One Bad Apple, One Extraordinary Life. Alan Osmond Dies At 76

Alan Osmond, nan eldest of nan performing Osmond brothers, has died astatine nan property of 76 aft a 40 twelvemonth conflict pinch Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He passed distant connected nan evening of April 20 astatine his home, pinch his woman Suzanne and each 8 of his sons by his bedside. The Osmond family confirmed nan news successful a connection to nan world. 

Born successful Ogden, Utah, he was nan 3rd of 9 children of George and Olive Osmond, but nan oldest to perform. The family enactment began erstwhile Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay formed a barbershop quartet arsenic young boys, primitively to raise money for proceeding aids for their 2 older brothers, Virl and Tom, who were deaf.

The group were spotted singing astatine Disneyland which lead to their capacity connected The Andy Williams Show

Their large break came done appearances connected The Andy Williams Show, which made nan family a family sanction crossed America and yet nan world. Younger siblings Donny, Marie and Jimmy each joined complete time, pinch Donny and Marie going connected to prolong solo careers that person lasted to nan coming day.

Alan co-wrote immoderate of nan group’s best-known songs, including nan 1971 chart-topper One Bad Apple and Crazy Horses, which amazed critics who had pigeonholed nan group arsenic a clean-cut popular act. Relentless mentation earned them nan nickname nan ‘One Take Osmonds’, kid labour laws constricted their on-set hours, truthful they rehearsed astatine location until they had it perfectly correct conscionable earlier nan cameras rolled.

Alan battled his information and said opening to raise consciousness for MS

He was diagnosed pinch primary-progressive aggregate sclerosis successful 1987, aft he began tripping unexpectedly connected shape and was incapable to raise his hand. Unlike nan much communal relapsing-remitting shape of nan disease, primary-progressive MS involves a dependable diminution without periods of recovery,  yet Alan continued to speak openly astir his information and threw himself into raising consciousness of it. As he battled nan condition, he was encouraged by nan motto, ‘I whitethorn person MS, but MS does not person me!’. 

When his boy David was diagnosed pinch MS successful 2005, he went from a promising performing profession to a wheelchair almost overnight truthful begetter and boy faced nan illness together. Their nationalist determination to support going, and to usage their floor plan to do unthinkable activity to item nan condition, earned some of them nan T.K. McCarthey Silver Hope Award from nan National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Donny Osmond paid tribute to some of them during MS Awareness Week, describing their conflict arsenic courageous.

He is survived by Suzanne, their 8 sons, 30 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.