Questions from a wannabe Osmond

Donny Osmond

Where: The Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan, and The Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago Ave., Joliet

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 7 (Genesee) and 6 p.m. Sept. 9 (Rialto Square)

Tickets: $30-$75

Contact: Ticketmaster.com or (312) 559-1212 for Genesee Theatre; (815) 726-6600 for Rialto Square Theatre

I was supposed to be Mrs. Donny Osmond.

After all, from 1975 to 1978, Osmond's teen-idol face was my bedroom wallpaper, his toothy grin smiling back at me from magazine photos taped from floor to ceiling.

My shirts boasted Osmond -- in sticker form -- ironed on ever so carefully.

My grade-school friends and I spent hours with our Donny scrapbooks, shrewdly trading, bargaining and squealing over photos.

I was 8. Donny was 18. He was the one for me.

But, as fate would have it, our paths went separate ways -- and we both went on to marry others.

Today, Osmond and his wife Debbie have five sons and one grandson.

And now, nearly three decades after I was smitten, I meet the man of my childhood dreams at long last in a telephone interview.

Osmond, who seems to have completely recovered from our 'lost love,' is discussing his family's 50th anniversary in show business.

On Aug. 13 and 14, all nine Osmond siblings appeared onstage together for three shows in Las Vegas. The shows were part of an upcoming television special, "The Osmonds' 50th Anniversary, starring The Osmond Brothers: With Special Guests Donny, Marie and Jimmy."

The program, produced by youngest Osmond brother Jimmy, is set to air nationally on PBS stations next year.

Even Virl and Tom, the eldest Osmond brothers who do not perform due to hearing impairments, stepped onstage with their six brothers and one sister, Marie.

"It's been 26 years since we were all together onstage," Donny Osmond said. "It was a great moment. It's like riding a bicycle in a way -- it's like we never stopped."

"All three shows sold out in eight minutes," Osmond recalled. "After all these years, that's a real statement about my brothers."

Osmond is excited about his current U.S. tour that will bring him to the Chicago area Sept. 7 and 9.

His concerts will feature some of the songs from his latest CD, "Love Songs of the '70s."

The album, his 55th, went gold in a week in the United Kingdom.

Osmond put his own touch on '70s standards such as Barry Manilow's "Mandy" and the Bee Gees' "How Deep is Your Love?"

"You've gotta make a song your own, but you can't get too far away from the original because it loses its essence," he said.

Osmond said while planning the CD he began with a list of 200 tunes from the 1970s and narrowed his choices down to 13.

"I just loved these songs," Osmond said. "This album is a self-indulgent album. I wanted to do one for me."

You might say this entire year is a year of "fifties" for Osmond.

Along with the family's 50th anniversary, Osmond will turn 50 years old in December.

It's a time for looking back and ahead.

The early 1970s were the heyday of the Osmond Brothers' success.

With No. 1 recording hits such as "One Bad Apple," "Yo-Yo" and Donny's own singles, "Go Away Little Girl" and "Puppy Love," the Osmonds rivaled The Beatles for fan adulation.

Thousands of love-struck girls sobbed, screamed and fainted at the brothers' concerts. The Osmonds watched as fans climbed on top of their limousines and popped out of their hotel room closets, hoping to grab a piece of Osmond hair or clothing.

The Osmonds' songs were on every radio station, their faces on every teen magazine.

The press dubbed it "Osmondmania."

"It was exhilarating," Osmond recalled. "I had the time of my life."

From 1976 to 1979, Osmond and his sister Marie starred in the highly rated "Donny and Marie" variety show on television.

And in the 1990s, Osmond received rave reviews for his most famous stage role, starring in the North American tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

These days, Osmond is as busy as ever.

Recent projects include performing at "The Concert for Diana," a tribute to Princess Diana July 1 in England, and starring as Gaston July 29 in the final Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast."

After his U.S. tour ends, Osmond will head to England for a month of concerts in October.

With his hectic schedule, Osmond cherishes time with family back home in Utah.

"I really protect those moments of downtime tremendously," he said. "Family is what it's all about. Showbiz fades. The curtain will come down, but your kids are only children once."

Osmond is a bit of a kid himself -- a favorite spot where he and his sons often head is to the family's Lego room, an entire room devoted strictly to the building blocks.

Osmond said he has a secret for keeping his 29-year marriage strong and happy in the often divorce-plagued world of showbiz.

"My wife and I have a saying -- if we ever have an argument, she's always right," he said.

And does he still wear those famous, sparkly purple socks that were his 1970s trademark?

"No -- those are gone," Osmond said, laughing. "These days I just have varicose ankles."