- Born
- Birth nameDonald Clark Osmond
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond was born December 9, 1957 in Ogden, Utah, to Olive Osmond (née Davis) and George Osmond on . He was the seventh of eight brothers and has one sister. When Donny was young, his family went to see Lawrence Welk in California. They were unable to meet with him so they decided to take a vacation to Disneyland. This is where Donny's older brothers Wayne Osmond, Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond and Jay Osmond were discovered by Walt Disney. They performed at Disneyland and were soon asked to perform on The Andy Williams Show (1962). They performed on the show for nine years, with Donny joining the show at age six. After their run on the show was up, the brothers spent two years trying to make it big before Mike Curb and Rick Hall found "One Bad Apple," the song originally chosen for The Jacksons (then known as The Jackson Five), but was instead recorded by the Osmonds and made them famous. For the next several years, Donny traveled all over the world with his brothers, performing for fans such songs as "Puppy Love", "Crazy Horses", "Go Away Lttle Girl", "Down By the Lazy River" and "Twelfth of Never."
In 1974, Donny's sister, Marie Osmond, started performing with the brothers and Donny recorded duets with her. That led to their co-hosting The Mike Douglas Show (1961). An executive at ABC saw the show and offered them their own TV variety show. The pair took it under one condition--that the whole family be involved. Donny and Marie (1975) was a huge success and lasted four years. During the run of the show, Donny married Debra Glenn in 1978 and started a family. In 1979, the show was canceled and the family was faced with a huge debt that they repaid. The early 1980s were not easy for Donny. He tried many different avenues, including starring in "Little Johnny Jones" on Broadway, but without much success. Donny had a break in the late 1980s, though, when he teamed up with Peter Gabriel and recorded "Soldier of Love", which went to #2 on the US charts. In the 1990s, he toured as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". This lasted to the late 1990s. After that, he teamed up with Marie again for Donny & Marie (1997), this time a TV talk show. This was highly successful as well, but only lasted a few years. After the end of the show, Donny once again returned to music. He has since released "This is The Moment" a collection of Broadway tunes, and "Somewhere in Time", a collection of love songs. Shortly afterward, Donny was offered the opportunity to host the syndicated game show Pyramid (2002), a revival of the popular The $10,000 Pyramid (1973) game show, and it ran from 2002-2004. Donny has released a new single "Breeze on By", which reached #8 on the UK charts. He has an upcoming CD "What I Meant to Say" due out in November in the UK and January 2005 in the US.- IMDb Mini Biography By: CR
- SpouseDebbie Osmond(May 8, 1978 - present) (5 children)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesMarie Osmond(Sibling)Jay Osmond(Sibling)Alan Osmond(Sibling)Wayne Osmond(Sibling)Virl Osmond(Sibling)Tom Osmond(Sibling)James A. Osmond(Sibling)Merrill Osmond(Sibling)Anica Brown(Cousin)James A. Osmond(Sibling)Eric Osmond(Niece or Nephew)Tom Osmond(Sibling)
- Often works with his sister, Marie Osmond.
- Brother of Alan Osmond, Jay Osmond, James A. Osmond, Merrill Osmond, Wayne Osmond, Marie Osmond, Tom Osmond, and Virl Osmond. All nine Osmond siblings studied karate under Chuck Norris.
- Became a first-time grandfather on August 21, 2005, when his second son Jeremy Osmond and his wife Melisa Osmond had Dylan Osmond. He weighed 7 lb. 9 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. He and his family welcomed a granddaughter, Emery, on February 24, 2008. This is the first girl born into his immediate family, as he is father to five boys.
- Became close friends with Michael Jackson in the early 1970's while they both were teen stars performing with their brothers. The two remained close until Jackson's death in 2009.
- He played the lead role as Joseph in the North American tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
- In November 2009 he won American reality TV show Dancing with the Stars (2005) with dancing partner Kym Johnson Herjavec.
- [on playing the geeky dad in College Road Trip (2008)] When everyone began laughing at my dorky character I thought, "Maybe this'll work. My whole life I've been known as Mr. White Bread, so if the shoe fits I say, 'Wear it'".
- [on sister Marie Osmond] My sister is the strongest person I know.
- [Sister Marie Osmond] and I can finish each other's sentences. And we usually know what the other one is thinking.
- The #1 question I get asked is, "Where is Marie?".
- [on sister Marie Osmond] We're a team. Always have been, always will be.
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