Osmond Timeline

 

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Timeline

Early Years

1960's

1970's

1980's
-1980
-1981
-1982
-1983
-1984
-1985
-1986
-1987
-1988
-1989

1990's

2000's

2010's

Questions

1981
1981
An announcement was made by NBC President of Entertainment, Brad Tartikoff, that Marie had been cast as the lead in Army Woman and in a western for NBC-TV.  These projects were disclosed during the annual NBC press tour.  Marie was supposed to portray one of three women inducted into the armed forces. (The Army Woman project never happened for Marie.)

January 1, 1981
Thursday
Marie appeared on The Tonight Show.  Bill Cosby was the host.  She sang Celebrate and Through The Years.

January 16, 1981
Friday
George, Donny, Debbie, and Jimmy leave for Washington, D.C.

January 18, 1981
Sunday

Marie Osmond appeared on Bob Hope's 30th Anniversary which aired on January 18, 1981. She sang Friends and Lovers.

See Video


January 19, 1981
Monday
Gregory William was born to Wayne and Kathy.  He weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces.

January 19, 1981
Monday
Donny and Marie performed special numbers for the Presidential Inauguration Gala.  Frank Sinatra produced the show.

The Osmonds produced the ball at the Pension building and the whole family performed.

Merrill was the associate producer of the opening ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial.  The event featured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir accompanied by the United States Army Band.  It was the first in a four-day series of inaugural activities.


January 20, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds attended the morning ceremonies of President Reagan taking his oath of office.  They also attended the afternoon parade and Wayne joined them for the night concert.

January 20, 1981
Tuesday
According to an article in the Arizona Republic, Marie told the magazine Good Housekeeping that she broke off her engagement with Jeff Crayton because he wanted her to stay home full-time, be a wife and mother, and support his career.  She said the only advice her family gave her was that she should work after she was married in order to complete contract commitments, but Jeff wouldn’t hear of it.  Then it dawned on her that he shouldn’t tell her what to do.

January 21, 1981
Wednesday
The Osmonds attended a reception at the White House with the Reagans.  Afterwards, they flew home on a private jet owned by Carl Linder, president of American Finance Corp.

January 23, 1981
Friday
Marie finished her final taping of the Marie variety show.  Guests included Nell Carter, Bob Hope, and Jimmy.

February 1, 1981
Sunday
Donny performed at the March of Dimes Telethon which was taped at the Osmond Studios.  He sang Don’t Stop For Love.

February 4 –
February 10, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Palace Theater in Columbus, Ohio.

February 14, 1981
Saturday
Jimmy had a skiing accident at Sundance.

February 15, 1981
Sunday
Marie was a guest on Doug Henning’s show.

March 28, 1981
Saturday
The Osmonds performed two shows at the Sun Dome in Sun City West, Arizona.  Donny forgot the words to his solo in I Believe.

March 29, 1981
Sunday
Jimmy goes to Los Angeles from Arizona.

April 2 -
April 15, 1981
The Osmonds opened a two-week engagement at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (without Jimmy).  Jimmy and Olive were to depart from Los Angeles to Japan.  They didn’t make their flight because their passports were being sent to the airlines check-in counter from the Consulates office in San Francisco.  The passports didn’t get there until four minutes after the plane had left.  They caught the next flight to Las Vegas and made a special guest appearance just minutes before the show started.

April 3, 1981
Friday
Jimmy and Olive were in San Francisco bound on their way to a three-month stay in Tokyo.  He completed a 13-week television series which aired during prime time viewing.  He released two singles, Ring Ring and Uncertain.

April 16, 1981
Thursday
Jimmy celebrated his 18th birthday in Tokyo, Japan.  A buffet party was sponsored by his manager and recording company.

April 17, 1981
Friday
The Osmonds opened in Lake Tahoe, NV for a two-week engagements.

April 17, 1981
Friday
Jimmy tapes Let’s Go Young in Japan and sings Ring, Ring.

April 17, 1981
Friday

Jimmy was a guest on the John Davidson Show which was aired on this date.  He sang Ring Ring and a little jingle he had written for a bank.

See Video


April 21, 1981
Tuesday
Jimmy’s single, Ring Ring was released in Japan.

End of April 1981
Marie and Olive went to Old Tuscon, Arizona for a four-week filming of I Married Wyatt Earp to be aired on NBC.

April 30, 1981
Thursday
The Osmonds performed in Lake Tahoe.

May 2, 1981
Saturday
The Osmonds performed a concert in Denver, Colorado and also did a fireside.

May 15, 1981
Friday
Olive returned from Japan and George left for Japan to be with Jimmy.

May 22, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds performed at a fundraiser in Anaheim, California.

May 25, 1981
Friday

Marie Osmond appeared on Bob Hope's All-Star Comedy Birthday Party at West Point which aired on May 25, 1981. She sang a medley of Mister Sandman and Celebration. She also did a sketch with Brooke Shields and Bob Hope on being new cadets at West Point.

