Osmonds bring '70s to '90s TV

HOLLYWOOD - They may be a little too long in the tooth to sing "Puppy Love" and "Paper Roses," but Donny and Marie Osmond don't seem much different from their days as the clean-cut teen-age siblings on the '70s ABC musical-variety series "Donny and Marie."

Now, 19 years after the series' demise, the pair are throwing their hats and well-known smiles into the talk-show ring with a new weekday entry, "Donny & Marie," which is being syndicated around the country. Both Donny and Marie, who still love to tease each other, have had enduring single careers.

Performing since he was 3 years old with the Osmond Brothers, Donny later had great success on the legit stage, touring for several years in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." This summer he was the singing voice of Shang in "Mulan." Donny, 40, is the father of five sons.

Marie, 38, and the mother of six, also has branched out into the world of musical comedy, touring in "The Sound of Music" and starring on Broadway in "The King and I." She also appeared in the ABC sitcom "Maybe This Time" and sells her line of Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls at Disney Theme Parks and on QVC. She also is co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network, which has raised $1.4 billion since 1983 for medical treatment, research and assistance at children's hospitals.

Brother and sister talked on the phone from Philadelphia, just one of their stops in a nationwide promotion tour.

Q: Have you both worked together a lot since "Donny and Marie" went off the air?

Donny: Not really. We did some touring a little bit.

Marie: It will be about 20 years since we worked together.

Q: So what's it like reuniting after two decades?

Donny: It was actually quite interesting that everything just just kind of came back together. The chemistry we had back in the '70s just immediately popped back into place.

Marie: It's a very unique relationship when you have a sibling relationship because you can go places with your brother or sister that you never could with a co-host or a host or even if you are married (to the host).

Q: How did the talk show happen?

Donny: This whole concept isn't new to us. We've been approached ever since we ended the "Donny and Marie" show to do something, whether it be another series or specials. The timing just didn't feel right. Marie and I wanted to pursue our own thing. Now that we have done that, the timing just feels really good. Columbia TriStar - their support of the show - and particularly with Dick Clark as our executive producer, it just felt right.

Q: Can you talk about the format of the show?

Donny: It's an entertainment-slash-talk show. But I think the main thing, without trying to overstate it, is the relationship that Marie and I have. What we want to bring is a little bit of a different twist to (the format) with our personality.

Marie: We want the wonderful celebrities. We want to have people who aren't necessarily celebrities but are very interesting ...

I think we have another interesting perspective in the fact that for 35 years we have sat in the other chair (on chat shows). We started when we were three. It's a very interesting perspective to come from.

09-21-98