Monday, March 12, 2007 | 7:38 a.m.
What: Donny Osmond
When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Where: The Orleans Showroom
Tickets: $49.95 and up; 365-7075
Remember that cute little kid who, at the age of 6, captured the hearts of millions of television viewers on the Andy Williams show back in the early '60s?
A mouthful of teeth, all grins and loaded with talent? Sat on Williams' knee?
Well, Donny Osmond is now a grandfather.
Dylan Osmond was born in August 2005, the son of Jeremy and Melissa Osmond.
Grandpa - eternally youthful, still with the mouthful of teeth and full head of hair - will perform at The Orleans Thursday through Sunday.
Without a cane or walker, yet. He's still just 49.
Osmond recently talked to the Sun by telephone from his home in Utah.
Q. So, how does it feel to be a grandfather?
I'm the youngest 49-year-old grandpa on the planet. He's a great kid, born about 18 months ago.
Is he singing yet?
Of course. He has the teeth and everything.
Are any of your children in show business?
Not really. I guess they've seen what their dad goes through and the tough side of the business. It's interesting from the outside looking in, but it can be a tough business even if you have a three-to-five-year career, let alone a 45-year career. I guess they see the ups and downs. I mean they like it, they appreciate the music business, but they've expressed a desire not to get in it.
Have you attempted to steer them in that direction or are you letting them make up their own minds?
They make their own minds up. My oldest decided to go into marketing, to go to New York City. He works for one of the top public relations firms. He loves the marketing aspect of it because he sees what I've gone through in my life to re-create and reinvent and all this kind of stuff, so that intrigues him. My second son is in pre-med right now.
My third son has a great voice. He's part of an a cappella singing group, but it's just a hobby right now.
My youngest two, one's in high school - a sophomore right now - and my youngest is turning 9.
Nine and he's not working?
Yeah, I've got him working.
Are you as busy as ever?
It's all about ready to hit the fan here, as they say. I just finished Broadway this past fall. I was in "Beauty and the Beast" for about four months, played the villain, played the bad guy for a while. They want me to come back for the last week. In July they're actually closing the show after 13 years and they want me to make a return visit. So I'm trying to rework my schedule because I have a summer tour all scheduled. I'm trying to rework some things to accommodate that. That would be fun.
Then, they've just announced a show called "The Great American Dream Vote," a brand new show that ABC is launching in the next couple of months that I will be hosting.
What's the show's premise?
We're actually meeting now to define exactly what the show is. But there will be contestants who want to fulfill a dream - whatever their dreams might be, lifelong dreams. It can't be a life-and-death situation. It can't be, "I want more money or a bigger home," or something like that, but a dream, a passion of theirs they want realized. Through the course of the show the studio audience narrows it down to two people. Then from the end of that show throughout the week until the opening of the next show, the American public votes on who gets their dream realized and ABC makes that happen.
How did this come about?
Actually, I was creating another show with CBS but it just didn't come to fruition at the time. ABC said, "We have a show right now and we want you as the host." So I said, "CBS, we've got to put it on hold. Another network wants me." It's kind of a nice problem to have.
Any other projects coming up?
Years ago I did a game show called "Pyramid." Producers in the United Kingdom want to do it over there now. I start taping this month. We'll do 40 shows in about a week. It's a brutal schedule.
And simultaneously I'm releasing my 55th album. The timing of everything couldn't be better. It's all cross-promotional opportunities here.
You're going to be doing Broadway for a week. Any desire for another show there?
I've had some offers but I've got to be careful about that. I try to keep my life balanced. Broadway, any musical, you do eight shows a week. It's a lifestyle, not just a concert tour. To justify the expense of it all you've got to do the show at least four or five months and that's a huge commitment. Right now, with my family as young as it is, it's difficult, but when the right project comes along, for instance "Beauty and the Beast," we as a family said, "Yeah, this is kind of fun." It gives us a chance to go back to New York, where my son lives. It all made sense. But you've got to be careful.
Glad to see old age hasn't slowed you down.
I think if I slowed down I'd kind of realize that I'm pushing 50.
Can you still remember being on Andy Williams' show?
I vividly remember it. I probably remember it more so because I use clips of those first performances in my show. There's an opening film I use, a chronological thing, a "This is Your Life," as it were. The video thing only lasts about a minute, a minute and half, but it's really strong, really powerful. I can still remember the cameras, the audience, a couple of hundred people in the studio. Sitting on Andy's knee.
Which of today's young entertainers do you like?
It's hard to tell. With all the trickery we can do in the studio, it's hard to tell who's really singing. That's why I like "American Idol." It's down to raw talent. These people can sing.
But isn't fame fleeting for those young performers?
The ones who drop out of sight drop out of sight because they don't have the work ethic. The show is a springboard, a door opener. Some of these kids don't realize that now the work starts.
I've been doing this 44 years, and I've had to start over five, six, seven times.
Your career is flourishing now. Do you still like the business?
I love it more now. I guess because I'm really not trying to prove anything anymore. In my 20s and 30s, it's like I've got to prove to everybody I can do this, I can do that. Now I just handpick or cherry pick the ones I want and enjoy it.
Doesn't the schedule keep you away from home a lot?
That's the key. You've got to balance. That's what I've learned. I've seen so many people in this business come and go. They just eat, sleep and breathe the business, and they forget the most important part.
Show business is a drug. People get caught up in the drug and they chase the next show, they chase the next ovation. I've been there. It's a wonderful feeling. I love it.
But you've got to keep it balanced. You know who taught me that? I was at the Hilton. I went to go see Elvis and he stayed over an extra day after his closing to see our opening. I'll never forget when he walked into the room, there was this presence of Elvis. But as he started talking I realized, "You know, he's a cool guy, talking to my mom, talking to us, my dad." He sent us roses in the shape of a guitar for good luck on our opening night. I was probably only 14 at the time and I remember seeing the guy the night before onstage, in control, had the audience in the palm of his hand.
And here he was offstage, just a normal guy. He could shut it off. He could differentiate between the star on the stage and the person backstage. I loved that. He kept it balanced.
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