Wayne Osmond

American musician (born 1951)

Musician
singer
multi-instrumentalist

Years active1962–2019^[1]Spouse

Kathlyn White

(m. 1974)

Children5

Melvin Wayne Osmond (born August 28, 1951) is a retired American musician and singer. He is the second oldest of the original Osmond Brothers singers and the fourth oldest of the nine Osmond children.

The Osmonds

Starting in 1958, Wayne and three of his brothers (Alan, Merrill, and Jay in their respective age orders) began singing as a barbershop quartet. They were later discovered in 1961 by Jay Emerson Williams, the father of Andy Williams, at a performance at Disneyland which was being filmed for the Disneyland After Dark episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. In 1962, the four Osmonds were cast over a seven-year period on NBC's The Andy Williams Show, a musical variety program. Each of these four Osmond brothers were also cast in nine episodes of the 1963–1964 ABC Western series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, with Wayne in the role of young Leviticus Kissel.

In the band's rock formation, Wayne played guitar.^[2] Wayne was found to have perfect pitch.^[2]

His last intended appearance with the Osmonds was October 13, 2018, although he made an additional appearance with his brothers a year later as a birthday present to their sister, Marie.^[3]

Personal life

Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the son of Olive May (née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007). On December 13, 1974, Wayne married Kathlyn White from Bountiful, Utah, a former Miss Davis County Fair and Miss Utah of 1974. They have five children, three daughters and two sons. In the 1990s, Osmond moved to Branson, Missouri. In 1997, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was successfully treated, at the expense of his hearing; the treatment damaged his cochlea, leaving Wayne nearly deaf. A stroke in 2012 left him unable to play guitar.^[2] Like the rest of his family, he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Discography

References

^ Amy Argetsinger (November 30, 2014). "A brief musical history of the Osmonds in 13 songs". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Benson, Lee (December 27, 2018). "They're still the Osmond Brothers after all these years". Deseret News. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "George and Olive's legacy: Osmonds still standing on principles". Deseret News. December 30, 2018.