Original member of iconic family act had deep Las Vegas ties

Long before the “Donny & Marie” prime-time TV show, and the Osmonds recording and touring act, there were the Osmond Brothers. Just the fellas.

And Wayne Osmond was integral to the family’s early success.

The singer and guitarist died New Year’s Day at age 73 in Salt Lake City, after suffering a massive stroke. Donny Osmond posted on Facebook that he visited his older brother just before he died.

“Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me,” Osmond wrote. “He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone. I’m sure I speak on behalf of every one of us siblings when I state that we were fortunate to have Wayne as a brother.”

Through representatives, Marie Osmond declined comment, deferring to the family’s privacy. Wayne Osmond is the first of the performing Osmond family members to pass away. Osmond had reportedly undergone surgery for a brain tumor in 1997, suffered a stroke in 2012 and was later treated for cancer.

The late Andy Williams, the entertainer largely responsible for bringing the Osmonds to the country on his TV variety show, was first to feature Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond in Las Vegas. The first version of the Osmond Brothers opened for Williams at the just-opened Caesars Palace Circus Maximus in April 1967.

Donny Osmond joined later that year. Nancy Sinatra then invited the Osmond Brothers to open for her at the International Hotel (today’s Westgate) on Aug. 29, 1969.

The Osmonds were among the first to play the International, which was less than a year old. Sinatra was the third headliner, following Barbara Streisand (opening July 2) Elvis Presley (July 31) leading to Sinatra and the Osmonds. The brothers donned blinged-out, Elvis-style jumpsuits while performing on their own and performing dance numbers with Sinatra.

The family’s first Las Vegas headlining gig was at Caesars Palace’s Circus Maximus in March 1973. Marie Osmond soon joined the act, and of course she and Donny shot to national fame with a series of hit records and their TV-variety series. The remaining Osmonds, including the youngest brother, Jimmy, frequently headlined on their own in Las Vegas, at such venues as Orleans Showroom.

Merrill Osmond posted he drove to the hospital immediately to say his goodbyes. “My brother was a saint before he came into this world, and he will leave as an even greater saint than he came in.”

From Jay Osmond, “Throughout my life I have always felt most connected to Wayne out of all of my siblings. He was my roommate and my confidant over the decades. As I sat visiting him last week at his home, he talked about how sad he was that he couldn’t get up in his plane anymore and how much flying brought him peace.

“What gives me joy is to know that my brother, ‘Wings’ has earned his wings and I can only imagine the heights he is soaring right now.”

Fretting over a fall

Word is Carlos Santana has a broken left pinkie after a tumble this week and will not be able to perform his first set of shows of ‘25 at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Still developing intel, but Santana was to return Jan. 22-Feb. 2.

Decision time at Cosmo

The superior dinner-entertainment destination Superfrico at the Cosmopolitan serves between 30 and 40 orders of Tableside Mozzarella every night. This, from Superfrico GM Jason Gordon.

This delectably cheesy experience costs $99 apiece, so Superfrico grosses nearly $4,000 per night on just that dish. This is but one reason the restaurant is a success.

I swept in on New Year’s Eve, also checking out the former Opium/OPM Theater, which has been dark for a year since that Spiegelworld stage show closed. The entertainment company runs Superfrico in partnership with MGM Resorts International. But MGM owns the theater, which abuts the restaurant, outright.

Spiegelworld reportedly has a dinner-show concept that can perform in that space, but MGM has not announced any plans for the venue. Spiegelworld could conceivably drop a show in the dining area that shares a wall, and half of a circular stage, with the theater — regardless of what’s planned on the other side. That would be a very Ross Mollison thing to do.

Cirque officials have also said they could drop a concept into that space, and that company has a long-standing partnership with MGM Resorts in four resorts. MGM inherited the Superfrico and (at the time, “OPM”) partnerships when it bought Cosmopolitan. This is a choice location, given the restaurant’s success. We’re keeping an eye on who moves in.

Miracle at Mar-A-Lago

Angelina Alexon, for whom Greece is always the word, was the lone Las Vegas singer to appear at President-Elect Donald Trump’s New Year’s Eve Party at his resort in West Palm Beach, Fla. Producers bringing in talent for the event had known of Alexon for years from her social-media clips. Trump himself had final call over the performers.

A Las Vegas favorite who is originally from Greece, Alexon has performed at Aria, Sahara, Mirage and Paris over the years. She joined a roster that included Richard Goodall (the singing janitor who cleaned up on “America’s Got Talent”), Cee Lo Green, the Commodores and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Alexon sings in eight languages with a five-octave range (she can hit the whistle note) and has covered Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, among many others. Alexon’s video a few years ago, in which she covered 15 pop superstars, has piled up more than 30 million views on social media.

New Music Alert

Frankie Moreno’s latest single, the rocker “Pass Me The Crown (feat. Giovanni Moreno) is out now. Giovanni is Frankie’s son, and was age 2 when we met at Rush Lounge at Golden Nugget. “He has rhythm,” Moreno the Elder said at the time. Giovanni is now drummer in Moreno’s band.

It’s fun song, autobiographical and groove-able. Find it on iTunes (the pink icon with the star), where it is Moreno’s latest U.S. No. 1 single. It’s big in Denmark, too.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.