My Terrific Time with the Osmonds

     The end of the Mickey Mouse Club was a real emotional jolt to everyone involved, but, for me, it served to reinforce what my sweet Mother had taught me years ago…”always remember,” she said, “that Show Business is Two Words – Show and Business…and you will only be successful if you never forget that balance.” 

     The programming syndicator (sales guy) who had such an incredible success with the re-release of the original show, in my view, got a little greedy when we produced the new one. He had promised that we would have 120 stations around the country in the “syndicate” that he would create as we launched the series, but he only wound up delivering 65 – about half of what we were anticipating. This is way too technical for this writing, but his syndication was a barter system for the original show and he went to a cash system for ours – which wound up killing the “business” side of the equation. The “show” side was fabulous and we were really doing well in the ratings and the fan mail was huge. Of course, our production budgets were based on having over a hundred stations, so when we finally worked our way up to 92 stations, it still wasn’t quite enough for us to go into a second year of new show production.

     Sadly, we had to pull the plug.

     The studio made the decision to re-cut our production numbers and comedy sketches, add brand new cartoons and shoot an entirely new drama series so they could distribute a second year of the show, but the kids were sent home and the soundstage was shuttered. It was a bad day on Dopey Drive.

     The extremely talented production crew would move on and find new work in the industry, like our super creative production designer, Mike Minor, who went to work on the new Star Trek movie and left me this wonderful good-bye note.

     But, for me…now what? I was invited to help a couple of startups but nothing really rang my bell. During my hunt for celebrity guest stars for our second season (which never happened) I had contacted the Osmond Family and hoped to get Donny and Marie on my show. 

     They literally “owned” Friday night on the ABC network with the Donny and Marie Show which was the top-rated musical variety show on the air at that time. They had just finished their second season on ABC and were riding high. The Osmonds were a really big deal in the entertainment industry, with number one hit songs in both England and in Japan. The family was also appearing in a big Las Vegas run at the Hilton.

     They had invited me and my good friend, comedy actor Gordon Jump, to come over one weekend and meet with them. What I didn’t know was that this was actually a job interview.

     A couple of weeks later, they extended an offer for me to move to Utah and go to work for them doing production stuff…I thought. My time with them turned out to be filled with all kinds of new opportunities and wonderful challenges. I want to give you some of the highlights as I reminisce about my time employed by the Osmonds.

     We moved our little growing family (Leah had been born in April in Burbank) to Provo, Utah in the early summer of 1978. We bought a home on Foothill Drive which was high enough in the foothills to have a fabulous view of the entire Utah Valley. The Osmond Family had just finished building their own studio and ABC had allowed them to move the video taping of the third season of their Friday night blockbuster show to this new facility. 

     This was a really big deal, both for the family and for Utah Valley. There was to be a parade of stars come into town to tape their show for the next 3 years – Bob Hope, John Wayne, Red Skelton, Raquel Welch, Andy Williams, The Bee Gees, and on and on.

     Donny and Marie had just finished shooting their first theatrical motion picture, Goin’ Coconuts. 

     This was a fun movie full of all kinds of silliness and was a great showcase for the two of them in a brand new arena for them – the movies. But, when they edited the movie down to the best parts, it was far too short to show in the movie theaters – only 81 minutes long. Theater owners and operators would not show it being so short. So...the suggestion was made to produce a short-subject to go along with the movie, thereby giving the theaters a full amount of time to play the film.

     Here came my very first assignment.

     The lively brainstorming session finally landed on creating a short documentary that would be shown along with the movie and was to be about the Osmond Family themselves.

     “Mike, go do this for us!”

     Wow! How very, very cool. So, I put on my producer hat once again and went to work. We had a very short window to pull this off so I asked super-talented Rick Harper to direct this little film, hired an excellent writer and a whiz kid editor and together we got down to work. The Osmond Family had tons and tons of film and video tape from their European tours, from their original appearances at Disneyland, and from their TV debut on The Andy Williams Show and family photos galore…but, all this was not in one wonderfully arranged and organized place. We found film cans holding up table legs in an old garage, we dug out many photos from boxes that were stuffed into other boxes that were hidden deep in closets, and actually found some real treasures in a storage unit in Culver City, California where Andy Williams had placed all the original master tapes from his old show. This hunt for material was our first challenge and it was a big one. Once we found everything, putting it together was the next hurdle, and the clock and the calendar were unrelenting. We had a huge looming deadline…but we made it!

