Donny Osmond

 





Donny was born on December 9, 1957, in Ogden, Utah, as the seventh child of Olive and George 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 in 1963).

In 1963, Donny Osmond made his debut on the Andy Williams-show at the age of five singing 'You Are My Sunshine'.
The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s, along with an occasional visit from their sister Marie.






Donny became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, while continuing to sing with his older brothers. He was one of the biggest 'cover boy' pop stars for Tiger Beat and 16 magazines 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.
Donny'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' (1972 - U.S. no. 9) vaulted him into international fame, further advanced by his November 20, 1972, appearance on the Here's Lucy show, where he sang 'Too Young' and 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again'.





In the 1980s, of the Osmonds abandoned their earlier image, which had originally been crafted to appeal to young viewers, hoping to reach a more adult audience. 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'. 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 getting together with Peter Gabriel to see if they could turn Donny'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'.
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'.




Hosting
Following Marie's stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, the pair teamed up for a limited six-week engagement in The Flamongo Hotel in Las Vegas. The residency began in September 2008, but proved so successful that it was ultimately extended for an 11-year run through November 2019. The Flamingo Hotel's showroom was updated in 2014 and renamed the Donny and Marie Theater.

Donny & Marie co-hosted The Donny & Marie Show, a television variety series which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979. They also co-hosted the eponymous and syndicated talk show Donny & Marie from 1998 to 2000.
Donny also hosted Pyramid (2002 - 2004). He reprised hosting for a British version of Pyramid on Challenge in 2007. Osmond returned to ABC as host of The Great American Dream Vote, a primetime reality-game show that debuted in March 2007. Donny hosted the daytime British version of the game show Identity on BBC Two 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 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 show in 2007.
 
Film and television
In the animated television series Johnny Bravo, Donny 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 Marie, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. In 1982 he co-starred in the television movie The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch. In 1978, he appeared in Goin' Coconuts with Marie. His future wife Debbie (credited as Debbie Glenn) made a cameo appearance at the end of the film.




In 1998, Donny 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. Donny remarked in an interview that his movie appearance on College Road Trip and 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.



In February 2019, he was revealed to have portrayed 'Peacock' on The Masked Singer, where he was the runner-up. He opened the new show with an amazing version of the song 'The Greatest Show' from 'The greatest Showman'. Donny was a guest on Kevin Nealon's web series on YouTube, Hiking with Kevin, in March 2019. The webisode begins with the two hiking and through the snow at the Sundance Resort in Utah, and ends with them walking a crowded Las Vegas Strip until Donny brings Nealon backstage at the Donny & Marie Showroom in the Flamingo Hotel, at which he was to perform that evening.
In 2020, Donny was invited as a celebrity panelist for Fox's I Can See Your Voice, appearing on episode 5 in the first season of the show (4 November).


Dancing with the Stars


Donny 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. It was very difficult for him to manage to get to rehearsals and host his show in Las Vegas with his sister Marie.
Donny won the competition, making him the oldest winner. As he accepted his trophy, he 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.



Musical theater
His first foray into Broadway musical theater was the lead role in Little Johnny Jones. Donny replaced David Cassidy. After 29 previews and only one performance, the show closed in March 1982.

Donny 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. He suffered from social anxiety disorder during his performances for the musical, which caused him to feel light-headed and extremely nervous during his performances. In 1997, Donny left his starring role in the tour to participate with his family in the cast of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Andrew Lloyd Webber later chose Donny to star in the 1999 film version.

He returned to Broadway on 19 September 2006 as 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. On 29 July 2007, Osmond played Gaston again for the final performance of Beauty and the Beast.
Donny and Marie starred in a holiday production called Donny & Marie – A Broadway Christmas, originally scheduled to play on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre 9–19 December 2010. The show was extended until 2 January 2011. Donny & Marie - Christmas in Chicago played 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.
In 2021, Donny returned to live theatre in the iconic Pantoland at the Palladium in London, receiving accolades and stellar reviews for his turn as The Wizard of Pantomime.


Personal life

On 8 May 1978, Osmond married Debra Glenn of Billings, Montana, in the Salt Lake Temple.
Together they have five sons: Don, Jeremy, Brandon, Christopher, and Joshua. Donny and Debbie, his wife of 45 years, now have 14 grandchildren.

Christopher, 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; Christopher advanced to the final episode, having repeatedly survived numerous eliminations because the other contestants could not guess who Donny was.


Like the rest of his family, Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (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.


Donny 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.'

For more information, visit:

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