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Let’s keep the column light this week.
I notice that Donny Osmond has a charted record on the Lite
Jazz charts. I am very happy about that, and hope he sells a
jillion.
I first met Donny, his singing brothers, his parents, and
sister in a restaurant in Los Angeles. As my family and I
were having dinner I felt a tug on my right arm, and I
looked around to see who it was. “Hey man, thanks for
playing my record”. I recognized the face and voice of
Donny. I responded, “Thanks for recording it”. And I waved
to the Osmond family two tables away. I think the record was
“One Bad Apple”. Indeed, I was President/Radio of a group
called Pacific and Southern. WSAI in Cinncinatti was in our
group. I recalled that the program director had added it,
and the station was getting a lot of requests for it.
From the restaurant encounter came a friendship between the
Burkhart and Osmond family. Below is some of the fun we had
together.
1. After a concert for the Queen of England the Osmonds
traveled through Atlanta heading back to their home in Utah.
They came to our home and played basketball in our backyard
for hours. The sweaty towels by the dozens were constantly
being washed and dried for fear we would run out. Olive and
George, their parents, spent most of the afternoon talking
with Pat and me and their road manager, Eddie. I also played
chess with Marie who caught on very quickly. These kids were
HOT with popularity, and I certainly thought they would be
safe enough from fans in our backyard. But, they were
spotted. Suddenly, out of nowhere there were faces behind
bushes, and in the trees watching the boys play ball. I got
a little nervous because I knew their world wide female/teen
fans had been chasing after them asking for autographs,
unexpectedly kissing them, etc. But, we were fortunate. Our
neighborhood teen group was very polite. No chases. No
problems.
2. At a time when Underground Atlanta was closed to the
public, I arranged with the authorities to have a private
tour for the Osmonds. We parked our three cars and
identified the group to security. We were welcomed inside.
We were the only people in Underground Atlanta so I was
told. After ten minutes of walking, I heard some additional
feet shuffling, and turned around to see about fifty fans
who got in to the venue somehow. These were all girls who
had eyes for Donny and his brothers. AGAIN, I was
nervous…because I had been warned by the parents that the
fans can get out of control. The parents had told me, “Stay
near an entrance to the cars for a fast escape”. Well…we
were half a mile away from the cars. I whispered, “Let’s get
out of here gang”, and we picked up our pace. So did the
fans!!! Soon we were running to the cars. So were their
fans!!!! Thanks to the security guard at the entrance we all
barely got to the cars before the teen girls were beating on
the windows….crying, calling, for Donny and all the Osmonds.
We carefully drove away. I remember it well because I WAS
THERE1!!!
3. The Osmonds liked their food!!! We had reservations at a
private, rustic room at Aunt Fanny’s Cabin in Atlanta. The
story is that during the Civil War Aunt Fanny prepared food
for both the Union and Confederate soldiers….at different
times of the day, of course!!! The specialty of Aunt Fanny’s
was southern cooking. Plates of fried chicken, biscuits,
turnip greens, macaroni and cheese, and cherry pie were the
food prepared for the group. I have never witnessed fried
chicken devoured so quickly. The cooks kept bringing platter
after platter of that good tasting chicken. Our family…Brad,
Traci, and Kellye were doing their share of eating as
well!!! I think Mike Curb, then President of MGM was there,
along with Mike Martin the local MGM rep. AND ONCE AGAIN,
someone from the main part of the restaurant spotted the
Osmonds. Soon, the fans were getting out of hand, trying to
get into our dining room; thus, we made a quick retreat to
our cars…parked very close to the back entrance this time (I
had learned my lesson at Underground Atlanta).
4. The Osmonds invited us to their place in Orem, Utah. For
their guests they had built a beautiful four-plex…a chef on
duty 24/7. The Osmonds had their own homes just down the
street on Osmond Lane. They were wonderful hosts. Donny and
Debbie were expecting their first baby at any time, and
Donny walked around with a beeper…he was on call as was
their doctor. There was only one other guest in the four-plex
while we were there…and I believe it was an Olympian…perhaps
Bruce Jenner. George Osmond gave us his black Caddy for the
three days we were there. One night it was announced we were
going to have dinner in Salt Lake City….about twenty miles
away. Again, in a three car parade we went to a very nice
place. GUESS WHAT…no special dining room. We sat with the
regular diners, and they were in total control…maybe a
whisper that the Osmonds had arrived. Heck, I was prepared
to run for cars again!!! Not this time. The Osmonds were at
home so to speak. Also, while in Utah we went to see the
fabulous hi tech studio that the Osmond family had built. It
was better than most in the U.S. Updated equipment, and very
good engineers/producers.
5. We met the Osmonds in Las Vegas quite a few times. The
Las Vegas Hilton dining room was always sold out when the
Osmonds were performing. One trip we did not tell the
Osmonds we were coming. Instead we showed up at the dining
room, had our meal, and waited for the Osmond concert to
begin. During the concert Donny came into the audience with
a mobile mike to sing. He spotted us, and has face reflected
he was surprised to see us. He keyed in our daughter Traci.
He came over to our table stopped singing for just a second
while he whispered to Traci, “You got your braces off”. A
fun, but somewhat embarrassing moment for her I’m sure. Of
course, the Osmonds liked to swim, and so security at the
Hilton roped off part of their pool so the fans could not
get to them. Our kids swam with them of course, and still
talk about it to this day.
I have been asked many times if the Osmonds were as nice off
stage as on. The answer is YES!!! Absolutely!!!! They were
always cheerful, and thankful for their success!!! Of
course, we all miss Olive, the Mom, who passed away a few
years ago. As I said above I hope Donny sells a zillion!!!!
Best of luck guys and Marie. You deserve it!!!!
e-mail Kent
kent@kentburkhart.com
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