Wayne Osmond — a member of the Osmond Brothers, the singing siblings who brought bubblegum pop music and Utah wholesomeness to a worldwide audience — has died.
Osmond died Wednesday night, his brother Merrill wrote in a Facebook post Thursday, in a Salt Lake City hospital after suffering “a massive stroke.”
He was 73.
“I’ve never known a man that had more humility,” Merrill wrote. “A man with absolutely no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.”
Another brother, Donny, posted on Facebook that “Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me. He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone.”
The children of George and Olive Osmond, the nine Osmond children were born and raised in Ogden. Wayne was born Aug. 28, 1951.
Four of the brothers — Alan, Wayne, Jay and Merrill — started as a barbershop quartet around Ogden in 1958. The quartet moved from Utah gigs to performing at Disneyland.
It was at Disneyland where Jay Williams, the father of “Moon River” crooner Andy Williams, discovered the Osmonds. In 1963, the quartet made a national television debut on “The Andy Williams Show.” The Osmonds became regular performers on the NBC variety show.
(NBC) The original Osmond Brothers — Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay, from left — with host Andy Williams on his variety show in the 1960s.
Wayne sang baritone and was the guitarist of the group. He also was known as the onstage goofball.
Merrill wrote that Wayne’s “legacy will go down as someone who was not only a genius in his ability to write music, but was able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”
On “The Andy Williams Show,” the quartet became a quintet, when younger brother Donny joined the group. Another recurring Osmond was the youngest brother, Jimmy, who would act as comic relief.
Donny would go on to become the most successful solo artist in the family. He maintained a long partnership with the one Osmond sister, Marie, that spanned decades with a ’70s TV variety show and long concert runs in Las Vegas. Jimmy also had a successful solo career, particularly in the United Kingdom, where, at age 9 in 1972, he had a hit single with “Long-Haired Lover from Liverpool.”
The Osmond Brothers hit their peak of popularity in the early 1970s, right around the time “The Andy Williams Show” ended its run in 1971. The group had a string of six gold albums (including a live album) from 1970 to 1973.
(Heinrich Klaffs) The Osmonds performing in 1973.
They hit No. 1 on the pop charts with “One Bad Apple” in 1970. Other hits followed, including “Double Lovin’,” “Yo-Yo,” “Down by the Lazy River” and “Love Me for a Reason.” Wayne co-wrote two of the group’s hits, “Hold Her Tight” and “Crazy Horses,” with Alan and Merrill.
The Osmonds also became unofficial ambassadors of their faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They became symbols of their church and their home state. In 1982, when President Ronald Reagan visited Utah, the quartet sang a rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at an event that reportedly brought a tear to Reagan’s eye.
In 1974, while attending church-owned Brigham Young University, Wayne Osmond met Kathlyn White, then the reigning Miss Utah in the Miss America competition. They married in December that year, The Salt Lake Tribune reported at the time, and Kathlyn was forced to relinquish her title. Their “working honeymoon” happened while the Osmond Brothers were touring Europe.
When Donny and Marie’s star rose on the strength of their ABC variety show, the brothers kept touring. In later years, the brothers launched careers away from performing — and Wayne, who had a pilot license before he was old enough to drive cars, flew corporate jets.
In 1993, the Osmonds regrouped to find new success in a new location: Branson, Missouri. They got the inspiration from their longtime friend, Andy Williams, who had opened a theater in the town’s growing entertainment district. Williams’ success inspired Jimmy Osmond to open the Osmond Family Theater there and get the brothers back together.
Wayne and Kathlyn relocated to the Ozarks, along with their five children — as did Alan, Merrill and Jay, with their wives and a combined 16 kids. Jay joked at the time that the family “doubled the public school population” of Branson. The influx of Osmonds led to formation of the first Latter-day Saint ward, or congregation, for the southwest Missouri/northwest Arkansas region.
Wayne told The Tribune in 1993 that performing with his brothers again was a cinch. “After 35 years under your belt,” he said, “it’s not that difficult any more.”
The brothers toured for years, until health issues forced Alan and Wayne to retire. Wayne suffered brain tumors in the late ’90s, while Alan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The last time the four brothers performed as a group was in 2019, to serenade their sister, Marie, for her 60th birthday on the CBS daytime show “The Talk,” where Marie was then one of the hosts.
Marie credited her older siblings for establishing all of the family’s careers. “If you really go back to the beginning,” Marie said in 2019, “none of us would have been here without the four original Osmond brothers.”
Wayne is the first of the nine Osmond siblings to die. He is survived by his singing siblings — Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Jimmy and Marie — as well as the two oldest brothers who did not perform, Virl and Tom. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Kathlyn; their five children: Amy Cook, Steven Osmond, Gregory Osmond, Sarah Hilton and Michelle Erickson; and 20 grandchildren.
Details for a memorial have yet to be announced.
In Los Angeles, a wreath of white and pink roses was placed in Wayne’s honor on The Osmonds’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, the walk’s organizers posted on X.
