Before singer Marie Osmond became a spokesperson for Nutrisystem, an author of three books, co-host of The Talk, and a Lifetime movie star, among other celebrity titles, she and her brother Donny Osmond hosted the popular variety show Donny & Marie.
They were 18 and 16 years old, respectively, when the show premiered in 1976. The show ran for three years and inspired merchandise including Donny & Marie dolls, a wireless toy microphone, and their own magazine (published by Tiger Beat).
The Donny & Marie show was a great platform for guest stars to appear. Some of the most notable include Lucille Ball, Jerry Lewis, Farrah Fawcett, Ron Howard, Barry Manilow, Chuck Berry, Sonny & Cher, Tina Turner, John Wayne, and The Harlem Globetrotters, among others.
Marie Osmond, who is now 62, recently visited Disneyland with her husband and their kids and grandkids. With the photos above, she wrote: “I was explaining to all my kids and grandkids how I was the first to dress up as Princess Leah with R2-D2. George Lucas chose our variety show to premiere the characters before #StarWars came out.”
And yes, that’s Kris Kristofferson as Hans Solo!
We debuted the @starwars characters on the original #DonnyAndMarie show. Being the first person to dress up as #PrincessLeia, I ♥️ #StarWars!!! Who ♥️’s it as much as I do??? @Disneyland for Abi’s last summer trip before school starts! #disnelyland pic.twitter.com/RhGmx9c72t
— Marie Osmond (@marieosmond) July 30, 2019
