osmond has traced some of his family ancestry back to
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
in Wales; his journey was documented in a
BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
program, ''Donny Osmond Coming Home''. On the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'', a plaque was unveiled in the town to commemorate "the ancestors of 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 Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...
'' (1989) * '' Eyes Don't Lie'' (1990) * ''Christmas at Home'' (1997) * ''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) * '' Start Again'' (2021)


Filmography


Television


Films


Voice dubbing and animated films and programs


Music videos


Theater


Commercial collaborations and ads


References


External links


Donny Osmond Official website
* *
Osmond Interview on Fox News RadioOsmondheaven
Popular Fan Site
Donny Osmond Home Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmond, Donny 1957 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers American child singers American contemporary R&B singers American country rock singers American country songwriters American game show hosts American keyboardists American male child actors American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singers American male songwriters American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Welsh descent American pop rock singers American soul singers American child pop musicians Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Decca Records artists Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Utah Male actors from California Male actors from Orange County, California Male actors from Utah MGM Records artists Musicians from Ogden, Utah Musicians from Orange County, California Osmond family (show business) Participants in American reality television series Singers from California Singers from Utah Songwriters from California Songwriters from Utah Television personalities from California The Osmonds members Universal Music Group artists