     For my first theatrical producing effort, this little gem turned out being really terrific. The family loved it and to this day, I still see clips from it showing up all over the place. We titled it “Side By Side” which was one of the very first songs that the four Osmond Brothers performed when they were starting out.

I want you to enjoy it too. Here is a link to it on YouTube. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p-zpsVuvMU

     After that happy success the family decided to go full tilt into the film business so I was able to print the first of my many business cards...this one for Osmond Films. 

     The first thing I did was hire a true veteran movie theater guy who just happened to live in the neighborhood, Phill Catherall. He and I would have some marvelous adventures over the next few years as we built and managed several businesses under the Osmond banner.

     We let it be known to the industry that we were now in the business of developing and producing films so the scripts started to pour in. During this time I purchased an option on five scripts that we wanted to produce. Besides Steven King’s Dead Zone which would have been a giant departure from the squeaky clean family-image of the Osmonds, the one I loved the most and worked the hardest on was Don Widener’s wonderful script which he had written especially for the great comedy character actor of the day, Jack Lemmon. 

The working title of the film was The Night of the Possum…a very, very funny story which would have been a very, very funny movie. Now, please remember that when I first went to New York to become an actor, the one actor I wanted to model my career after was none other than Jack Lemmon. This would be an absolute dream come true if I could work with the great Jack Lemmon. 

     We, the executive team at Osmond Films, made the decision to vigorously pursue this project and to put the other four scripts on the back burner. Yea! The first item of business was to lock Mr. Lemmon into the project as he would be the key to getting it made. I grabbed Jay Osmond and Phill and we headed off to New York City where Jack Lemmon was starring in the Broadway play, Tribute. 

     We attended the show and had made an appointment to meet with Jack right after the play at the famous theater restaurant Sardi’s which was just across the street from the Majestic Theater on 44^th street. (Do you remember that I auditioned for Fiddler on the Roof at the Majestic?)

     Sardi’s walls are covered with caricatures of all kinds of celebrities and the four of us were seated not too far from Jack’s own caricature hanging above us. 

     Really cool, yes?  We had a fabulous conversation and Jack told us that he loved the script and would be happy to do it with us but not until he finished his current run in Tribute. Wow! I was about to work with one of my acting heroes and dive full-time into the movie-making business. Needless to say that I was flying high on my trip back to Utah.

     In the meantime, all of the other four scripts were optioned by other film companies so we were now a one-film company. That’s okay, because this was going to be a fabulous film that I would be producing and that was starring one of the movie world’s top actors…what could possibly go wrong?   

     In his response to my thank-you note for our time together and for his commitment to be in the movie, Jack Lemmon told me that he was extending his run in the play and was going on the road as that show toured the U.S. and Canada but that he would still love to do the movie with us…but not until he completed his new contract two years from now.

     What?!?!?

     Two Years!!!

     So…what was our “Plan B” to be? Fortunately, during my time working with the Osmond family so far, I had discovered that they had the Donny and Marie Show licensed in only 3 different international territories. Boy, were they leaving one really big boat-load of money on the table or what?! So, since we were no longer in the movie-making business, I asked the family, why not recapture our own licenses from those distributors and start our own international television distribution company!?! Yes, you guessed it. Here came my next business card.

     And just like that Phill and I were flying off to one of the two big international television markets - this one in Milan, Italy – the Fiera Milano. We had a booth built by a company in London, who drove it down to Milan to set it up, and for the next two weeks we sold our little hearts out. Me…a sales guy! Who’d ever thought it? 

