GEORGE OSMONDGeorge Osmond, who died on 6 November, 2007, was the father of the famous Osmond family who, as their manager, oversaw their rise to become one of the biggest pop groups in the world.He was born in Star Valley, Wyoming, on 13 October, 1917, and was raised as a Mormon – he would later serve missions for the Mormon church in Hawaii and the UK. His parents were of English and Welsh descent.After serving in the Second World War he married Olive May Davis, who had been working as a secretary in Utah, in December 1944. Mr Osmond worked in insurance then founded a real estate company.The Osmond’s first two children, Virl and Tom, were born virtually deaf. Against doctors’ advice the couple had another seven children, all of whom were born without health issues.Mr Osmond trained sons Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay to sing as a barbershop quartet and they began performing at Disneyland in California. After seeing their act at the theme park, Andy Williams invited them to perform with him and they made regular appearances on his television show in the early 1960s.Afteryounger brother Donny joined the group they began recording and had their breakthrough hit with One Bad Apple which spent five weeks at Number One in 1971. Mr Osmond put his business career on hold and relocated the family to California to maximise their chances of success.Throughout the early ’70s, The Osmonds sold millions of records on both sides of the Atlantic, both as a group and with Donny, Marie and baby brother Jimmy branching out as solo artists. Their early music was often compared to the Jackson 5, but later they moved onto rock with the 1972 album Crazy Horses.At the height of ‘Osmondmania’, Donny and Marie had their own television variety show and there was also a cartoon series based on the group.Under their father’s guidance, they were always marketed as the cleanest-living of pop idols within the boundaries of their devout faith, despite the adulation of many a young fan.George and Olive Osmond seta children’s health charity, in the 1980s. Olive, who George described as "the heart and soul" of the family, died in 2004. They were both survived by their nine children, plus innumerable grandchildren and great-grandchildren, some of whom are performers themselves.Speaking about his father just after his death, Donny Osmond said: "He had determination and dedication to be successful, and he always questioned whether he was or not. But I think he knows now how successful he was because you can't measure success by popularity; you measure success by how you feel about yourself. He had both. He was a man who came from nothing – and now the world knows his name."
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