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[h3]Born Donald Clark Osmond to George and Olive, a deeply religious couple and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. [/h3]

The seventh child and second youngest son of this musically gifted family, Osmond and his siblings, Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Marie and Jimmy, were piously raised in Ogden, Utah.

Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay formed a singing group called The Osmond Brothers and began touring with their act. American pop singer [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1137:0/Andy_Williams.htm]Andy Williams’[/urlnew] brother spotted the group whilst they were performing as a barbershop quartet at Disneyland, and asked them to audition for the ‘Andy Williams Show’ (1962). The Osmond Brothers went for the audition and soon became regulars on the show.

In 1961, the young Osmond made his performing debut on the ‘Andy Williams Show’ at the age of four, singing ‘You Are my Sunshine’, and joined the show permanently at the age of six. He continued to sing with his brothers and the group of five became known simply as The Osmonds. Throughout the 1960s, the group performed on Andy Williams Show and were frequently joined by their younger brother, Jimmy, and their sister, Marie. In 1969, when their run with the show was over, The Osmonds recorded the single ‘One Bad Apple’, which truly secured their fame. Touring the world, they delighting their fans with songs such as ‘Crazy Horses’, ‘Go Away Little Girl’, ‘Down By the Lazy River’ and ‘Twelfth of Never’.

In the early 1970s, Osmond went solo with his debut album, ‘The Donny Osmond Album’ (1971), followed by ‘Donny Osmond To You With Love’ (1971). Barely a teenager himself, he soon gained teen idol status. Along with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1646:0/David_Cassidy.htm]David Cassidy[/urlnew], Osmond was not only talented, but also a clean living, fresh faced, ‘pretty boy’ and often featured on the covers of Tiger Beat magazine. His single ‘Puppy Love’ (1972) reached number one in the UK and was pivotal in bringing him to the attention of the international market.

The hard working young Osmond released solo several albums before teaming up with his sister, Marie, in the mid 1970s. These included ‘Portrait of Donny’, ‘Too Young’ and ‘My Best To You’ in 1972; and ‘Alone Together’, ‘Perfect’, ‘A Time For Us’ and ‘Superstar’ in 1973. He also continued to record albums with The Osmonds. His first album as a duo with Marie was ‘I’m Leaving It All Up To You’ (1974). The pair was invited to co-host an episode of ‘The Mike Douglas Show’, which was seen by Fred Silverman from ABC television. Realising that their obvious chemistry and wholesome image made them perfect for family shows, Silverman immediately offered them their own variety show on ABC.
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They accepted and ‘The Donny and Marie Show’ was born. It ran from 1976 to 1979 and often featured other Osmond family members. During this period, the duo recorded albums such as ‘Make the World Go Away’ (1975), ‘New Season’ (1977), ‘A Winning Combination’ (1977) and ‘Goin’ Coconuts’ (1978). The popular brother/sister team were written about in a book, ‘Donny and Marie’ (1978) by Patricia Mulrooney Eldred. That same year, Osmond married his sweetheart, Debra Glenn, in Provo, Utah. The couple had five sons, Don Jr (1979), Brandon (1985), Christopher (1990), Jeremy (1981) and Joshua (1998).

After the end of ‘The Donny & Marie Show’, Osmond’s fame seemed to dwindle and, needing to support his family, he tried his hand at musical theatre. On 21 March 1982, he made his Broadway debut playing the title role in a revival of ‘Little Johnny Jones’. However, the production opened and closed on the same night, after only one performance, slated by critics as old-fashioned and out of date. Through the 1980s, Osmond did not release much music, with only one solo album, ‘Donny Osmond’ (1989), and one album with The Osmonds, ‘America Fest’ (1984). He was desperately trying to move away from his prudish image and his fortune changed in the late 1980s, when he collaborated with Peter Gabriel to record the single ‘Soldier of Love’ (1989), which reached number two in the US charts.

Osmond then released his album ‘Eyes Don’t Lie’ (1990), before several greatest hits albums between 1992 and 1996, followed by ‘Christmas At Home’ (1997) and ‘Four’ (1997). He finally found theatrical success, in the 1990s, when he starred in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ (1994), staying with the show until the late 1990s.

After nearly 20 years, he teamed up with Marie once more, this time in a Columbia TriStar television talk show, ‘Donny & Marie’ (1998), that proved extremely popular but only ran for two seasons, until 2000. Osmond sang ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ for the soundtrack of Disney feature animation ‘Mulan’ (1998). His autobiography, ‘Life Is Just What You Make It: My Story So Far’, was published by Disney Press in 1999. Demonstrating that his talent extended to writing, Osmond gave a candid review of the highs and lows of his 35 years in show business.

