Wayne Osmond of the Osmond Brothers Dead at 73

Wayne Osmond, the fourth oldest child of the Osmond family and second oldest Osmond Brother, died at the age of 73. The New York Times reports that his daughter Amy Cook confirmed he died at the University of Utah Hospital from complications from a recent stroke. Cook paid tribute to her father on Instagram shortly after the news broke, “Wayne Osmond, beloved husband and father, passed away peacefully last night surrounded by his loving wife and five children. His legacy of faith, music, love, and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world.” Beginning in 1958, Osmond was a member of the barbershop quartet, the Osmond Brothers, alongside siblings Alan, Merrill, and Jay; they were discovered when they were singing with the barbershop quartet at Disneyland, and they were soon hired to perform at the park during the summer and even made cameos in television specials about the theme park. Eventually, with the addition of another brother Donny, the group became known as simply as the Osmonds and skyrocketed as teen idols. Their single, “One Bad Apple” written by George Jackson, hit no. 1 on the Billboard 100 and stayed there for five weeks. Donny officially left the group in 1979 and teamed up with sister Marie as a duo, but the Osmonds still continued to produce music as a quartet once again.

Wayne married his wife, Kathlyn White, a former Miss Utah, in 1974, and they had five children together. Throughout his life, he faced a number of health issues: he had a brain tumor as a child and, in 1997, redeveloped the same cancer he had in his childhood, ependymoma. He had a stroke in 2012 that affected his ability to play guitar.

“Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me. He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone, Donny wrote on Instagram on January 2. “I’m sure I speak on behalf of every one of us siblings when I state that we were fortunate to have Wayne as a brother.”