Osmond Brothers Receive Great Sparks Ovation
November 5, 1967
We were fortunate enough to see the Sergio Franchi, Osmond Brothers twin bill at John Ascuaga’s Sparks Nugget on the evening of November 4th and we will have to classify the show as probably the best we have ever seen.
Sergio Franchi is rightfully listed as one of the world’s top entertainers. One of the top tenors who doesn’t have to push to reach the high notes.
Good as he was, the Osmond family all but stole the show. The Osmond Brothers are five extremely talented youngsters whose barbershop singing and accomplished dancing has taken the American entertainment public in its grasp.
The boys are Alan, 18, Wayne, 16, Merrill, 14, Jay, 12, and Donny 9. Besides the above listed accomplishments they are also quite adept on musical instruments.
Putting in their first appearances were Marie 8, and Jimmy 4, both with excellent voices. The poise of the newcomers was amazing. As far as we note they didn’t flub a line.
In the past year besides playing with Andy Williams, they have taken three trips to Sweden for appearances. To come in the near future are showings on an Andy Williams special plus an engagement with Jerry Lewis.
Now in their ninth year in show biz, the kids have all gotten into the act except the two oldest boys who are in Canada.
Neither their father George, nor their mother Olive were singers of great renown. However, their dad was a choir director and their mother taught them how to play the musical instruments.
One thing that was impressive was the actions of the Osmond children during our interview with them. Attentive, courteous, smiling, all earmarks of their good Mormon upbringing. The kids should be proud of their parents and the parents proud of their nice talented offspring.
What do they think of Sergio Franchi who appeared with them at their Sparks stint. They love him. They say he is wonderful on and off stage.
As long as we are talking about nice people we must mention D.B. Sparks showroom director and Capt. Mike, who saw to it that we found our way to the dressing rooms. They are typical of Nugget personnel. |