Difference between revisions of "Jimmy Osmond"
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James Arthur Osmond (born 16 April 1963) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He was born in Canoga Park, California, making him the only one of the late George Virl Osmond Sr (12 October 1917 – 6 November 2007) and the late Olive May Davis Osmond's (4 May 1925 – 9 May 2004) nine children not to have been born in the family’s hometown of Ogden, Utah. He is the youngest of the nine. His siblings are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Marie. Virl and Tom, the oldest of his siblings, were born hearing impaired. | James Arthur Osmond (born 16 April 1963) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He was born in Canoga Park, California, making him the only one of the late George Virl Osmond Sr (12 October 1917 – 6 November 2007) and the late Olive May Davis Osmond's (4 May 1925 – 9 May 2004) nine children not to have been born in the family’s hometown of Ogden, Utah. He is the youngest of the nine. His siblings are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Marie. Virl and Tom, the oldest of his siblings, were born hearing impaired. | ||
Revision as of 08:47, 8 July 2017
James Arthur Osmond (born 16 April 1963) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He was born in Canoga Park, California, making him the only one of the late George Virl Osmond Sr (12 October 1917 – 6 November 2007) and the late Olive May Davis Osmond's (4 May 1925 – 9 May 2004) nine children not to have been born in the family’s hometown of Ogden, Utah. He is the youngest of the nine. His siblings are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Marie. Virl and Tom, the oldest of his siblings, were born hearing impaired.
For a time, Jimmy sang with his brothers - Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny - musically known as The Osmond Brothers. He began his career at the age of three, appearing with his brothers on the Andy Williams Show in 1966. recalling that experience, he said, "I’d seen my brothers on TV and thought, 'I’d like to do that.' It just seemed the natural thing to do. Singing and dancing were the family business." At five years of age, he became the first member of his family to receive a gold record for "My Little Darling" which he recorded in Japanese. He said, "I was the first American to sing in Japanese and have a No 1 hit. The Japanese people were so nice to me; they flooded me with presents and flowers. It was surreal."
In 1972, The Guinness Book of World Records named him the youngest performer to have a #1 single on the United Kingdom Singles Chart for his recording of "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool." The song was credited to "Little Jimmy Osmond." He also recorded several other albums (two in Japanese, one in Spanish – "Siempre Tu") and numerous singles. As a solo artist, Jimmy has accumulated six gold records, one platinum record, and two gold albums. About his successes, he says:
- My dad was an army sergeant and we never really celebrated our successes, so we never had a chance to get spoiled. But if my dad hadn’t been so strict, we would have gone off the rails big-time. We were offered everything. Thank goodness, we had our Mormon belief, which gave us a code to live by. The biggest temptations were drink, drugs and girls.
A Brilliant Young Star and Entrepeneur in the Making
By the time Jimmy was 14, he was living on his own in Japan earning lots of money from hosting his own television show. In the 1980s, he got into concert promotion, working for Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson.
In addition to a successful solo career, Jimmy starred in the 1978 film The Great Brain. He made guest appearances on the television shows Fame (two episodes) and Love Boat. He has appeared on several celebrity reality shows, such as I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! (2005), All-Star Family Fortunes (2006), Celebrity Bedlam (2012), and Celebrity MasterChef (2016 – he was a finalist). In January 2010, Jimmy participated in the British ITV1 celebrity reality television program Popstar to Opera Star.
He was the lead singer for his family’s 2012 I Can’t Get There Without You album celebrating their fiftieth anniversary.
In addition to a successful solo career, Jimmy starred in the 1978 film The Great Brain. He appeared in television, most notably "Fame" and "Love Boat." He has appeared on several celebrity reality shows, such as “I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!” (2005), “All Star Family Fortunes” (2006), “Celebrity Bedlam” (2012), and “Celebrity MasterChef” (2016). He appeared on the “Donny & Marie” show from 1976 to 1979. He has also appeared in musical theater, including starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat. He also appeared in Grease, Chicago, and Peter Pan.
He has had a successful career as a producer for the BBC, ABC, PBS, and the Disney Channel. In 2014 he took over ownership and management of the Andy Williams Moon River Performing Arts Center in Branson, Missouri.
In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts and humanities from Iowa Wesleyan University. He wrote the semi-autobiographical children’s book, Awesome Possum Family Band. He is chairman of the Osmond Foundation.
Jimmy was born on April 16, 1963, in Canoga Park, California. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Michele, are the parents of four children.
