Fun Facts About Donny Osmond – FamilySearch

I saw this earlier today on FamilySearch – Fun Facts About Donny Osmond: https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/donny-osmond/. It’s a follow-up to Renowned Entertainer Donny Osmond to Speak at RootsTech London – FamilySearch May 28, 2019

Attention, Osmond Fans: Donny Osmond will be joining RootsTech London! Osmond will grace the stage on Saturday, 26 October, at 11 a.m. To help you get to know this exciting guest, here are 3 facts about Donny Osmond.

Branches of the Osmond family tree can be traced back to the early 1100s

Osmond and his family are very proud of their family tree. In fact, they have published an entire website—The Osmond Family Organization—dedicated to their family history.

The majority of the Osmond family tree originates in the United Kingdom. In fact, Osmond calls the UK his second home. BBC ONE Wales premiered a two-part special called Donny Osmond Coming Home where local genealogists traced his Merthyr Tydfil ancestors and Welsh roots clear back to 1585.

He and his brothers also performed for the Queen of England at the Royal Variety Performance in 2003.

Osmond’s music career spans over 5 decades

During his time in the entertainment industry, specifically the music industry, Osmond has earned 33 gold records, recorded 61 albums, and sold well over 100 million albums worldwide. In fact, Osmond is currently working on his 62nd album.

Throughout his illustrious music career, Osmond has shared the stage with a wide variety of artists all across the globe. In 2007 Osmond performed alongside the likes of Elton John, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Kanye West, and Fergie at the Concert for Diana at the then-newly-built Wembley Stadium in London in honor of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

The concert was broadcast to 140 different countries, reaching an audience of approximately 500 million. When tickets went on sale in late 2006, all 22,500 tickets sold out in just 17 minutes. An additional 63,000 people showed up the day of. Osmond also collaborated with rapper Lil Yachty in August of 2018 to record a jingle and music video for Chef Boyardee.

Osmond has also performed onstage with Cher (with the Osmond Brothers), Susan Boyle, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Stevie Wonder, Glen Campbell, and Jim Brickman. The Osmonds were also featured on the UK album Ultimate Boy Bands alongside *NSYNC, The Monkees, The Jackson 5, Backstreet Boys, and Boyz II Men.

Osmond also took his musical skills to the stage. He starred in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which ran for 6 years—during which time Osmond headlined more than 2,000 performances. Osmond also starred on Broadway as Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

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Alongside his music career, Osmond has also had quite the TV and movie career

Osmond’s first TV appearance was on The Andy Williams Show when he was just 5 years old! This launched his career in the entertainment industry. Since then, Osmond has appeared on a number of television shows, including headlining a variety show with his sister Marie.

The Donny and Marie Show made the siblings the youngest stars to host their own variety show. The show premiered on January 23, 1976, and saw guests such as Chuck Norris, David Copperfield, Andy Griffith, Charo, Dick Van Dyke, Tina Turner, and Merle Haggard. In 1977 the Osmonds hosted the television debut of the first Star Wars characters.

In addition to The Donny and Marie Show, Osmond has been seen on Sesame Street, The Love Boat, Johnny Bravo, The King of Queens, Hannah Montana, and Friends. Osmond has also made multiple appearances on Dancing with the Stars. His first appearance was as a contestant in 2009 where he, along with professional Kym Johnson, won the mirror ball trophy. Since 2009 Osmond has been back as both a guest performer and a guest judge.

More recently Osmond shocked the internet when it was revealed that he was the man behind the Peacock on the hit US TV show The Masked Singer’s  inaugural season.

Osmond’s movie career started in 1978 with Goin’ Coconuts alongside his sister Marie. Both appeared as themselves. Just 20 years later Osmond lent his voice to the Disney hit, Mulan. Osmond became the singing voice of Captain Li Shang for the now classic song “I’ll Make a Man Out Of You,” which has been viewed on the official Disney YouTube channel well over 44 million times and listened to on Spotify alone over 118 million times.

Since the success of Mulan, Osmond has been seen in the movie adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Bob the Builder: Built to be Wild, and College Road Trip.

Osmond was last seen on the RootsTech stage in 2015, and we are thrilled that he will be joining London RootsTech as well. Check out Rootstech London to register today or for travel and accommodations information.