Even before their variety show, which aired from 1976 to 1979, Donny and Marie Osmond were no strangers to show biz. Donny began his singing career at just 5 years old, singing “You are my Sunshine,” on The Andy Williams Show in 1963. That same year, 3 year old Marie also made her debut on the show, though she didn’t often sing with her five older siblings, who were lumped together as The Osmond Brothers (Alan, Jay, Merrill, Wayne and Donny).
Over the next 50 years, Donny and Marie both found success across the boards, from singing to acting to writing bestsellers. They now perform a show together in Las Vegas, though they are currently touring the country for their Donny and Marie Christmas show.
On December 18 at 7:30 p.m., they will be performing at the Scottrade Center (1401 Clark), singing classic holiday songs, as well as their own classics from years past. Before their concert, Marie talked about what it was like growing up as an Osmond, her career, and her annual Christmas tour with Donny.
This interview was shortened and edited for publication.
As someone who has three older brothers, I have to ask you: what was it like growing up with eight brothers?
Do you have any sisters?
I don’t.
Well, then you feel my pain!
[Laughing] Yes, I think I do. Did your brothers ever pick on you?
It’s kind of like having four kids or eight kids—it’s still a lot of kids. So whether you have three brothers or eight brothers, it’s still a lot of brothers, right? So, you probably are like me in the sense that you have nice relationships with them now that you’re older. I think time fixes all of those childhood things that made you go, “Really?” [Laughing] No, I have awesome brothers.
I guess mine aren’t so bad either. [Marie laughs] Did you feel like you had to go into show business since five of your brothers had?
No, I made a decision. I was part of a family, [and there was] that “the only sister can sing too, folks,” that kind of thing. But really, I made a conscious decision to join the group. Coming from a famous family, you know that you might get that first shot, but to maintain it would require work. I saw how hard they worked and I had to make that decision if I really wanted to focus in and make it my career. I did and I’m very grateful for it.
What was it like trying to strike out on your own when you were just 12?
Well, I felt like an underachiever, you know. [Laughs] No, I actually started very young. I was 3 when I did my first show, and I did lots of shows in Japan and Sweden. I performed as kind of a novelty. Really, to make it a professional career, I decided about age 11 ½, and by the time I was 12 ½ I was in Nashville recording “Paper Roses.”
“Paper Roses” is a beautiful song…but the lyrics seem a little mature for a 12-year-old, with the talk of broken hearts and lovers. Did you have any hesitation about singing the song back then?
No, I was a pretty mature 12 year old. I had seen a lot of the world by the time I was 12. I think I grew up pretty fast. I mean, I was 14 when I started The Donny and Marie Show and I look at my 14-year-old self and I think, “My God, I don’t know how I did it.” But we did. I was around a lot of adults, never went to public school, so I grew up quickly.
How do you think things would have been different if you’d waited until you were older to begin your career?
I think you can always look at the what-ifs, but I felt like that was the moment my brothers were having success. I chose country music over pop because I liked how they treated women in country music. I looked at Loretta Lynn and people like that who had a family and a career. I feel blessed today; I’m a female who has survived and worked consistently for five decades. I feel extremely blessed that I have had such a long career. Would I have waited longer? No. I think that God has a plan, and everything falls into place and things happen for a reason. You can look back and go, “Oh, could I have been a normal kid?” I think there’s a lot of things that my children have that are normal, but I’m very blessed and I wouldn’t change anything in my life.
That’s always good to hear, that you don’t have regrets.
Yeah, I think too many times people, they look back and say, “I don’t like that I came from that,” and I think, “How can you say that? That’s a part of what made you who you are.” And I always seek gratitude in those things, you know?
Oh, yeah. That’s very true. Switching gears, I know you’re close in age with Donny. Is that why you paired up with him and not a different brother, to do the Donny and Marie Show?
Let it go on the record that I am younger [laughs]. No, I don’t know. I think, though we are close in age, Donny was doing solo things separate from the brothers. I was doing solo things with “Paper Roses.” Donny was in the studio recording, and he couldn’t get a certain harmony part and so I went in and put on vocals. With “Leaving it All Up to You” it was just one of those things that happened that was an accident…a good accident, I guess. But Donny and I had teamed up in the show together, and did songs before we recorded together.
And now, decades later, you’re still singing together.
Well, you know, we didn’t perform together for 28 years. I went off and had my hits, and he had his hits, and I performed on Broadway and Donny ended up doing Broadway, but we really didn’t work together after the initial Donny and Marie Show. We teamed up together here in Vegas, but hadn’t recorded an album together in more than 28 years. So it was really crazy when our single went to number one—the song, “It’s a Beautiful Life”—but we were supposed to be here in Vegas for six weeks together, and we are now moving on our sixth year, so I guess we have chemistry. I tell people it’s kind of like an acid peel, but we have chemistry [laughs].
Indeed, you do. So I think it’s really impressive that you and your family have remained so respectable in this industry. I mean, we all know how things can turn out with child celebrities. Why do you think your family has been able to avoid all of that?
There are a lot of wonderful celebrities, too. Unfortunately, we hear about the bad ones. The other night, Olivia Newton-John came to the show and tweeted about it. There are some lovely people out there, there really are. But I think we had great parents and a strong belief structure. And I think the accountability…the entitlement was something my parents would never allow. And we looked at our work as work, and we came home to what my parents called reality and the family relationships and things that are important, long-term.
So, we had our multi-million dollar studio that we built in Utah to do the Donny and Marie Show, and all the press was coming the next morning and my father saw the bill for a cleaning crew, and he said, “I’m not paying that, I have nine children.” So we were all scrubbing toilets and vacuuming and cleaning. The show was set to be [translated] into seventeen languages and I thought, “Wait a minute, I’m a celebrity,” and then I thought, “No, I’m not. I’m my father’s daughter, get to work.” I just had great parents. They were really terrific.