     But, we really brought home the “bacon”. We had sold the Donny and Marie Show to TV networks all over Europe, Japan, and throughout Central and South America. We set up sub-distributors in Chile, London, Germany and Tokyo. We started to acquire other shows besides the Osmond material and this little company started to hum. For the next three years, Phill and I spent two weeks in Cannes, France in the spring and another two weeks in Milan, Italy in the fall. We also visited our network contacts in Munich and London and, of course, took time to see the sights all over Italy, Germany and Switzerland. We saw Michelangelo’s “David” in Florence and Leonardo DaVinci’s original “The Last Supper” painted on the wall of a very old church – the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

     And, because I had taken a class in Italian in college I was the one in Milan who ordered our dinner, gave the taxi driver directions, and asked where the bathroom was. Phill, because he took French in High School, was our interpreter in Cannes. By year 3, I was actually able to make a deal in Italian. Fantastico, no?

     Back at the Osmond Studios between trips abroad, I was able to do many other fun things. Because of my Disney background, the Osmonds tapped me to create a daily children’s television show that they wanted to add to their production roster because they needed to keep the studio busy. I sat down with a couple of writer’s and we came up with fun musical show for kids. We titled it the “Snickle Tickle Library” – shot a pilot, which was especially fun because I got to sing and dance once again, just like back in my old musical theater days.

     The bad news is that it never made it into production as there were other more pressing projects that would bring in more revenue. Remember what my Mother said about Show Business being two words! This was just such a case in point.

     The major focus, instead of a children’s TV show, was for everyone to join in helping as Alan Osmond took the lead in creating a monster 4^th of July show that is still running every year in Provo, Utah – The Stadium of Fire. 

     I was on the production staff of that show for several of the early years and then, wonderfully, was invited back in 1992 to produce and direct one of these monster shows myself, which I’ll tell you about later.

     This was a major fireworks extravaganza which was proceeded by a very patriotic salute to America and a concert with some of the biggest names in the entertainment and music recording industries. I mean, this was a very, very big deal…at least for the good folks in Utah Valley.

     This expertise with fireworks and mounting large productions grew to the point where the Osmonds offered their services to the Presidential Inaugural Committee to take over a major portion of Ronald Regan’s first inauguration on January 20, 1981. The committee accepted. 

     We were to produce the first-ever Opening Ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial complete with the 375 voices of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the U.S. Army band, and of course, an explosion of fireworks that covered the entire Washington Mall from the Potomac to the Capitol. Osmonds were in charge of the pageantry…Frank Sinatra was in charge of the entertainment, of which Donny and Marie were a part. It was to be an epic event.

     I got a rather juicy assignment for this gig. I was to write, produce and direct a one-hour syndicated television special that we had titled “The Making of an Inaugural”. It was to be a full-on behind-the-scenes view of what all goes into creating the solemnity of the swearing-in, the pageantry of the parade and the elegance of the many balls and parties that wrapped up this very historic day. Besides the assignment itself, the absolute best part was that I was able to secure the services of none other than “Moses” himself to be my host and narrator – Charlton Heston.

   

     We started prepping in early December and set up a production office on the old Navy Yard. I hired a local crew to video tape everything we had scheduled: Preparing the food, decorating the balls, practicing the swearing-in itself, the security on the parade route, the designing of memorabilia and much more, which we got out of the way long before Mr. Heston would come to town. I only had him for a day, so we scheduled our shots in front of the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, and the one we had to have, the North Lawn of the White House.

     One glitch – the Jimmy Carter White House would not give us permission to shoot part of our show on the driveway – the standard shot. So, we improvised. We went out to the bleachers that had been set up for the parade, put Heston on the top row, angled our camera just right and…got the shot. Looking at it you would never know that we weren’t inside the gate.

     Another really big deal for that particular event was for a donor that the Osmonds knew who paid for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to fly to Washington and appear in two major events – the Opening Ceremonies and the Parade. Sherry and all of the Osmond wives had the fabulous opportunity to fly to Washington with the Choir and, of course, they practiced all the way there. So, Sherry was sitting right in the middle of the Choir and got wonderfully serenaded across the country. Better than a movie, huh?

