The Osmonds are an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid- 1970s. The family consisting of 6 brothers and sister Marie, performed in different variations from the late 60s on. They became synonymous with wholesome, perky and saccharine family friendly entertainment, all with perfect toothy smiles, with Donny & Marie in particular becoming the standout duo. As such they became one of the shows and Mork's favourite references, drawing on their image, or flipping it.
About the Osmonds[]
The Osmond Brothers began as a barbershop quartet consisting of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy, both of whom enjoyed success as solo artists. With the addition of Donny, the group became known as the Osmonds; performing both as teen idols and as a soft rock band, their peak lasted from 1971 to 1975. Their only sister Marie, who rarely sang with her brothers at that time, launched a successful career in 1973, both as a solo artist and as Donny's duet partner. By 1976, the band was no longer producing hit singles; that year, they transitioned into television with Donny & Marie, a popular variety show that ran until 1979. The Osmonds have sold over 100 million records worldwide.
Donny, and to a lesser extent, Marie and Jimmy, soon began to emerge as solo artists. Jimmy was becoming "big in Japan", and in 1972 had a #1 hit in the United Kingdom with "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool". Marie, then 13 years old, hit #1 on the US country chart in 1973 with "Paper Roses" (a song originally recorded by Anita Bryant a decade before). Donny had a string of pop hits with covers of earlier teen-pop songs, including "Go Away Little Girl" (#1, originally by Steve Lawrence), "Puppy Love" (#3, a Paul Anka composition) and "The Twelfth of Never" (#8, originally recorded by Johnny Mathis). From 1971 to 1976, he had 12 Top 40 hits, including 5 in the Top 10; for most of these, the Osmonds were still performing as a full band, but backing and giving star billing to Donny for songs on which he sang lead.
By now the family was touring, recording, creating and producing for five technically separate artists: The Osmonds, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond and Jimmy Osmond — plus Donny and Marie had begun recording duets and had hits with "I'm Leaving It Up to You" (#4) and "Morning Side of the Mountain". By 1976, though, the group's record sales were softening; The Osmonds poured themselves into a new venture: the older brothers began producing The Donny & Marie Show which was a hit on ABC from 1975 to 1979. When the show was cancelled in 1979, the Osmonds were taken by surprise, as they had believed that the show would be renewed.
The Osmonds, along with Barbra Streisand, rank among the poorest performers in terms of having their hits of the 1970s survive in recurrent rotation; classic hits and oldies stations rarely play any of their music, The Osmond family as a whole ranked the most neglected musical act of the classic hits era, from 1970 to 1994.
Mork's Multiple References[]
- Yes Sir, That's My Baby - One of Mork's money making schemes posited to be able to get the 10k to buy his baby is selling dental floss to the toothy Osmonds.
- Young Love - Mork jokingly introduces himself to Holly as Donny Osmond, the ultimate safe guy for tweens and teenagers at the time.
- Mindy, Mindy, Mindy - When the Elder asks Mork what he will do with the clone of Mindy he will make him when the real Mindy returns, Mork suggests (due to Mindy's perkiness) he could sell the clone off to the Osmonds as a spare in case Marie gets trampled at a family reunion.
- Mork and the Family Reunion - Mork makes a crack about the Osmond siblings, Donnie & Marie's 'rivalry' over the same hairdo.
- Three the Hard Way - The show does an entire spoof of the Osmonds, with The Hammonds, complete with Donna & Mario (rather than Donnie & Marie), they are mentioned in the show, and though the scene where Mork meets them was cut for time, it is available on You Tube (see episode page).
- Present Tense - When Mindy is looking for thing she and Mork can do together in their week alone, Mork suggests they could watch the new TV show where the Osmonds play the cannibalistic Donner Party.