The patriarch of the 1960s and '70s country-pop group the Osmonds, George Osmond bore primary responsibility for guiding that outfit into the limelight. Born in 1917 in Star Valley, UT, Osmond -- a devout, lifelong member of the Mormon Church -- served in World War II, married Olive Davis, and led two overseas missions for the Latter Day Saints before settling in Ogden, UT, and pursuing careers as a postman, a real estate broker, and an insurance salesman, meanwhile grooming his musically oriented children for superstardom on the side.
George began by pooling the talents of sons Alan, Wayne, Jay, and Merrill; these four started singing together as a barbershop quartet at various county fairs and theme parks in 1959. Though Lawrence Welk rejected their bid for an appearance on his show in 1962, a subsequent trip to Disneyland and an impromptu concert there led to regular singing gigs at that park. Within a few months, this caught the attention of Andy Williams, who signed the outfit as a regular act on his then-nascent variety series. In time, two of George and Olive's other children -- Donny Osmond and Little Jimmy Osmond -- grew up and joined the group; the six-member outfit ascended to national fame in the early '70s, on the heels of the similar "family-based" groups the Jackson 5 and the Partridge Family. The Osmonds scored a best-selling series of albums and singles over the course of several years. The family daughter, Marie Osmond, never officially joined her brothers, but often recorded with sibling Donny, and in fact co-headlined a variety series with him on ABC from 1976 through 1979. She subsequently ascended to superstardom as a solo country & western act.
Following the success of their children, George and Olive Osmond co-founded a nonprofit organization, The Osmond Foundation, which subsequently evolved into The Children's Miracle Network and worked to support children's hospitals. George Osmond died of natural causes in Provo, UT, in November 2007. He was 90.