Donny Osmond reflects on the "ups and downs" of showbiz and remembers his final conversation with Michael Jackson

In this episode of Are The Kids Alright, Donny Osmond reflects on his childhood spent in the spotlight and the rough transition to being a successful adult in show business. He also shares his journey of overcoming anxiety and stage fright, as well as his recent recovery from a paralysis scare.

Video Transcript

DONNY OSMOND: Show business is wrought with ups and downs. It's a roller coaster ride. And if you depend on the ups, the downs will kill you.

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- What is your name?

DONNY OSMOND: Donny.

- Donny?

DONNY OSMOND: Yes, sir.

- Well how old are you?

DONNY OSMOND: Five.

- Five? And you sing along with your brothers, huh?

DONNY OSMOND: Yes, sir. So I started singing around three, but professionally at five. My brothers first got started. I was just a little teeny kid. I was watching them on the "Andy Williams Show". And I thought, oh that looks like a lot of fun. I wanted to sing. I wanted to be part of that band. And I finally became part of the band. But I had no idea how hard it was. [INAUDIBLE]

We were in the studio constantly. And I hated it. But I'm so grateful for all those hours that we spent in that rehearsal hall. And Andy would say, we want you to play the pianos next week. And then he'd say, we're doing a Christmas show. And we want you guys to ice skate. Never been on ice skates before. But we learned in two weeks. We'd learn how to ice skate and do this whole routine.

- One bad apple. Don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.

DONNY OSMOND: Oh, give me one more try before you give up on love. And they called it puppy love. It was exhilarating. It was euphoric to hit the stage and all these thousands of girls are screaming your name. What guy wouldn't want that? In fact, this funny story. I had recorded "Puppy Love". Now I sang it what, three, four times in the studio? And we released the record. It's being constantly played on the radio. All these teenage girls are listening to it every second of the day. They know it like the back of their hand.

I sang it three times. So we come on stage and the intro starts, ba, da, da, da. And the screaming. It's like crazy. The audience goes berserk. And I forgot the words. And I'm making it all up. And nobody knew the difference. There was so many screams. Nobody knew I forgot the words. So when you say, what a strange world to be in, no. It was an exciting world. It got strange after a period of time when I wanted to change and evolve. But at the time, guys, oh my goodness. It was exciting.

- Ooh. I gave you my heart.

DONNY OSMOND: I mean, before I joined the Osmond Brothers, Marie and I, we'd play together, laugh together, cry together, you name it. We were just inseparable. And then when I joined the band when I was seven, it kind of separated the Donny and Marie team. And then when she came back and started the "Donny and Marie Show", it was like perfect friends coming back together again. It was like love again. It was just-- because we worked so hard. I mean, think about it. The amount of music we did was about an album every week. And then the comedy, and then the concert spots, and then it was nonstop work.

So I would protect her, she would protect me, and we did our best.

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I dated her for 3 and 1/2 years secretly. I had to because I had to take care of myself. And I was giving my life to everyone [INAUDIBLE]. But now I needed to take care of myself. We got pictures and letters of Donny Osmond record burning parties. All these fans would get together with all their albums and light them on fire. I'm not making this up. It happened. And it's all because I got married. They broke my records because I wasn't available anymore. Can you imagine what that did not just to me, but to Debbie my wife? That's what the decline of everything took place, the decline of the Donny and Marie, the decline of Donny Osmond, the decline of the Osmond Brothers.

But it was the best thing for me personally because I had started my family. I found true love. And it really gave me a sense of normalcy. Because I started to take care of myself. So I've seen a lot of my friends in this business, a lot of my colleagues, lose it. One of the last times I talked to Michael Jackson, because he and I were buddies. And he goes-- yes he did some really strange things at the end of his life. But I knew him in a whole different way because we were friends at 13. The similarities between the two families are amazing.

We're both the seventh child of nine children, our mothers' birthdays are on the same day. I mean, it just keeps going, and going, and going. And Mike and I would just laugh our heads off and have the greatest time in the world.

But he called me one time. And it's when he was having a lot of problems. And the phone rings and I hear, Donny. I said, hello? Donny? I said, Mike. He said, hi, Mike. I said, where are you? He said, I can't tell you. I said, Mike. Come on. Talk to me. Where are you? And he said, I'm in Phoenix. But please don't tell anybody I'm here because I escaped LA, I rented one of these big tour buses, I got my kids, I just had to get out for a few days. I said, Mike, you're a nine hour drive from my home in Utah. I want you to get in that bus, I want you to drive to my place, I want your kids to swim with my kids, I want to bring you a little normalcy to your life.

And he said, I really need that right now. And he never took me up on it. And that was the last time we talked. The realization of seeing my colleagues fail in a personal way, I learned a lot just by observing and watching people. When I lost my career in the '80s, it was horrible. I mean, I can't find the words to tell you what the feeling was to be rejected after selling out stadiums and all this stuff and then playing half filled high school gymnasiums. I mean, it's just horrible. So that's what started the initial process of anxiety.

I mean, I couldn't get arrested. Couldn't get a record deal, nothing, until a song by the name of "Soldier of Love" came along. Well "Soldier of Love" hit, "Sacred Emotion" becomes a hit. And then I get this offer to do "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". And it's just taken off like crazy. And I'm in Minneapolis. It's standing room only. You can't get a ticket to see me in Joseph because it's always sold out. You'd think that would fix anything, right? It just the opposite. Because now, I've got to be perfect. Because if I'm not, I'm going to lose it again.

And they called half hour showtime. My hands start getting clammy. And at 15 minutes to showtime they announce, I start shaking. And anyone who's had severe anxiety can relate to this. And finally about 10 minutes before the show, I'm throwing things in my dressing room. I said, get the understudy out. Get him ready because I can't go on stage. My wife happened to be in Minneapolis that day. She said, do me a favor and do the audience a favor. Why don't you go out there tonight and just do an average show? Just do an average show. And it gave me permission to just be myself. Best show I ever did.

And over those years, which were horrible, I've learned to just forget myself. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to fall. All you got to do is pick yourself up and start again.

Just before COVID hit, as I was on stage, I couldn't feel my legs, couldn't feel my arms, but I did the show anyways. Immediately after that show was over, I go into the operating room and they fused my back, my lower back, and put new disks in my neck. It was a scary time in my life. I thought I'd never walk. And I can't tell you the amount of pain through physical therapy that I went through, not just to walk, but to dance full out, which I'm doing out here in Harrah's every night.

No, I never had a traditional normal childhood. My normal, a lot of people wish they could have had my normal. But it's wrought with a lot of potholes and speed bumps. And if you can weather that storm with some normalcy, as much normalcy as you could possibly have, showbusiness is a great business.

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