Wayne Osmond, member of the singing Osmond family, dies aged 73

Wayne Osmond, the smooth baritone of pop group the Osmond Brothers and later the Osmonds, has died at the age of 73. Osmond died at a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a “massive stroke”, according to his brother Merrill Osmond.

“I’ve never known a man that had more humility,” Merrill Osmond wrote on Facebook. “A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.”

He said: “I will miss him tremendously. I am so grateful to have grown up with one of heavenly father‘s greatest sons.”

In a statement, the Osmond family said: “His legacy of faith, music, love and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world. He would want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that families are forever and that banana splits are the best dessert. We love him and will miss him dearly.”

Born the fourth of nine siblings on 28 August 1951 in Ogden, Utah, Wayne Osmond started his singing career as a boy in a barbershop quarter with his older brother Alan and younger brothers Merrill and Jay. The group began singing for the family’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – colloquially though no longer officially known as Mormons – congregation in 1958.

The Osmonds in the Netherlands in 1972. Left to right, Alan, Donny, Jay, Merrill and Wayne. Photograph: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns

After being discovered at Disneyland, the foursome gained more exposure on ABC’s The Lawrence Welk Show and The Andy Williams Show, adding brothers Donny and Jimmy in the process. Wayne primarily provided backing vocals and was a well-rounded musician, playing guitar and bagpipe, among other instruments.

Then known as the Osmonds, the group reached the pinnacle of their fame in the 1970s, with the hit single One Bad Apple spending five weeks at No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. The group headlined an Osmond Brothers Special for CBS that year. Donny and sister Marie Osmond would go on to host the ABC variety show Donny & Marie from 1976 to 1979, which became a Vegas strip staple in the 2010s.

Wayne Osmond endured a number of health problems over the years; he underwent surgery for a brain tumor in 1997, had a stroke in 2012 and was treated for cancer. He is survived by all of his siblings – Virl, Tom, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy – as well as his wife of over 50 years, Kathlyn, and their five children.