Wayne Osmond, the second eldest sibling within the Osmond Brothers group of singers, has died. He was 73.
The baritone-voiced singer and guitarist, who was the fourth oldest of the 9 Osmond kids and older brother to famed duo Donny and Marie Osmond, “passed away peacefully” Wednesday surrounded by his spouse and 5 kids, his daughter Amy Osmond Prepare dinner mentioned Thursday in a press release posted on Fb. The household additionally launched a celebration of life web page on the platform to memorialize the late musician.
“His legacy of faith, music, love, and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world. He would want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that families are forever, and that banana splits are the best dessert. We love him and will miss him dearly,” his daughter’s assertion mentioned.
No reason for demise was instantly accessible.
Wayne Osmond, born Melvin Wayne Osmond in Ogden on Aug. 28, 1951, wed Kathlyn White in 1974. The multi-instrumentalist had surgical procedure for a mind tumor in 1997, suffered a stroke in 2012 that left him unable to play guitar and in addition was handled for most cancers, based on the Hollywood Reporter. However he famously reunited together with his siblings in 2019 to sing together with his brothers for sister Marie’s sixtieth birthday.
Representatives for Donny and Marie Osmond didn’t instantly remark when contacted Thursday by The Occasions.
(Isaac Brekken / Related Press)
Brother Merrill Osmond mentioned on Fb that Wayne Osmond just lately had “a massive stroke” and that he was being handled at a Salt Lake Metropolis hospital. Wayne “endured much” and “gave it his all,” he mentioned, and praised his brother’s “genius in his ability to write music” and “capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”
“My brother was a saint before he came into this world, and he will leave as an even greater saint than he came in,” Merrill Osmond wrote Thursday on Fb. “I’ve never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.
“His departure from this earth will be a sad moment for some, but for those who are waiting for him on the other side, there will be a massive celebration beyond anything we can imagine,” he added.
Wayne’s youthful brother Jay Osmond additionally mentioned Thursday that he was “deeply saddened” by the demise and that “a true legend has left the Earth.”
“It is said that where there is great love there is great grief as we part during our earthly journey. Throughout my life I have always felt most connected to Wayne out of all of my siblings. He was my roommate and my confidant over the decades,” he wrote on Fb.
Jay Osmond mentioned that when he visited his brother final week, Wayne Osmond was unhappy that he might now not fly a airplane and that “flying brought him peace.”
“What gives me joy is to know that my brother ‘Wings’ has earned his wings and I can only imagine the heights he is soaring right now. The reunion he must’ve had with Father and Mother I’m sure was spectacular!” he mentioned.
Household patriarch George Osmond, a soldier who launched his kids’s leisure careers within the late Nineteen Fifties, died in 2007. He was predeceased by his spouse, Olive Osmond, in 2004.
Each husband and spouse handed on their affinity for music — George’s as a singer and Olive’s as a saxophone participant — to their kids and shaped the Osmond Brothers troupe with sons Alan, Wayne, and Jay Osmond. (The couple’s two eldest sons, Virl and Tom, have degenerative listening to loss that affected their speech.) George taught the quartet how you can sing four-part harmonies as kids, they usually carried out for his or her Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints congregation in Ogden, Utah. In addition they carried out at gala’s and amusement parks within the late Nineteen Fifties.
(NBCUniversal through Getty Photos)
The household made its method to Los Angeles in 1962 to audition for “The Lawrence Welk Show” however didn’t land the gig. As a comfort, George Osmond took the household to Disneyland. The boys have been dressed alike and the barbershop quartet acting on Principal Road took discover. They have been requested to do a quantity with the group; the efficiency ended up lasting for greater than an hour. In keeping with D23, the Osmonds then have been dropped at the Disneyland leisure workplace, the place they signed their first skilled contract.
Whereas they have been acting at Disneyland, the daddy of singer Andy Williams noticed them and beneficial the group to his son, in the end main the Osmond Brothers to ebook a five-year community TV run on “The Andy Williams Show.”.
The group added youngest brother Donny Osmond in 1963, altering its identify to the Osmonds, and appeared on “The Jerry Lewis Show” earlier than signing with a document label. They produced 34 gold and platinum data within the Sixties and ’70s, based on the Related Press, together with the 1971 chart-topper “One Bad Apple (Don’t Spoil the Whole Bunch).” Their different Billboard Scorching 100 hits embrace “Down by the Lazy River,” “Yo-Yo,” “Love Me for a Reason” and “Crazy Horses.”
Donny and youthful sister Marie additionally carried out individually and as a duo to a lot success in music and tv. Wayne made frequent appearances on the “Donny and Marie” selection present, which ran from 1975 to 1979 and which he additionally sometimes produced.
