Merrill Osmond

Early life

Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the fifth of the nine children of Olive May (née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007).

The Osmonds

A tenor/countertenor vocalist well into adulthood, Merrill was either lead singer or co-lead singer (usually sharing duties with younger brother Donny) on almost all of the Osmonds' songs and co-wrote, along with older brother Alan, many of them. Like the rest of his family, he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Donny began to focus on his own career in the late 1970s, Merrill grew out his beard, let it naturally go gray, and, along with his brothers, shifted to country music, placing singles on the country charts in the 1980s; he also had a single independent of his fellow Osmonds, a duet with session singer Jessica Boucher (younger sister of Savannah and Sherry Boucher), "You're Here to Remember (I'm Here to Forget)," which peaked at number 62 on the Hot Country Singles chart in 1987. Osmond announced his intent to retire from performing in 2022 and performed his last American show in April of that year, with a UK tour to follow. Merrill's final show took place at the barn, Ringwood on January 19, 2023. Since then, he has performed a limited number of special engagements each year. As of early 2024, there were plans to have Nathan Osmond, one of Alan's sons, replace Merrill in certain Osmond enterprises, such as the family's Branson residencies.

Other works

Osmond has sporadically hosted the podcast Sound Advice with his son Justin since 2020, produced by KSL radio.

Osmond's autobiography, Black Bear: My Life Story, was released in July 2025.

Personal life

Merrill was the first of the performing Osmond siblings to marry. He wed Mary Carlson on September 17, 1973; they have four sons, two daughters, and 15 grandchildren. Merrill's second son, Justin, is deaf, as are Justin's uncles, Virl and Tom Osmond, Merrill's two oldest brothers. Justin Osmond works with several organizations and launched the Olive Osmond Perpetual Hearing Fund in 2010. Merrill's youngest son, Troy, died in his sleep at age 33 on November 9, 2018 from an undiagnosed heart condition. Merrill's son Travis Osmond performed with the Osmond Brothers irregularly from 1991 until Merrill's retirement in 2024; Travis stated he did not want to pursue a career as a touring musician and instead pursued a career in agriculture, following in a tradition of his great-uncles.

Like the rest of his family, Merrill is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A statement of faith on his Web site expresses support for the Book of Mormon and the prophecies of Joseph Smith, as well as the church's compatibility with mainstream Christianity. In keeping with church tradition, all his sons have served as missionaries.

In a 2021 interview with GB News, Osmond described himself as "very conservative" person. He expressed mixed feelings toward former President Donald Trump, noting that his experience with Trump was that Trump was a "nice guy" but that Osmond was never comfortable with the way Trump spoke.Merrill Osmond: Trump ‘is a really nice guy’ but was ‘never really a fan of how he spoke’. GB News via YouTube. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2022.

Merrill and his wife served as missionaries for their church at the Washington, D.C. temple in 2022.

Awards and honours

In May 2017, he received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Dixie State University, now known as Utah Tech University.

References

References

1. "''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964)". [[IMDb.
2. Benson, Lee. (2018-12-27). "They're still the Osmond Brothers after all these years".
3. (May 27, 1987). "A Success Story From Singing with an Osmond".
4. "Merrill And Jessica You're Here To Remember (I'm Here To Forget) Chart History".
5. "Donny Osmond emotionally breaks down during brother Merrill's final ever live show".
6. "Singer Nathan Osmond Says 'It's Been Fun' to Follow in Footsteps of Donny and Marie (Exclusive)".
7. [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-advice-with-the-osmonds/id1459817893 Sound Advice with the Osmonds] on Apple Podcasts
8. Woolley, Ian. (2025-07-29). "The Black Bear Of The Osmonds Reveals All".
9. Heaps, Julie Dockstader. (2025-02-02). "'Growing up Osmond' Star Valley resident shares family legacy".
10. [https://www.merrillosmond.com/beliefs/ Beliefs - Merrill Osmond]. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
11. (2022-10-28). "Merrill Osmond's next gig: A Latter-day Saint mission".