Though they’ve had plenty of offers over the years to get back together since the demise of “Donny and Marie” two decades ago, the timing was never right, nor was the atmosphere, Donny and Marie Osmond said recently.
Now, of course, the timing is right and the former teen idols turned grownup television, music and Broadway stars are reuniting for a daytime talk show that debuts in the fall.
“There have been all kinds of opportunities for us to get together, whether it be specials, whether it be a weekly show again . . . commercials, all that kind of stuff,” Donny told writers attending the annual Television Critics Association. “It just didn’t feel right to us. It just now feels right to come back together.”
The reason the brother and sister act hadn’t done this before is that after the original 1970s series each set out to create a viable individual career. Each appeared on Broadway, brought out albums and produced a family. What they haven’t had is the extended level of success as adults that they had as kids.
“Getting back together, we knew was inevitable,” Marie said. “It was a great time; we didn’t have to get together. We’re doing it because we want to.”
Each admits that despite the timing issue, there was a concern that the chemistry between them that made the earlier show so endearing to viewers would be absent. Would they still have the magic, they wondered. Those fears were allayed after they shot a pilot for the show.
“It was like nothing changed after 20 years,” Marie said.
Indeed, during a wide-ranging session with reporters, the two joked with each other, finished each other’s sentences and were near giddy to be back together.
“It was all my idea,” Donny said in response to a query about the genesis of the show.
“Yeah, right,” Marie cracked.
The original variety series aired on ABC from 1974 to 1978. When it launched, Donny was 16 and Marie 14. They were the youngest hosts ever of a weekly national television show.
The new “Donny & Marie” show is being described as more of an entertainment program than a talk show. Like most daytime series, the program will be a stop along the way for people promoting movies, music, books and television series, although there will also be performances. And, yes, the hosts will perform with guests.
“Yes, I wore purple socks, and yes, I sang `Puppy Love,’ ” Donny said of the ’70s. “The show is kind of timely because we’ve now come of age where, you know, it’s OK for us to acknowledge that stuff. I’m sure, I’m sure, someone’s going to ask me to sing `Puppy Love.’ “
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