Happy Birthday Donny Osmond

Every picture tells a story

won't you listen to mine ?

I'm searching for the answer

but it's so hard to find.

You'll see much deeper when you read between the lines 'cause there's a fire burning in my eyes.

Like a thief in the night who can't get enough I am willing to fight 'cause I'm a soldier of love.

Soldier of Love - Donny Osmond

It was a dark and stormy night ... no really ... IT WAS!

During my tenure as pledge drive producer for a number of PBS affiliate stations, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the entertainment industry's nicest (and not so nice) performers. The list is really amazing to me still. Many of them filled my record collection as a kid and many I watched as I would lay on the floor in front of the TV. They were the Moody Blues, Fleetwood Mac, Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver. Mr. Rogers and the original "The Donald," Mr. Purple Socks, Donald Clark Osmond, other wise known as Donny.

So on this, his birthday, I thought I would share a story that to this day, Donny probably has no idea that it happened.

You have all seen a pledge drive for public television. You're enjoying your favorite episode of Mystery, Barnie, NOVA or one of the other wonderful shows when suddenly there is a host asking you, imploring you to support YOUR public television station. "And for $60 we'll send you this beautiful coffee mug that you can enjoy your coffee in while watching your favorite ..." and so on.

For nearly 15 tears I was either in front of the camera asking for that support or behind it putting the show together.

When word got out that Donny Osmond would be visiting our station you would have thought we were a store on black Friday and we were giving away free TVs.

Hours before he was scheduled to arrive, cars full of his fans arrived at the station parking lot, lining up to get a glimpse of the "Puppy Love" crooner. whenever a new car or van would pull into the lot, the doors of the cars would open and the "gophering" would begin with people sticking their heads out of their cars just far enough to see over the other cars, like gophers in a field.

A slight rain began to fall as I received word that Donny's limo was right around the corner. Earlier I had instructed the production assistant, Kelly, to wait in the parking lot and guide the car to the back of the building and into the station garage. I paged Kelly over the parking lot loud speaker and let her know that the car would be coming into the lot at any moment and to guide them into the waiting car bay... forgetting that EVERYONE else could hear my instructions also!

As I opened the garage door, I was was met with the sight of a long stretch limo headed for me. Running desperately behind, like someone trying to catch a train was Kelly the production assistant, followed by about 20 shrieking female fans of all shapes and sizes.

I have an image that still haunts me today ... as the limo made it into the garage I hit the close button and the door came down slowly.

Like Chief Brody in the movie JAWS as he watched in horror as boat capn' Quint slips into the giant shark, I closed my eyes as I watched as the throng began to engulf Kelly. I turned and began to walk away from the door and to the limousine to greet Mr. Osmond.

My last sight of Kelly was as I watched her shoes disappear at the bottom of the garage door, I heard the pounding of her fists on the door, heard her plea to let her in and heard another woman scream ... a bloodcurdling scream ... "YOU BITCH!"

Behind the closed garage door the lightening flashed and the thunder cracked as I lead Donny to the green room.

Kelly escaped unscathed.

That night, Donny, or should I say, Mr. Osmond, couldn't have been a nicer guy. When the rain came down he asked if we could bring those waiting outside to get a glimpse of him, indoors. He signed autographs, posed for pictures and did everything I asked of him that night, including raising a lot of money. Having been in show business since he was a toddler, he had learned his craft and was a true professional.

When the last photo was taken and the last tee shirt signed we began to walk to the garage to the waiting limo. There were only four or five of us who walked Donny back to his waiting car, myself and two or three other staff members. The staff photographer snapped the pic of Donny and I that I posted at the top of this blog, I shook his hand thanked him and he got into the limo with his back facing the garage door.

Safe and secure in his ride, we opened the garage door only to find a large late model Cadillac parked lengthwise across the opening. The limo and this strange car formed a T keeping Donny' s ride from leaving.

The driver of the blocking vehicle had his head back on the seat, limp to one side, his eyes closed and his arms and hands laid out across the top of the seat by the headrests.

A million things ran through my head in an instant. Was this a robbery, kidnapping, was the driver dead, QUICK close the door ... CALL THE POLICE!!!

The next sound I heard was BANG BANG BANG BANG.

It was a dark and stormy night, a shot rang out?

No it was the camera operator Tom banging on the roof of the blocking car. "MOVE THIS F*#%ing CAR" Tom yelled as his fist pounded again on the car.

What we saw next will forever be burned into our brains. The driver, who an instant later had seemed to be dead, snapped his head forward, grabbed the steering wheel and started the car. It was only then that we all saw the head of a woman pop out of his lap and scream!

The car quickly sped away into the rainy night and we all stood there frozen in disbelief of what we all thought we had just seen.

Donny and his driver slowly backed out of the garage and headed for his hotel. Since they both were facing the other way in the garage they were completly unaware of what had just happened. As I closed the door, we all waved goodbye and in my head I started to sing "... and they called it puppy loooooove!"

See the Soldier of Love video.