We need more of those these days, definitely.
I think that our children, especially with—and I actually wrote about it a little bit in my new book, The Key is Love (2013)—I think that we have a tendency, especially if we come from a broken home or where there’s divorce, where you think, “Oh, I need my child to love me.” And so you buy them things. I said on Oprah that you cannot buy your child’s self-esteem, that’s something they have to earn, and that’s what my parents taught me. I think when we buy our children things, we take away their self-esteem of earning them. I think that they don’t learn to. I have a very hard work ethic, it’s crazy and I’m so grateful, and my children have really strong work ethics and I’m grateful for that as well.
People feel that they can relate to you. What sparks that determination you have to help others through their struggles?
You know, I don’t know. I was one of the first people to share postpartum depression; I was one of the first celebrities to talk about it. But I felt it was such an interesting thing that women hid, and I thought, “Why do we compete with each other as women, instead of completing each other?” Maybe it comes from not having a sister, where we have a sense of sisterhood and a gratitude for it that maybe somebody else wouldn’t as much. And I pondered that. I love helping people. I’m one of the founders of Children’s Miracle Network. My new company that I’m associating—I’ve been asked to endorse millions of things, but I only endorse things that I feel will really make a difference in peoples’ lives, and the new company that I’m with is Wise Food and they donate and help people be prepared. They just sent out over 100,000 meals to the Philippines and I have been telling people, “Be prepared.” And look what just happened again, not only Sandy, but the tornados that hit. I just like helping people think outside of the box and loving and taking care of each other. Maybe it comes from not having a sister, but I don’t know. What do you feel?
I feel the same way, but maybe it’s partly because I’m the youngest, too. I feel the need to help people. You’d think it would be the other way around, but I was always taken care of, so now I want to take care of people.
Yeah, you know that could be it, although my brothers were always high maintenance. They can’t do anything…they can’t cook, they can’t sew.
Well, maybe that’s it. Growing up with all the brothers and having to take care of them.
I do think there’s a sense in womanhood that we love to give back and do. And maybe that’s why. In the books that I have written, I have shared parts of my life. People think that I’ve downloaded my whole life; I have not. I still have many parts of my life that are private, but I do feel like sharing those things that I feel make us all human. You know, it’s the human experience.
Definitely. And there should always be parts of your life that are your life, and that aren’t anybody’s business, but it’s great that you feel like it’s okay to share the parts that could help other people.
That’s how I feel. There are many parts of my life that I don’t share, for my children’s sake and my husband and myself, you know those types of things.
Could you tell me a little about your upcoming tour with Donny?
This is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We started the Christmas tour the year my son passed away. I told Donny, “I don’t want to be home. I’m going to go do a Christmas tour,” and he said, “Well, I’ll do it with you. It’s been a long time.” And we put the show together very quickly and opened it on Broadway. And the response was so crazy that the next year we made it even more, total Christmas. It’s a wonderful show. I think you’ll really have a good time. But it has evolved to what I would call a real experience. I think you can always buy gifts for people, but you won’t remember what you got 10 years ago. You will remember taking your family to see something or some event, and those are the kind of experiences that I think are worth the cost, especially in today’s economy. It’s time together. You just never know what’s going to happen in life. The thing about “Donny and Marie” is that it’s generational. The show has something for every age group; it’s a really fast, fun show. You’ll have a good time. I promise everybody will leave with the holiday spirit by the end of it.
I didn’t realize that your son’s death was the inspiration for doing this tour.
Well, I didn’t want to be home for Christmas. And it was a really difficult time. I had done a Christmas show by myself, and with other people like the Oak Ridge Boys. I’d been associated with incredible Christmas shows, not just The Donny and Marie Christmas shows back on television, but we were involved in the Andy Williams Christmas shows. I did the Perry Como Christmas shows and also I did many Christmas shows with Bob Hope. As a matter fact, I did the very last one he did over in Saudi Arabia, for his last USO tour. I’ve been associated with incredible Christmas shows throughout my life, and I think it’s a wonderful season to give back.
Do you do a lot of traditional Christmas songs, or is there more variety?
Oh, you’ll see. It’s not just Christmas either; we’ll do all kinds of things. You will hear and see incredible footage, and it’s not just remembering the past, but it’s about moving into the future. You’ll see many styles, too. I have kind of an odd voice. I can sing, not just country and pop and jazz, but I sing soft soprano and also opera and so we’ll be doing many different forms of Christmas music. I think it’s fun. The clothes are fun, the dancing is great. We have wonderful dancers. It’s very much for the audience, too; you’ll feel connected.
It’s amazing how many 20-year-olds and people in their 30s too, are coming to see Donny and Marie now. It’s really fun! Here in Vegas, we’ve been voted the number one show. And it’s great to hear these young kids say, “Well, I know my parents liked them, but who are they?” And they leave really loving the show, and it’s nice to see that. We have a lot of girls your age that will bring their mothers to shows and it’s so fun to ask, “Did you like the show?” and they say, “We had a great time!” It’s really cute.
We’re thrilled that you’re bringing your show to St. Louis.
You know, St. Louis is such a great city. I’ve done a lot of different shows there. I was one of the last people that got to fly through the Arch.
Yeah? I didn’t even know they let people do that.
It was in a helicopter during a big 4th of July celebration. I love it there. I love the food, I love the shopping, I just love, love, love it there.
For more information on the Donny and Marie Christmas tour, or to purchase tickets, visit scottradecenter.com.
