The New Face of American Family Values
Posted on 05/06/2002 11:09:04 AM PDT by It'salmosttolate
Wild man Ozzy makes a family fortune on TV
By Oliver Poole in Los Angeles
(Filed: 04/05/2002)
THE British heavy metal veteran Ozzy Osbourne, once a hate figure for parents, is now America's favourite father.
A fly-on-the-wall television programme in which viewers follow the former singer's bizarre family life has proved so popular that a second series has been commissioned, for which he stands to be paid a fee approaching $20 million (£13.5 million).
The Osbournes, which has its British debut tomorrow, has been the surprise American television hit of the year, pulling in eight million viewers, making it the highest-rated series premiere in the 20-year history of its makers, MTV.
The channel's traditional youthful viewers seem to identify with the two Osbourne teenagers, Jack and Kelly, as they wrestle on-screen with standard issues of adolescence.
But the show is also attracting an older audience who recall Osbourne as the frontman of Black Sabbath. For them there has been an irresistible irony in watching the godfather of heavy metal as he struggles to operate a vacuum cleaner.
MTV is so desperate to keep its unexpected new earner that it is reported to have promised the family the multi-million dollar deal for two more series in which cameras will follow them for further six-month periods. The Osbournes are likely to make even more from merchandising related to the programme.
Kelly is already set to record a cover of Madonna's Papa Don't Preach and the new-found popularity for Osbourne has resulted in a revival of interest in the ravaged star's old records.
His wife, Sharon, who was this week listed among the world's most beautiful women by the American magazine People, said the family was delighted by the agreement, the final details of which are still being finalised.
"We're very happy about it," she said. "A lot of thought went into this. MTV has become a part of our family as we've become a part of theirs."
Under the proposed deal MTV has committed itself to another series with an option on a third. If the channel decided not to make a third season the family would not receive the full pay deal.
It will follow the existing format in which each episode centres on a few mundane issues. In one, Birmingham-born Osbourne is dismayed to learn that his daughter has got a small tattoo on her hip. In another, he struggles to learn how to use a new television remote control. But the family's most enduring problem appears to be with its many household pets, which are not well house-trained.
The burst of popularity has resulted in a transformation in the fortunes of the one time music wildman, now 53, who in the early Eighties bit off the head of a live bat thrown onto stage by a fan.
After a well-publicised battle against drink and drugs in that decade, he slipped from the public eye. Now Osbourne has unveiled his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His wife has had to request a police presence outside their Beverly Hills home after fans started to overrun their garden.
Osbourne admits that he is mystified as to why the show has caught on. He said: "I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week.
"Now we've been invited to the White House to have dinner with the President. I thought I'd be on a wanted poster on his wall, not invited to his place for tea."
The New Face of Mr and Mrs Osbourne, however, are largely enamoured of a quiet night in. "We never go out, if we can help it," she confides. "Ozzy likes to watch the History channel. The only music he plays is the Beatles. When we do Ozzfest, our next-door neighbour, Pat Boone, minds the house. We keep ourselves to ourselves." And she laughs, recognising the absurdity of the claim. The Osbournes' marriage has survived farce, tragedy and rich comedy; now, it appears, they've ended up as the heavy metal Terry and June.
Hire a f@#@ing team of f@#$ing lawyers to review the f*#@ing contract, Ozzy!
Not true. Alice Cooper bit the head off a rubber bat during a concert in the 80s. Ozzy bit the head off a live dove during a meeting with record company executives.
I have a theory as to why people like Ozzy. They feel sorry for him because he appears to be handicapped.
There is no excuse as to why Sharon continuously cusses.
In all seriousness, the show has been a blessing for the Osbornes. It has allowed Ozzy to remake his image after all these years and that can only lead to more people attending his shows and buying his music. In other words $$$$$!
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