Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, United States, the son of Olive May and George Virl Osmond. He was the oldest of the seven siblings who could sing, as the two oldest brothers, Virl and Tom, are hearing impaired. During much of the Osmonds' career, Alan, being the oldest of the group, was the band's behind-the-scenes leader, playing piano and guitar, co-writing many of their songs, co-producing most of their recordings and arranging the dance choreography. He mostly stopped performing with the group after 2007, and what he has professed to be his final performance with them was October 13, 2018 at Neal Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. 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 ABCwesterntelevision series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, with Alan in the role of young Micah Kissel. The series starred then 12-year-old Kurt Russell on a wagon train headed to the American West.
Personal life
After a brief courtship with singer Karen Carpenter, Osmond married Suzanne Pinegar on July 16, 1974. He and Suzanne have eight sons, who perform as the Osmond Brothers Second Generation: Michael Alan ; Nathan George ; Douglas Kenneth ; David Levi ; Scott Merrill ; Jonathon Pinegar ; Alexander Thomas ; and Tyler James. Alan, like all the Osmonds, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; seven of his sons have served LDS missions, while the youngest son Tyler did not serve. In 1987, Osmond was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a demyelinating disease which damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. His son, David Osmond, lead singer of the group Osmonds 2nd Generation, who was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005, participated in the eighth season of American Idol on January 28, 2009 with a pass to Hollywood. However, due to laryngitis, he was not able to make it past Hollywood week. David also substitutes for his uncle Donny in stage shows with his aunt Marie, and his song "We Are One" was used as the theme song to the Glenn Beck Radio Program from 2016 to 2017. In 2000, Alan Osmond received the Dorothy Corwin Spirit of Life Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In his acceptance speech, he stated that he had done some time in the military reserve and that he had taken karate lessons from Chuck Norris, both of which reinforced the "you can do it" attitude that he learned from his father. His motto is, "I may have MS, but MS does NOT have me!" He currently runs the OneHeart Foundation and also works as a motivational speaker.
