The Osmonds famously lost all their money when, thinking the gravy train would last forever, they invested every cent they had in a huge state-of-the-art recording, TV, and film studio in Orem, UT, failing to realize that the tide had already turned against that kind of uber-clean, wholesome family entertainment.
They moved production of "The Donny and Marie Show" to the studio from L.A., only to see the show cancelled after only one season there. At that point, all of their careers went into a tailspin, and they had nothing coming in to pay the bills. Donny, ever the obedient Mormon son, has never placed the blame for this colossal faux-pas on anybody, but I got the distinct impression in certain interviews that it was the father's idea and fault.
"Goin' Coconuts", Donny and Marie's first (and last) starring film vehicle released in 1978, proved to be an embarrassing flop, although the soundtrack did eventually go gold. It was the last gasp of the first phase of the Osmonds' career.
You gotta give these bitches credit, though. They all managed to pick themselves up and eventually make something of themselves.
"Little" Jimmy ( who should really re-name himself "Fat-Ass" Jimmy) became some sort of financial mogul.
It took Marie about 7 years to start having some major hits on the country charts. It was an out-of-left-field comeback that nobody saw coming.
The older brothers went all country like Marie, but weren't successful, and eventually wound up in Branson, which proved to be a pretty good outcome for them.
And Donny took his ass to Broadway, first with the humiliating failure of a revival of an 80-year-old musical, "Little Johnny Jones", that closed after one performance. He then found big success starring in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
With the names of Donny & Marie no longer poison in the industry, they wound up starring in their own fairly successful daytime talk show, and Donny even managed to rack up a few more hit records.
Their recent run in Vegas was, by all accounts, super successful, and a great way for them both to go out on top as a sibling act. Say what you will about their musical output over the years, but those two have been in the game practically since they could walk, and know more about entertaining an audience than most performers. And that's what I heard from a lot of people who saw the show...they weren't big fans, they went in not expecting much, and were subsequently blown away by just how great they were.