     They landed at Andrews Air Force Base and were met by their military escort who was to stay with them all week. They had a fabulous time. They were invited to a part of the Vice President's reception, to attend the Opening Ceremonies (4 degrees BELOW ZERO that night), and to be in the front row at the swearing at the U.S. Capitol, All of their Inaugural Ball gowns had been designed and made by the Osmond Studio costume department. They all looked fabulous! Especially my Sherry!

     Interesting side note here that not many people know about. The President was in his early 70s and his wonderful protective wife, Nancy, had said that Ronnie couldn’t be out in the cold too long so the parade was not to stop in front of the reviewing stand but had to keep on marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. One of my Osmond colleagues, who shall remain nameless, told the driver of the float upon which were perched the Choir that “here’s a hundred if you break down in front of the reviewing stand…and another hundred at the other end.”

     The Choir stopping in front of the reviewing stand was the true “show-stopper” of the entire internationally televised event. They started to sing their signature “Battle Hymn of the Republic” just as they approached the stand. Somehow (and nobody really knows how this happened J) the float stopped long enough in front of the President to finish their fabulous song, and for the network television cameras to catch both the President and Nancy with tears in their eyes. It was a truly powerful moment of historic television.

     My anonymous colleague said that after all it took to get the Choir here in the first place, he wasn’t about to let that moment slide by without making the very most of it. And, after all it took, everyone was thrilled with the outcome (the float driver especially, I’m sure).

     Sherry and the entire Osmond family were in the bleachers just beside the Presidential Reviewing Stand for the parade. 

     Someone took a photo of Marie Osmond and if you look closely on the right edge you will see my sweet Sherry sitting next to Donny's wife Debby. 

    Of course, I was shooting all of this with my film crew, and as soon as the Parade was over we locked ourselves in an editing room, only to go out to shoot at two of the locations where the Inaugural Balls were being held. Then right back into the editing room to get this program cut and delivered to all of the stations for airing. A monumental undertaking. But...we made it and it turned out great. 

     I sent a copy of the program to the new President of the United States and he was gracious enough to send me two thank-you notes and a special photo of his family. 

     One of those notes is framed on my office wall. Here is the other one.

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     I had many varied opportunities as I worked for this wonderful family…and some of those moments continued to happen long after I was no longer employed by them, which I will mention in a future posting. For the moment, please know that the years I spent in Utah with this extremely talented group of absolutely delightful people were really terrific…and very, very memorable.  

     To put a final ribbon around my Inaugural experience for you, I thought you would enjoy reading an article published in the Provo Herald newspaper written by a reporter who covered a fireside where I was asked to speak about this fabulous opportunity.

Article in the Provo Herald, Monday, April 20, 1981

Is a black Marine sergeant really our President?

Rest assured, Ronald Reagan is the Commander-in-Chief but if proxy could be considered valid, a marine sergeant could rightfully claim the U.S. Presidential seal.

The sergeant stood in for Reagan during the full rehearsal of the inaugural, even taking the oath of office so the timing would be down to the minute.

“There’s no accounting for foul-ups” said Michael Wuergler.

Wuergler, President of Osmond International and writer, director and producer for Osmond Studios, recently gave a fireside at the studio in Orem on the Osmonds’ involvement in the Inauguration of Pres. Ronald Reagan and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s performance at the festivities.

Wuergler, who produced “The Mickey Mouse Club,” managed Disneyland and Disneyworld, and won awards in the International Chicago Film Festival, the International Miami Film Festival and the Long Island International Film Festival, helped produce the inaugural affects which lit up Washington. He was also involved in putting together a television special which was aired the Saturday following the Inauguration about the festivities.

Wuergler explained that the choir’s involvement went back to the Reagan campaign when Nancy Reagan expressed the wish that she would like to have them perform at the Inauguration if Reagan were elected. She and her husband were campaigning in Salt Lake City and dropped by the Tabernacle on Temple Square to hear the choir perform.

