- Ozzy Osbourne, the famous front man of Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday at 76.
- He and his family became pioneers of reality TV with their show "The Osbournes" in the early 2000s.
- Osbourne had just finished a final farewell show with Black Sabbath earlier this month.
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary heavy metal rocker turned reality TV star, died on Tuesday, his family confirmed in a statement to The Sun. He was 76 years old.
Osbourne earned the nickname "Prince of Darkness" in the '70s as the lead singer of Black Sabbath.
Though Osbourne was a founding member of the band, he was fired by his bandmates in 1979 amid his much-publicized struggle with alcohol and drugs. (Osbourne said he visited rehab many times over the years and finally embraced sobriety in the mid-2010s, Variety reported.)
The year after his split from Black Sabbath, Osbourne released his debut solo album, "Blizzard of Ozz," which went multiplatinum in the US. His 13th and final solo album, "Patient Number 9," was released in 2022.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024.
In the early 2000s, Osbourne starred on the popular MTV show "The Osbournes" alongside his wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, and two of their children, Kelly and Jack. (Their eldest daughter, Aimee, preferred to stay out of the spotlight.) The show has been hailed as a pioneer in reality TV, helping pave the way for irreverent, unscripted comedy and similar "celebrity family" premises such as "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," which premiered on E! two years after "The Osbournes" aired its fourth and final season.
"The reality show wasn't anything different than our regular life, because that's the way we are anyway," Osbourne told Spin magazine in 2023. "We didn't become the Osbournes that you see just for the show. That's the way we are, and all they did was take funny bits out of it."
"It's really interesting because people love the Kardashians," he added. "They took it one stage further. They saw what we did and said, 'That's a good idea,' but they organized themselves."
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Osbourne faced a series of health-related issues in recent years
Osbourne went public with his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2020 after he said he endured what he called "the most painful, miserable" year of his life. He had recently postponed a world tour, leading to public speculation about his health.
"I can't wait to get well and get on the road again; that's what's killing me. I need it. That's my drug today," Osbourne told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America." "I ain't done yet. I'm not going anywhere yet."
Parkinson's is a degenerative condition that affects the nervous system and causes problems with movement, according to the National Institutes of Health. There's no known cure.
In 2023, Osbourne officially retired from touring because of ongoing problems with his spine. Later that year, he opened up to Rolling Stone UK about a recent series of surgical complications, telling the magazine, "At best, I've got 10 years left."
By early 2025, Osbourne had lost the ability to walk. But he remained optimistic about his outlook.
"For all my complaining, I'm still alive," he said on his SiriusXM radio show, according to The Sun. "I may be moaning that I can't walk, but I look down the road and there's people that didn't do half as much as me and didn't make it."
Despite his declining health, Osbourne was able to join Black Sabbath for a final farewell concert earlier this month in his hometown of Birmingham, England. The event also featured guest performances by Osbourne's peers and younger musicians inspired by his work, including Metallica, Guns N' Roses, and Yungblud. The show raised $190 million for Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Acorn Children's Hospice, making it the highest-grossing charity concert of all time.
A recording of the performance, titled "Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow," is set to receive a theatrical release next year.
Yungblud and Elton John led a wave of tributes from musicians
Following news of Osbourne's death, there were countless tributes from musicians who both worked with him and looked up to him. Chief among them was Yungblud, who played with Black Sabbath at their Villa Park show in Birmingham on July 5.
The young star said he was heartbroken. "I will never forget you - you will be in every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage," he wrote. "Your cross around my neck is the most precious thing I own."
Elton John, who worked with the singer on his 2020 album, "Ordinary Man," praised the star on Instagram. "He was a dear friend and a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods — a true legend," he wrote. "He was also one of the funniest people I've ever met. I will miss him dearly. To Sharon and the family, I send my condolences and love."
Green Day's front man, Billie Joe Armstrong, kept things short, writing on Instagram, "No words. We love you Ozzy."