Jay Osmond
Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is a member of the Osmond family of performers. He was the drummer for the family quintet The Osmonds and continues to perform with older brother Merrill Osmond under the Osmonds banner.
Jay Osmond | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jay Wesley Osmond March 2, 1955 Ogden, Utah |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1962–2019[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Kandilyn Harris Osmond (m. 1987- 2011) Karen Randall (m. 2014) |
| Children | Jason George Eric Clinton Marcus Jay |
Life and career
Jay Wesley Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the sixth son of Olive May (née Davis; 1925 – 2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917 – 2007). Four of the Osmonds were cast over a seven-year period on NBC's The Andy Williams Show. They also appeared in nine episodes of the 1963-1964 ABC western television series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, with Jay in the role of young Lamentations Kissel. The series starred then 12-year-old Kurt Russell on a wagon train headed to the American West.[2]
In addition to drums, he shared lead vocals on the group's hit "Crazy Horses," a hard rock song that fit Jay's more guttural voice better than usual lead singers Merrill or Donny; he occasionally contributed lead vocals to other tracks, usually ones with a harder-driving sound, such as "One Way Ticket to Anywhere" and "Having a Party." Jay continued with Merrill and Wayne (later joined by Jimmy) as a member of the Osmond Brothers when the group shifted to country music in the 1980s.
Personal life
Jay married Kandilyn Harris on August 25, 1987. They were divorced in 2011. Together they have three sons: Jason George (born on September 23, 1988), Eric Clinton (born on January 2, 1991) and Marcus Jay (born on January 8, 1996). Jay's oldest son Jason married Lauren Merrill on March 11, 2011 and they have one son, Grayson George, born 2013, and two daughters Roslyn Renee born 2015 and Charlotte Dee born 2018. Jay married Karen Randall in May 2014. His step-granddaughter London Brise Mortensen (born on October 14, 2006) was accidentally killed on September 18, 2014 at age 7.
Like the rest of his family, Jay Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
References
- "Osmond Brothers Perform for Very Last Time on 'The Talk'". CBS. 2019-10-14. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963-1964)". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