When the election aftermath was swept aside and Reagan emerged triumphant, it became obvious Washington needed a spectacular welcome for the new President. The Osmonds, along with other members of the entertainment field, including Frank Sinatra, began planning for a grand celebration the whole country could enjoy.

Among the gala events was the Inaugural Parade in which the 300 member choir was expected to fit into a float built for 240. Somehow things didn’t seem quite right. Wuergler commented that they informed the Inaugural committee in Washington that it would be up to them to decide which choir members would stay home, not the church and not Osmond International. A float for 340 was immediately designed and constructed.

True to the LDS Church’s missionary effort, Bill Critchfield, President of Osmond Studios in Orem, arranged for missionaries to follow behind the float passing out pamphlets and encouraging the crowd to join in with the choir on many songs. As of February, 42 baptisms as a direct result of the Inauguration have been documented in that area, according to Wuergler.

One of the many problems surrounding the choir’s trip was to find rehearsal space for them. A Jewish Congregational Church was solicited for one practice, and the choir harmonized while the rabbi, the cantor and half the Jewish congregation looked on. Wuergler noted at one point, while the choir rehearsed an Old Testament hymn the rabbi became dissatisfied at the way it was coming across and stopped the choir.

“It should be sung,” he informed them, “like you sing ‘Come Come Ye Saints’”.

The choir’s director followed the rabbi’s directions and the result, in the rabbi’s words, was “beautiful”.

A closing prayer was given and Wuergler said he held his breath when the ending neared. But, in respect to their Jewish hosts, the prayer was ended, “In the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

An old, beaten-down temporary World War II barracks, which is resurrected every four years, became the Inaugural headquarters. All that was needed was the removal of a sign that boasted a demolishing order and was replaced when the Inaugural ended.

It was from this lowly station that the military and Hollywood melted together formally. While military staff barked orders from their posts to men stationed around Washington. Wuergler and his staff banged out a rough draft for the Saturday special. They also needed someone to narrate and Charlton Heston sounded good.

One problem was that they could only get the former Moses replica between jobs, which added up to only a few hours. Another problem was that after Heston agreed to do it, they didn’t have the script ready. As a matter of fact, Heston reached his Washington hotel and still didn’t have a script. The actor didn’t get his script until he was in the limousine on his way to the first taping site.

Heston is what Wuergler termed a “flash learner”, reading the script in the car, rewriting it, suggesting rewrites, jumping out at the site and delivering his speech verbatim twice and then forgetting it.

At the first taping site, as Heston walked around the grounds for a few moments getting his bearings, he asked Wuergler, “Do you want my God voice?”

“No,” was the reply, “your normal one will do.”

As they drove to each site around Washington, Heston repeated this spontaneous learning and rewriting with Wuergler until the final dubs were needed. Those inserts he did in the hotel room with equipment set up all over. That done, the equipment was packed up and headed for the door. The phone rang. The Iranians had released the hostages. Wuergler informed the crew. Would Heston do one more line?

A “director’s actor,” Heston agreed and finished the taping once more after all the equipment was once again set up.

“You could see it happen,” Wuergler said of the Iranian situation. “It was their last slap at Carter.”

Even the behind-the-scenes shots for the special were posing problems. The filming was being done before the Inaugural and the military had to fake what they would be doing at the Inaugural headquarters and in booths along the parade route. But they agree.

The night before had been filled with music and celebration. The Inaugural Gala, under the steady hand of Frank Sinatra, had saluted the future President. (All the money was donated. All the tax payers paid for was the Inauguration itself.)

“Of course, “laughed Wuergler, “his stamp was on everything. It was easier to do a bar mitzvah in the Vatican than to get something past Sinatra.”

The gala was actually longer than what was presented on television. One of the parts missed by viewing audiences was Marie Osmond singing, “America”.

Wuergler looked back on the events with pride and an evident feeling of accomplishment.

“What we did was to – really – share a moment of history. This was a very special moment for those of us who worked on the Inaugural and for you, the American people, too.

“It’s not the man this was all about. It’s the man who holds the office.”

What more can be said?