He then returned to music and released an album of Broadway hits, ‘This Is the Moment’ (2001). It seemed that he was finally back on form and in 2002, he released ‘The Best of Donny Osmond: The Millennium Collection’ (2002), ‘The Singles’ (2002) and a collection of love songs, ‘Somewhere In Time’ (2002). Osmond was then offered the opportunity to host a revival of the 1973 word association television game show ‘Pyramid’, which aired from 2002 until 2004.

‘What I Meant To Say’ (2004), with hit single ‘Breeze On By’ that reached number eight in the UK charts, was his next album before becoming a grandfather a few months before his 50th birthday. Osmond’s son Jeremy and his wife Melissa had a baby boy, Dylan Osmond, on 21 August 2005.
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Back on Broadway in September 2006, Osmond played the role of the villain, Gaston, in Disney’s Broadway production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. He and Marie won the 2006 TV Land Award for Favourite Singing Siblings for ‘Donny and Marie’ (1976). In November 2006, he became the new host of ‘Name That Tune’ (2007), an updated version of the classic television musical game show, running since 1953.

In a return to ABC television, Osmond hosted prime-time reality game show ‘The Great American Dream Vote’ that debuted in March 2007. Unfortunately the show was cancelled after only two episodes. Continuing to record music, he released ‘Love Songs of the 70’s’ (2007) and is due to tour the UK in October 2007. The singer, musician, actor, talk show host, game show host, record producer, race car driver and author is sure to grace his fans with many years of entertainment yet.

Carey Latimore
Donny Osmond: In My Life biography



- Height: 5’ 9” (1.75 m).

- Ranked number 14 in the TV Guide’s January 2005 list of TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols.

- Suffered from Social Anxiety Disorder for most of the 1990s.

- Traced his family ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil, Wales and the process was filmed in a BBC Wales documentary, ‘Donny Osmond Coming Home’.

- His eldest two brothers, Tom and Virl, were both born deaf.

- Made a cameo appearance, dancing in the video for Weird Al Jankovic’s song ‘White & Nerdy’ (2006).

- Appeared with sister, Marie, and Sharon and Ozzie Osbourne in a Pepsi Twist advert in 2006.

- The Osmonds, known for their gleaming white teeth, were parodied in a ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News’ (1979-1982) sketch, with the headline: ‘In the Osmonds split up, Donny Osmond has been awarded custody of the teeth’.

- All nine Osmond siblings studied karate under Chuck Norris.
Donny Osmond: In My Life biography




Donny Osmond: In My Life biography



Solo

Love Songs of the 70’s (2007)

What I Meant To Say (2004)

Somewhere In Time (2002)

The Singles (2002)

The Best of Donny Osmond: The Millennium Collection (2002)

This Is the Moment (2001)

Four (1997)

Christmas At Home (1997)

The Best of Donny Osmond (1996)

25 Hits (1995)

Best of Donny Osmond (1994)

Greatest Hits (1992)

Eyes Don’t Lie (1990)

Donny Osmond (1989)

Donald Clark Osmond (1977)

The Osmond Christmas Album (1976)

Disco Train (1976)

Just For You (1975)

Donny (1974)

Mexico (1974)

Japan (1974)

Superstar (1973)

A Time For Us (1973)

Perfect (1973)

Alone Together (1973)

My Best To You (1972)

Too Young (1972)

Portrait of Donny (1972)

Donny Osmond To You With Love (1971)

The Donny Osmond Album (1971)

With The Osmonds

Osmondmania! The Osmond Family’s Greatest Hits (2003)

Ultimate Collection (2003)

The Singles (2002)

The Best of The Osmonds: The Millennium Collection (2002)

The All-Time Greatest Hits of the Osmond Family (2000)

The Very Best of The Osmonds (1996)

21 Hits (1995)

America Fest (1984)

Greatest Hits (1977)

Brainstorm (1976)

Around the World, Live in Concert (1975)

I’m Still Gonna Need You (1975)

Love Me For a Reason (1974)

Collector’s Edition (1974)

The Plan (1973)

Live (1972)

Crazy Horses (1972)

Phase III (1971)

Homemade (1971)

Osmonds (1971)

With Marie Osmond

Love Songs (2004)

The Best of Donny and Marie: The Millennium Collection (2002)

Goin’ Coconuts (1978)

A Winning Combination (1977)

New Season (1977)

Make the World Go Away (1975)

Donny & Marie – Featuring Songs from Their Television Show (1975)

I’m Leaving It All Up To You (1974)

Various Artists

Mulan (1998)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1994) (musical
soundtrack)

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