The Osmond Brothers grew up under a
microscope. As they’ve gone from cute mini-men, singing and
dancing in pint-sized tuxedos, to teen idols, then fathers and
family men—and now, in some cases, grandfathers—they have kept up
a high standard of quality entertainment.
Sure, they have that built-in harmony as only brothers can have,
and smiles that have probably made the family dentist very rich,
but these guys have more than that—talent that hasn’t dimmed in
more than 50 years.
You can call them “wholesome to a fault,” “too goodie, goodie” or
what you will, but you can also call them alive and working,
unlike many other dysfunctional family acts who flamed bright and
burned out.
It was brothers Alan, Merrill, Wayne and Jay who started
performing at Disneyland as the Osmond Brothers Quartet. Brother
Donny joined them for the Andy Williams’ TV show in the ‘60s—and
from that on to fame.
Youngest brother Jimmy had
gone a different route, creating his own career as a solo artist,
mainly in Japan. He also developed his own production company and
produced several commercials and shows for TV.
In 1992, along with his brothers, sans Donny, he opened their
Osmond Family Theater in Branson, Missouri, and began a run as one
of that Ozark town’s most successful acts.
To solidify their place in the entertainment world, the Osmond
Family, including sister Marie, received their star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
Today, it is Wayne, Jay and Jimmy who return as The Osmond
Brothers to perform at the Riverside Resort Wednesday, May 19
through Sunday, May 23.
We talked with Jimmy in a phone interview last week. Here’s how it
went:
Q. You guys have been criticized for being wholesome but
you’ve never been rude to audience members or fans like some
entertainers we know have been.
J.O. A lot of entertainers get all these “so-called friends” who
think everything you say is funny—but you’re the only one buying
dinner. You start to lose your perspective. You look at yourself
in the mirror and all you think about is you. It screws you up—and
there’s no way not to be screwed up by the nature of this
business. Jimmy’s been an idiot; Donny’s been an idiot; Marie has
been an idiot. But we’ve all had each other to say, “knock it
off.”
I believe it matters how you treat everybody. You are accountable
for that, especially when we’re blessed to do what we love to do.
It’s important to take time to say hi and sign whatever people
want you to sign. It’s a huge compliment. When performers dismiss
fans after they bought the ticket, I’m blown away. I don’t get
that.
I’ve got a different perspective because I’ve been on both sides
of the camera—working as a producer of events for artists. It’s a
risk because you’re involved with more than the ego of the artist
themselves—you appreciate everyone’s job.
Q. Does being part of a family act help ground you guys
and is there such a thing as sibling rivalry—friendly or
otherwise?
J.O. We fight, of course—actually, we could strangle each other
sometimes. But there’s nobody I’d rather work with or fight for.
We’re still happy with the challenge of making a living together
and we all have our egos in check.
It’s awesome to get to work with them and have that example. I’m
glad I went my own way in the beginning. I think it’s healthy to
try and make it on your own. What was cool was, I had a hit record
before the Brothers did—and I like to rub it in. I was the first
in the family to have a hit record. It was in Japan and I was
five. It still bugs them. They had 50 gold and platinum albums,
but Jimmy got there first.
No matter what happens in our family—in hard times, tragedy and
success—the whole bunch of us still pulled together. We’re the
best of friends. We didn’t have that many other people in our
lives emotionally but we have each other.
Jay is so cool. He’s the guy you can call about anything—”I had a
hit record” and he’s wanting to celebrate your success, not
thinking he wants what I have.
I’m blessed with a lot of people like that in my family. They’re
my buddies.
Q. Do you still have a theater in Branson?
J.O. I used to have three theaters in Missouri. I was lucky to
sell them before the change in the economy. I was down to one
theater, then at the end of the season last year, this cowboy
comes in and offers to buy it—this unknown guy and he paid cash.
I thought, I must be doing something right because there are quite
a few theaters available in town and mine wasn’t even for sale.
But, location, location, location.
Now, I’ve leased a theater so I still have the momentum of
business without having to deal with the overhead.
Q. Speaking of the economy...how are you guys fairing
during these unsettling days?
J.O. The current situation with the economy helped us rediscover
why we still do what we do—being a part of people’s lives and
helping them forget their troubles for a little while. To do this
and still be able to make a living for our family is rewarding.
We perform a lot of concerts and go to different places. We see
people’s faces. We know they’re hurting and we can see how it’s
affecting them. It also affects us and other entertainers.
Nobody’s exempt. We know how hard it is for people to buy tickets
and we take our responsibility very seriously.
But it’s a blessing to be a part of a brand. I have so many
buddies in this business who are struggling, so to be a part of a
brand is a blessing. We’re like food— you know what to expect.
I was part of the deal in putting the Donny & Marie show in Vegas
and they’re doing an unbelievable business because people know
what to expect.
What’s interesting is we’ve had a long-standing deal at the Sun
Coast with the Brothers (act) and I thought we’d be toast with the
Donny & Marie show coming to town. But both of us did better
business. We thought the competition would hurt, but we did
better. Wendy’s and McDonald’s are always on the same corner and
they both do better that way than when they’re farther apart. The
entertainment guy couldn’t understand that we appeal to the
demographic of people who like to gamble. “I don’t get it,” he
said, “but I want you guys back year after year.”
Q. You were part of a reality show “Pop Star to Opera
Star.” Talk about that.
J.O. I just finished that show. We had to learn to sing in a
different language each week and sing in an opera voice. We had
people trained in opera coaching us like Katherine Jenkins. It was
so hard, but it was so much fun.
Q. Talk about the show you’re bringing back to the
Riverside Resort.
J.O. We’ve always enjoyed Laughlin. It’s a relaxed, kick-back fun
time.
One of the segments of our show that gets great response is when
we do a “brothers medley.” We start with the Mills Brothers, then
the Everly Brothers, the Blues Brothers, coming through the
Jackson Five, the Bee Gees and end with the Osmonds. It’s fun. It
takes you clear back and gets everyone singing songs they know.
The Osmond Brothers have recorded over 5,000 songs—not all were
hits, but many are songs that people know. Lately, we’ve been
doing this unplugged thing where we harmonize it. We pick songs
that maybe people haven’t heard in a while, but they struck a
chord in their lives somewhere. They may not be signature songs,
but people know them.
But we also do the hits like “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,”
“One Bad Apple,”—we take people through our career.
We always have fun with crowds, wherever we go. And it’s fun to be
involved in a show like this and hopefully help those in the
audience remember an easier day. We’re lucky to have hit
records—and we don’t take it for granted.
__________________________________________________________________________
THE OSMOND BROTHERS
Riverside, Don's Celebrity Theatre
Wednesday-Sunday, May 19-23, 2010 - 8 p.m.