See Videos


Summer 1981
Monday
George was in New Orleans to receive the Decency Award from Kiwanis International.

June 1981
Marie went to West Point to tape a Bob Hope Special.

Marie went to Los Angeles to tape a segment for a Disney Salute on CBS.


June 8, 1981
Monday
Jeremy James was born to Donny and Debbie.  He weighed six pounds and 13 ounces.  He was born in Provo.

June 9, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds performed at the Disneyland Hotel for an IBM Convention.

June 12, 1981
Friday
The Osmonds performed at the Disneyland Hotel for an IBM Convention.

June 15, 1981
Monday
Jay and Olive were on set during the filming of Side By Side.

June 23, 1981
Tuesday
Jennifer Lyn was born to Tom and Lyn.

June 24, 1981
Wednesday
Tom and Lyn’s daughter, Jennifer passed away.

June 25, 1981
Thursday
Donny appeared in the North Concourse at Eastwood Mall from 3:00 – 4:00 pm in Niles, Ohio.  Donny appeared on a local television program and visited VIP Entertainment Center.  His tour was arranged by CFM Productions which would bring the Osmonds to Power Auditorium for performances in July.

June 27, 1981
Friday
The Osmonds performed at a Canadian Youth Conference.

June 28, 1981
Saturday
Jay and Denny Crockett flew to Japan to prepare for Jimmy’s final performance, a concert for 5,000 people before Jimmy returned home.

June 29, 1981
Sunday
Marie taped the wedding scene for Side By Side at the Salt Lake City, Temple.

July 1, 1981
Wednesday
Jimmy performed his last concert in Japan.  Jay joined him and played the drums.

July 3, 1981
Thursday
Jimmy returned home from Japan.  Donny surprised him with a brass band that met him at the airport.  The Osmonds were in rehearsals for the July 4th Spectacular at BYU in Provo, Utah.

July 4, 1981
Friday
Osmond Entertainment and Tommy Walker Productions produced a 2-hour Firework Spectacular at Brigham Young University.  Alan organized the first Echos of Freedom Americafest at BYU. Show is televised. Donny comes in on a helicopter. They didn’t rehearse this and they had no spotlight on Donny until he landed. Donny sang Comin’ To America, Marie sang, America, Donny and Marie sang, Back In the USA. The Brothers sang, Dixieland and the whole Osmond Family sang the American Trilogy.  All of the fireworks were synchronized to a musical/narrative sound track.  Over 30,000 people were in attendance inside the stadium.  20,000 balloons were released behind the stage at the end of the show.  The was televised in California and the five state area surrounding Utah.

July 13 -
July 18, 1981
The Osmonds performed in Manvet, NY at the Coachlight Theater.

July 21 -
July 25, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Music Circus in Cohasset, MA.

July 26, 1981
Saturday
Olive went to New York City for meetings with developers and promoters for Mother Osmond’s line of clothing  She had worked for nearly two years with New York clothier, Norman Rae.

July 26, 1981
Saturday
Donny and Marie were at the Pittsburgh airport.

July 27 -
July 29, 1981
The Osmonds performed at Power Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio.

July 29, 1981
Wednesday
An article appeared in the paper about Olive offering a line of cotton sweaters for adults and children by mail order.  Part of the profits from Mrs. O’s sweaters would go to the Osmond Foundation.

July 30, 1981
Thursday
Donny, Marie, and Jimmy were guests on the Dave Patterson Show which aired on this date.

July 31 -
August 1, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Palace Theater in Columbus, Ohio.

August 9, 1981
Sunday
The Osmond family spoke at firesides in Puget Sound, WA.  More than 3,000 people attended and filled three auditoriums to capacity.  Ron Clark stated these firesides would probably be the last ones the Osmonds do together because individual career opportunities and family responsibilities would be difficult to do anymore.

August 12, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds performed at a private convention in San Francisco, CA.

August 26, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds performed in a private convention in Chicago, IL.

August 28 -
August 29, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, CA.

August 31 -
September 5, 1981
The Osmonds peformed at the Music Circus in Sacramento, CA.

September 1981
(Before South Africa Tour)
George and Donny went to mainland China where Donny hosted the first satellite program to come from there.  The San Diego Youth Symphony were the festival’s artists and Donny felt honored to be their guest conductor.  The show was broadcast from Shanghai.  George went on to Peking so he could see and walk the Great Wall.  Donny had to get back to meet the rest of the family for a concert so he stayed in Shanghai to catch a different plane.  He missed it by five minutes and had to be rerouted the long way through Peking, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, and home.  It took him over 60 hours to get back.

(Not sure of exact dates)
Virl did several speaking engagements for the Utah Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped including one at the Internal Revenue Service.

