Donny Osmond – Family Survival In The Entertainment Business

This is Alan. I need to comment!

I was somewhat taken back by this video with this open hearted discussions by Donny and my brothers whom I love. It was hard to hear them say those things that we have kept to ourselves for so many years when we were called goody goody, too clean cut, too Mormon, and that we would never make it in show business because of our righteous, moral and Christian, principle driven family image that we had and yet we had the greatest friends and relationships with the biggest and best names in the business and leaders of the world.

I saw and heard what Donny and my brothers said and sometimes it was really hard times but, can I tell you how much fun we all had together! As the oldest of the brothers, we were treated and loved so well by our fans and friends that even Walt Disney, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Led Zepplin, The Queen of England, Ronald Reagan and others commented how much they liked our family. We had nothing to hide or to prove except to be who we were and to be the best entertainers we could become. We worked hard at it and loved it. (Most of it.)

Yes, we would come off stage just sweaty and tired but were well fulfilled by working hard and in receiving the audiences applause and standing ovations. We had to lease Led Zepplin’s sound system because it was the loudest and our audiences all screamed and couldn’t hear us without it! We were told that we were the loudest group on tour in the 70′s because of all the screaming girls! We were also each others best friends! We sang together, worked together, laughed together, cried together, we prayed together, and gave up much of our childhood and our lives to our careers for each other because we found ourselves within a family of love and togetherness that was unlike any that we had ever seen. Yes, we are normal and have our moments but the strong will of a firm yet loving father and the love and support of a saintly mother, we kept balance in our home and lives. I was ready to leave the group and go serve a mission for our church for two years but was told by the Holy spirit after prayer not to; that I was to stay with my brothers and as a family and continue to spread good will and open doors for the missionaries by setting an example as a family to the world. We believe that God’s Plan of life is the family and we were going to never change the way we lived our lives.

We sacrificed for one another and dedicated our lives to the Lord that we might bring joy and happiness to someone in the audience with every show that we did. We prayed before every show that we might touch someones life for the better and show by example the love that we had among us and for them so that maybe someone would want to know the reason for the happiness, joy, peace and love that they saw and felt among us on stage. We had an act but our family of brotherhood and love for one another was no act! It was real and still is very, very strong and true today.

It was hard being the eldest of the group and the so called, “boss”/”leader” with the responsibility of always trying to make sure we were well rehearsed and ready, and that we came up with an idea of something to do each week on the Andy Williams Shows because we were NOT on the show the next week if we didn’t! That alone made us work together and develop individual talents reaching inside to write songs, learn many different musical instruments, dance, develop our personalities and comedy wit with showmanship that others would want to see.

We were not all Donny Osmond’s and never wanted to be but, we were pleased to be his brother as well as Marie’s and we were supportive and had a slogan that we were, “All for one and one for all”, even if we gave up our personal rock and roll careers. We didn’t care who was out front as long as it was an Osmond! I wasn’t even married 24 hours when Father insisted that I leave my wife Suzanne on my honeymoon and fly to Los Angeles with my youngest brother Jimmy to make sure he was well produced on a TV show that he was doing. Yes, we sacrificed for each other all right but so did our Lord Jesus Christ for all of us. He is our example and mentor. He is the way and the reason for all of the long hard working years we gave and why we lived righteously and never succumbed to the temptations of the flesh. Yes, there were opportunities to slip from our moral commitments but we stood against them together and individually with integrity and we tried to always live His ways and honestly worked hard to live it. No, we aren’t perfect but that’s why we came to earth; to learn.

I wouldn’t trade a day of my life with my best friends, my brothers and Marie. And, let’s not forget our two older brothers who had to watch us from the wings because they were deaf. They were just as important as any one of us and they were our heros! And they knew it!

After I posted this video, I went to bed but woke up knowing that I had to come down and share my heart and let everyone know that we honestly have NO REGRETS for the MOST wonderful years we could have ever lived together in the entertainment, recording, and television business world. We were rich, we were poor, we could live happily with very little and still can give and share what we have been blessed with to each other and know that, “where much is given, much is expected”.

I feel our parents are watching us from up above more than entertainers and musicians but, as successful fathers and a Mother Marie, husbands, wife, with our children who are sealed to us and us to them for time and for all eternity. We plan on being together forever! What is that worth? As Mother would say, “More than tongue can tell.” We spent our lives in Show Business but it was NOT our Life! We don’t take any gold records or STUFF with us after we leave this world but, we DO take wonderful memories with broken hearts and contrite spirits and the oh, so many blessings and friends that we made and love.

What we do take with us are our solid marriages, our individual families and the greatest memories and experiences that anyone could ever have had in this life with each other standing side by side, just as we sang with our first theme song. We may have been a little bit country, and a little bit Rock and Roll, but we are all a whole lot better people for having had the tests and trials that we had as well as the success and recognition that was profound. We could NOT have done it as individuals as well as we did do it as a family; an Eternal and a Forever Family!

Alan Osmond