Jimmy Osmond

James Arthur "Jimmy" Osmond (born April 16, 1963) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds.

Early life and family

Osmond was born in Canoga Park, California, the ninth and youngest child of Olive May (née Davis; May 4, 1925 – May 9, 2004) and George Virl Osmond (October 13, 1917 – November 6, 2007). His siblings are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Marie Osmond. He is also the only Osmond of the nine not to have been born in the family's hometown of Ogden, Utah.

Career

As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six gold records, one platinum record, and two gold albums. He received his first gold record at age five for a song he recorded in Japanese, "My Little Darling". He was the first Osmond to achieve this.

His recording of "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" in 1972 resulted in The Guinness Book of World Records designating him the youngest performer to have a #1 single on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] The song was credited to "Little Jimmy Osmond".

In 1978, Osmond starred in the feature film The Great Brain. He starred in other acting roles as well, including two episodes of the TV series Fame. He performed on stage and television often with his older siblings.

In 1985, he met Latino impresario Manuel Montoya at A&M Records, and this led to his only Spanish recording, "Siempre Tu". He toured Latin US markets, including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and Chile.

The 2012 Osmonds album I Can't Get There Without You was performed with Jimmy Osmond on lead vocals; it was the first album to feature Jimmy as lead singer, as older brother Merrill Osmond historically held that role in the band. In live performances, Jimmy often serves as a co-lead singer with Merrill, a role previously held by Donny during the band's heyday in the early 1970s.

Jimmy Osmond is president of Osmond Entertainment. He has developed and supervised most of the Osmonds' merchandising business, as well as producing hundreds of hours of programming for networks including ABC, PBS, the BBC and the Disney Channel.

He has also featured in musical theater. Like his brother Donny many years earlier, he starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He also starred in Boogie Nights in 2004 at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. In 2005, Jimmy Osmond's American Jukebox Show toured the UK in 2005, again to the Grand Theatre in Blackpool. Co-stars of the show included Billy Pearce and Jimmy's brothers Jay and Wayne. From December 11, 2010 to January 2, 2011, he played Buttons in Cinderella at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings, and from December 16, 2011, to January 15, 2012, the role of Wishee Washee in Aladdin at Grand Theatre, Swansea.

He has appeared on several UK TV shows, including the reality TV series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! broadcast by ITV in 2005 (he finished in fourth place), a 2006 appearance on All Star Family Fortunes, a celebrity version of Come Dine with Me, Celebrity Family Fortunes, and Everybody Dance Now. In January 2010, Osmond participated in the British ITV1 celebrity reality television programme Popstar to Operastar. In 2016 Jimmy was a finalist on the UK version of Celebrity Masterchef.

In 2014, Osmond authored a semi-autobiographical children's picture book, Awesome Possum Family Band.

The same year, he took over the operations of the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, where he is now responsible for producing and booking shows.^[3]

In 2015, Osmond was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts and humanities by Iowa Wesleyan University.^[4] The first Osmond family member to receive that distinction, he delivered the keynote commencement speech on May 9, 2015.

Personal life

Osmond married Michele Larson in 1992. They have four children: Sophia Michele (born 1994), Zachary James "Zack" (born 1997), Arthur Wyatt (born 2000), and Isabella Olive Renae "Bella" (born 2002).^[5]

Like the rest of his family, Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Health issues

In 2004, Osmond was in Missouri recording his TV show, Jimmy Osmond's American Jukebox, when he was suddenly overcome with a blinding headache. "It came on so fast and I could hardly see - it was as if I had tunnel vision," he recalls. "Somehow, I managed to get to the end of the show. How I drove home I have no idea and I should not have done it because I couldn't even see the lines in the middle of the road, but I was desperate to get back to my family and go to bed... The following morning I tried to get up, but felt so dizzy that I fell over. My vision was still bad and this terrible headache was gnawing away right at the base of my skull."^[5] He thought it was a severe migraine, but his wife drove him to the local hospital where doctors advised him to have a CT scan of his brain. The tests revealed he had suffered a stroke, but it caused no permanent damage.^[5] He also learned that he had a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), a hole in the septal wall of his heart, which was later surgically corrected.^[5] Several Osmond family members also have this congenital problem.^[5]

Recordings

Jimmy Osmond has earned six gold records.

Singles

• "My Little Darling" / "My Little Darling" (Japanese)
• "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" (Swedish)
• "Happy Robbers" / "I Found a Little Happiness" (Japanese)
• "Goodbye Mr. Tears" / "Put Your Hand in the Hand"
• "Chuk Chuk" / "Jimmy Boy" (Japanese)
• "If Santa Were My Daddy" / "Silent Night"
• "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" / "Mother of Mine"
• "Tweedle Dee" / "Mama'd Know What To Do"
• "Little Arrows" / "Don't You Remember"
• "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door" / "Give Me a Good Old Mammy Song"
• "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus"
• "You're There" / "Life Is Just What You Make It"
• "Kimi Wa Pretty" / "Tokyo Savannah" (Japanese)
• "Ring Ring" / "After All"
• "She Put the Light On" / "Uncertain"
• "Living in Love" / "One More Chance" (Japanese)
• "Siempre Tu" (Spanish)
• "Dos En Uno" (Spanish)
• "Otono Y Primavera" (Spanish)
• "Shine"

Albums

• Little Jimmy Osmond (Japan, 1972)
• Killer Joe (1972)
• Little Arrows (1975)
• Kimi Wa Pretty (Japan, 1981)
• Siempre Tu (in Spanish; Mexico, 1985)
• Keep The Fire Burnin’ (US 2000, UK 2001)

Soundtracks

• Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus (1974)
• The Great Brain (1978)
• Hugo The Hippo (1976)
• The Osmonds (animated TV series, 1972)

Movies

• The Great Brain (1978) based on the book by John D. Fitzgerald, portraying title character.
• Hugo the Hippo (1976), singer

Television

• The Osmonds (1972) – animated TV series
• Donny & Marie (1976–1979)
• Fame (1982)
• Inside the Osmonds (2001)
• We Are Family (2003)
• Branson Jubilee (2005)
• I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (2005)
• All Star Family Fortunes (2006)
• Celebrity Come Dine with Me
• Never Mind The Buzzcocks (2011)
• Celebrity Bedlam (2012)
• "Celebrity MasterChef" (2016)

Books

• Osmond, Jimmy (2014). Awesome Possum Family Band. Illustrations by Bob Ostrom. Washington, DC: Regnery Kids. ISBN 9781621572114. LCCN 2014003306. OCLC 854611747. 

References

External links

• Jimmy Osmond at the Internet Movie Database
• Jimmy Osmond at the Official site of the Osmond Family
• Jimmy Osmond on Twitter
• Osmond General Store
• Jimmy Osmond's profile for the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!