The Osmond family has been famous for over 40 years. Let’s piece together some of those best-kept secrets and find out what the Osmond family is really all about.
The Osmonds’ first two children, Virl and Tom, were born deaf. The couple was told not to have more kids, but luckily, they did. Their next kids had perfect pitch – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay, started as a barbershop quartet. The group was later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy and they collectively became known as The Osmonds. The kids’ only sister Marie launched a solo career in 1973.
When Marie was 15 years old, she and her brother Donny were offered a variety TV show, Donny & Marie, but producers threatened to cancel it if she didn’t lose weight. At the time, she was 103 pounds and went down to 97 pounds after she stopped eating.
Donny and Marie started the show Donny & Marie in 1976. Donny was already popular after performing with his brothers in The Osmonds, and Marie had already gained huge following as a solo country music artist. While hosting the show, the siblings typically worked 20-hour days, learning new songs, new dance routines, and dozens of new scripts.
Jimmy, the youngest member of The Osmonds, broke records in the UK and he still holds the record to this day. His 1972 song, ‘Long Haired Lover from Liverpool’, reached No.1 on the UK singles charts when he was just 9 years old. This made Jimmy the youngest performer to reach the top spot in Britain.
During a 1999 interview with MarketWatch, Donny recalled losing quite a bit of money during his career because he and his family trusted the wrong person. “I believe it was around 100 million dollars,” Marie told Forbes in 2017.
When Marie went through hardship as a mom, she tried to deal with the situation the best way she knew how. Her adopted daughter, Jessica Blosil, came out when she was 17 years old. Marie supported Jessica’s choice even if it went against her Mormon faith. Today, Jessica is focused on a law enforcement career and Marie is incredibly proud of her.
Who knew that Donny Osmond was such a talented tech-lover? He designed the secret video control room backstage in the Flamingo, as well as the audio and computer systems. Using family videos and photos, Donny also created the video montage that was part of the show. The star has admitted to being a “total nerd,” especially a Mac geek.
Donny loves to lick salt! According to Marie, “Donny licks the salt off of pretzels before he eats them. There is no real reason for this, but it’s one of the weird rituals that he’s done for most of his life.”
Donny once revealed that before each interview, Marie would ask for the lighting to be changed in a way that suited her perfectly. This isn’t really diva behavior, as she just wants to look good. No harm in that!
Marie first married Stephen Lyle Craig, a Brigham Young University basketball player, on June 26, 1982. The couple divorced in October 1985. The next year, Marie married Brian Blosil. The two divorced in 2007. In 2011, Marie remarried her first husband wearing her dress from the 1982 wedding. She later said, “Who would have thought 28 years later and we’d be back together? It’s wonderful. It’s nice to be happy…”
The world knew Donny as a teen idol, and Donny’s father feared that if he started a serious relationship, it would mark the end of his career. Still, Donny secretly dated Debbie Glenn and married her at age 20. His dad warned him, “Well, there goes your career, but this is ushering in your personal life.”
Donny and Debbie have been married for 41 years. Together, they have five sons. Donny has revealed the secret of their happy and long marriage is that whenever there is an argument, Debbie is always right.
Donny appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2009, pairing up with Kym Johnson. Despite a wardrobe malfunction nearly prevented him from competing in the finals, he and Kym eventually became the winners. At age 52, he was the oldest recipient of the Mirror Ball Trophy.
Donny and Jimmy played Yahtzee together when they were young. It got so competitive that the two decided whoever lost had to buy the winner a car. 25 years later, Donny won with 300,000 points. Jimmy kept their promise and dropped a car off in front of Donny’s house. Later on, however, Donny gave Jimmy the same car as a birthday present.
Along with John Schneider, Mick Shannon, and Joseph Lake, Marie co-founded the non-profit organization Children’s Miracle Network in 1983. CMN works to save and improve the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospital in North America. Since its inception, CMN has raised more than $6.5 billion.
Donny is referred to as Uncle Donny by many in his inner circle, but he wanted to prove that he was a little more than Uncle Donny. Imagine him taking his friends to the Bellagio bridge to see the giant Donny & Marie ad. Donny’s eyes alone are 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide.
No one likes their names being misspelled, and Donny Osmond is no exception. He becomes infuriated when people write an ‘ie’ instead of ‘y’ at the end of his name.
As a born performer, Donny is known for going all out during every performance, even if that means dancing on the audiences’ tables. Marie Osmond, during an interview, admitted that her brother did get carried away sometimes. She warned the public to ‘Hold onto your beverage.’
According to sources, he drives his son to the airport at 6 a.m. after six hours’ sleep. Then, he calls his business manager and sleeps for about an hour. Next up, he records for his Disney cartoon show. After that, he works out before his show with Marie. If on tour, his schedule is slightly different, but it’s still busy.
Donny stated in a 2017 interview, “My dad was my mentor in life, but musically, it was people like Stevie Wonder and Andy Williams. When I was nine, we opened for Nancy Sinatra, and Frank Sinatra came to the rehearsal and then to the opening night to hear me sing… Elvis Presley was a friend of our family. What I might have missed out on in terms of a normal childhood and schooling experiences was more than made up for by these extraordinary musical moments.
Today, Donny is still an immensely popular and versatile star, with a whopping net worth of over $18 million. So does Marie.