Monday
Virl organized a golf tournament at the Alpine Country Club as a benefit for the Osmond Foundation.  Jay, Jimmy,  and Merrill played in the tournament along with Johnny Miller and Billy Casper.  120 players competed in the Osmond Celebrity Golf Tournament.  Sponsored by the Osmond Foundation, the tournament featured US Open Champions Johnny Miller and Billy Casper.


September 1 –
September 5, 1981
The Osmonds performed in Sacramento, California.

September 7 -
September 16, 1981
South Africa Tour
The Osmonds were supposed to start off in Johannesburg where they would drive to Bophuthatswana where the Sun City resort is located.  However, after an 18 hour flight from New York, they had to land in Capestown because of a foot of snow on the runway.

From Capestown, they went to Sun City for a successful engagement and broke attendance records.  They went to Zulu country and stayed overnight at a lodge.  The next day, they went on a camera safari.  In Zulu country, “warriors” lined up with their spears in hand and headed for Wayne.  They pulled him up from his seat and motioned or him to dance with them.


September 7, 1981
Monday
Marie was a guest on the Merv Griffin Show which aired on this date. She was promoting Side By Side.

September 21, 1981
Monday
The Osmonds flew to Johannesburg and spoke at two firesides at the LDS Church.

September 22, 1981
Tuesday
Scott Merrill was born to Alan and Suzanne.

September 22, 1981
Tuesday
Donny, Marie, and Merrill had a press conference in New York.  Olive and Mary headed for Utah.  George, Wayne, Jay, and Jimmy went to Columbus, OH to get ready for a concert.  Alan flew in from Utah to meet them.

September 22 -
September 25, 1981
The Osmonds performed at a private convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Approximately
September 26, 1981
Donny and Marie flew to Canada to tape a special with Tom Jones.

Merrill went to Washington DC and came back with an assignment to do the tree lighting ceremony at the White House at Christmas.

Jimmy flew back to Japan to do another television series called Lets Go Young.  He also did more recording and appearances.


September 29 -
October 4, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Front Row Music Theater in Cleveland, Ohio.

October 7, 1981
Wednesday
Marie was a guest on the Merv Griffin Show which aired on this date.  She was promoting Side By Side.

October 9 –
October 11, 1981
The Osmonds performed in Merrillville, Indiana.

October 27, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmonds start taping the Osmond Family Holiday Show.

November 6, 1981
Friday
The Osmonds performed at the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix, Arizona.

November 17, 1981
Tuesday
Marie was a guest on AM Los Angeles.

November 25, 1981
Wednesday
Marie taped a segment for Solid Gold.  She sang I’ve Got A Bad Case Of You.

November 26, 1981
Thursday
Donny was in New York at the Macy Parade promoting Little Johnny Jones.

End of
November 1981 or
1st week of December 1981
Marie joined President and Mrs. Reagan in Washington D.C. paying tribute to the USO, it’s 40th Anniversary, and Bob Hope.  Dinner was $2500.00 a plate.  Marie sang God Bless America to 800 dignitaries and was the only invited guest performer to sing.  James E. Bennett, president of the USO commented that Marie was nothing less than spectacular and she helped make the USO 40th Anniversary Gala the historical celebration that it was.

December 1 -
December 6, 1981
The Osmonds performed at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington in the The Osmond Family Holiday Show.

December 11, 1981
Friday
In an article in the Daily Universe, Merrill was named Director of the Osmond Studios.  Alan was in charge of all movie and live entertainment production and Wayne was involved with the business end of the deals and handled much of the business negotiations for the family.

December 11 –
December 23, 1981
Another article appeared in the Provo Herald about the Osmond Family Christmas Festival held at the Osmond Studios.  The Osmonds made their studio available for families to catch the Christmas spirit by ice skating, drinking hot chocolate or cider, and visiting with Santa Claus.  According to Merrill, this was supposed to become an annual event for years to come.  The ice skating rink used in the Donny and Marie Show as moved into the parking lot and was open daily except for Sunday to the public.  Admission was free.  Fire pits were located around the rink and a Christmas tree lot was sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.  The event ran through December 23.

December 12, 1981
Saturday
Donny returned home from Los Angeles.  He had just finished taping the Barbara Mandrell Show.  He sang Step By Step and a gospel version of What A Difference He’s Made In My Life.

December 14, 1981
Monday
Marie was interviewed on PM Magazine on this date.

December 15, 1981
Tuesday
The Osmond Family Holiday Special aired on television on this date.  Tony Geary and Lorna Patterson were the guest stars.

December 18 –
December 19, 1981
The Osmond Brothers opened Disneyland’s Winter Festival. 

December 31, 1981
Thursday
Donny anchored the CBS Happy New Year presentation called Happy Birthday America at the Waldor-Astoria in New York City.  This was a first for Donny. 
   

 

 

 

 

 


 

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