Wayne Osmond, actor and co-founder of the barbershop quartet The Osmond Brothers, has passed away. He was 73.
Wayne’s brother and bandmate Merrill announced the late singer’s death on Facebook. He wrote that Wayne experienced a massive stroke and was hospitalized in Salt Lake City, Utah, during his final days.
“My brother Wayne endured much,” Merrill wrote. “He gave it his all. His legacy will go down as someone who was not only a genius in his ability to write music, but was able to capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God.”
The Osmond Brothers — Wayne, Alan, Merrill, and Jay, and later Donny and Jimmy as well — began performing together in the 1950s as a barbershop quartet. Per the Associated Press, the brothers’ popularity peaked in the 1970s after Donny joined the group.
Donny and their sister Marie launched their own hit variety show Donny & Marie on ABC in 1976, which Wayne and the Osmond Brothers executive produced and appeared in.
The siblings later played themselves in an animated comedy series titled The Osmonds. They also appeared together in an hour-long variety show in 1979 titled The Osmond Family Show.
During their rise to popularity, the Osmond brothers also starred as the Kissel brothers in the 1963 Western television series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. Wayne played Leviticus Kissel.
He also starred in the 1989 movie It Nearly Wasn’t Christmas and is credited as the lyricist for the Land of the Lost theme song.
Though his acting career ended there, Wayne continued making public appearances well into the 2000s with visits to The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dancing With The Stars, Entertainment Tonight and The Talk.
Wayne and his brothers continued performing until he was forced to retire during the 2000s. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1997 and later suffered a stroke in 2012 that left him unable to play the guitar, per Deadline.
Wayne is survived by his siblings, his wife Kathlyn, and their five children.
