DONNY OSMOND My Best (& Worst!) SHOWBIZ MEMORIES

THIS SURVIVOR HAS SEEN MULTIPLE UPS AND DOWNS DURING HIS 60 YEARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

- LOUISE A. BARILE

Sometimes when Donny Osmond watches his grandchildren play, he’s struck by how different his life was when he was young. “I see my little grandkids and I’m thinking, ‘I worked with Bob Hope when I was that age’ — and it’s, like, whoa,” he tells Closer.

Donny admits his childhood “was nothing but work — dancing in front of mirrors and sitting at the piano learning my parts with fivepart harmonies.” But he credits those early lessons and the discipline he developed for his ability to persevere through six decades in the entertainment industry. And he’s not done yet. In 2023, his live show at Harrah’s Las Vegas, Donny Osmond: The Las Vegas Residency, won Best Headliner and several other accolades. “It probably means more to me now because I once lost it all,” he confides.

Though he’s only 66, Donny is every inch a showbiz veteran — and he has the stories and scars to prove it. At 5, he began performing with his older brothers’ barbershop quartet, the Osmond Brothers, who were regulars on The Andy Williams Show from 1962 to 1967. Donny admits that he and his siblings grew up isolated from other kids. “My friends were adults and legends,” he remembers. Some of his favorite showbiz memories are of learning at the knees of some of entertainment’s most iconic personalities. “I always kind of looked at Andy Williams as a father figure,” Donny says. “He taught me how to breathe while singing. He gave me lessons on how to do it right.”

Those years provided a master class. “Being around Elvis Presley and watching how he controls an audience was influential,” he says. “You can’t go to a university and learn comedy from Jerry Lewis or Milton Berle or Bob Hope — but those were all people I worked with from a young age.”

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