Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Donny Osmond: ‘Exotic’ not the right word to use for his vehicles

Donny Osmond

John Katsilometes

Donny Osmond and fan Ann Marie Perazelli, onstage at Paseo Verde Park during the “Sanny Gans Memorial Champions Run for Life,” charity event for Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. At far right is KKLZ’s Mike O’Brian.

The latest from Donny and Marie

Donny Osmond says he prefers to traverse the high road.

What does he drive on that high road?

“I drive a smart car and a pickup,” Osmond says. “I don’t think those are exotic cars.”

Then he laughed.

Osmond and his sister, Marie, are being sued for breach of contract by their former producer, Chip Lightman. The Osmonds dismissed Lightman from his role in September; Lightman’s claim is that he is still contractually bound to the famed siblings through Oct. 15, 2012.

In a complaint filed Oct. 1 in Clark County District Court, Lightman’s representatives describe Donny Osmond as "underhanded, devious, fraudulent and greedy.” Through the law firm of Pisanelli Bice PLLC, Lightman also took issue with Osmond’s “lavish lifestyle of exotic cars, luxury hotel suites and private jets.”

That “exotic cars” reference didn’t go unnoticed.

Dressed in running togs during the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation’s annual “Danny Gans Memorial Champions Run for Life Hosted by Donny Osmond” at Paseo Verde Park, Osmond said he would not comment specifically on the suit. “They told me I can’t talk about it. It’s just unfortunate,” he said, the “they” being attorney Howard King of Los Angeles. He did add, “It’s just unfortunate the low road was taken.”

Regardless, Osmond talked glowingly of Gans, who was managed by Lightman and instrumental in bringing Donny & Marie to the Flamingo two years ago. He says he took on the role of spokesman for the annual run-walk charity event as a tribute to Gans and to raise money and awareness for the cause. More than 2,300 participants turned out on a beautiful morning.

“This shows it is not just a publicity thing with me,” Osmond said. “Danny was such a good friend of mine. We texted jokes to each other. He came to the show, and he’d have notes for me all the time because he’s such a perfectionist. He came into my dressing room and had four pages of notes, and 90 percent of what he said was spot on.”

A few other tidbits from our chat:

• Osmond says Marie is “doing fine,” and the two talked at length before Friday night’s performance. “She’s a strong woman. I don’t know how she does it sometimes. This has been a really tough year for her, yet she gets onstage and entertains the crowds and puts a smile on her face.” Marie took a couple weeks off from meet-and-greets with fans in the aftermath of the suicide death of her son, Michael Blosil, in February, “which is understandable,” Donny said, and the duo have stopped the Friday post-show sessions. “We decided to cut out the meet-and-greets that night so we can get to bed a little earlier, but that was it.”

• Osmond said that, regardless of what plans he and Marie may have after their current contract to perform at Flamingo Las Vegas ends in 2012, he’ll always perform in Vegas. “Well, when you think about it, you look at the big picture. I’ve been here since I was 7, so Las Vegas will always be a place for me,” he said. “It’s the center of entertainment. The Entertainment Capital of the World term is accurate, and I will always want to perform here.”

• The long-awaited release, “Donny & Marie,” the duo’s first new album since 1978’s “Goin’ Coconuts” soundtrack, is finally out in Europe but won’t be available in the U.S. until next year. “They were waiting for the right distribution deal and just signed one, I believe with Sony, to distribute it. Last I heard, it was coming out in February, which is a year after when we thought it would be released.” The new album features the new ode to Vegas, “Vegas Love,” and it is really cool.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy