Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76
"It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning," the family said in a statement. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time."
Osbourne recently performed his final concert with the band in Birmingham, England. The 10-hour show on July 5 was hosted by Jason Momoa, and featured performances from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Jack Black, Steven Tyler and more.
Osbourne is survived by wife Sharon, daughters Kelly and Aimee, and son Jack, in addition to daughter Jessica, and sons Elliot and Louis from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.
The "Iron Man" singer was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2003. However, he didn't speak publicly about his diagnosis until 2020.
The Black Sabbath frontman admitted that he couldn't walk anymore on a Jan. 29 episode of his Sirius XM show, "Ozzy Speaks." "I may be moaning about how I can't walk, but I look down the road and there's people that didn't do half as much as me, and they didn't make it," he said at the time.
In a July post, daughter Kelly noted that Ozzy's mobility had declined.
"He's not dying," she emphasized. "Yes, he has Parkinson's, and yes, his mobility is completely different than it used to be, but he's not dying. What is wrong with you?"
This is a developing story. Check back here for more information.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76, weeks after farewell Black Sabbath concert; follow live updates as tributes pour in from music legends
The heavy metal rocker had lived for years with Parkinson's disease. Tributes are pouring in from music legends and celebrities after Ozzy Osbourne, the rock and heavy metal icon turned reality show star, has died at the age of 76, according to his family. 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,' his family said in a statement signed by wife Sharon Osbourne and their children Kelly, Jack, Aimee, as well as his son Louis from his prior marriage to Thelma Riley. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.' The Black Sabbath rocker lived with Parkinson's disease. Earlier this month Osbourne played what was dubbed his 'final bow' from a throne at Villa Park in the U.K. Born John Michael Osbourne, the English musician rose to fame as the so-called Prince of Darkness with his heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, which he co-founded in 1968. The band released popular hits like 'Paranoid,' 'Iron Man' and 'War Pigs.' After his 1979 departure from the band due to substance abuse issues, Osbourne launched a successful solo career beginning with 1980's Blizzard of Ozz, which featured his hit track 'Crazy Train.' Osbourne became widely known for his wild onstage persona, including infamously biting the head off a bat during a 1982 concert. (He later got a rabies shot.) He went on to release 13 studio albums and was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — in 2006, with Black Sabbath, and again in 2024 as a solo artist. Outside of music, Osbourne also had an influence on pop culture: He became a part of the first reality TV show family thanks to his hit MTV show, The Osbournes, which documented the chaotic, often hilarious home life he shared with wife Sharon and their children, Kelly and Jack. The show also illuminated darker sides of his personal life, however, as it revealed his struggles with substance abuse and health issues. The show ran for four seasons, from 2002 to 2005. Osbourne announced he had been previously diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a progressive nervous system disorder, in January 2020, a condition he later told the Los Angeles Times he had lived with since 2003. 'I'm not dying from Parkinson's. I've been working with it most of my life,' the singer told the newspaper. 'I've cheated death so many times. If tomorrow you read 'Ozzy Osbourne never woke up this morning,' you wouldn't go, 'Oh, my God!' You'd go, 'Well, it finally caught up with him.'' In addition to Parkinson's, the musician also suffered other health issues, such as a severe staph infection in 2018 and multiple spinal surgeries following a fall that aggravated an old injury. In May, Osbourne told the Guardian about his condition: 'You wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong. You begin to think this is never going to end.' Tributes to Osbourne from the worlds of music and entertainment are pouring in online. Yahoo is collecting them in the blog below. Terence "Geezer" Butler posted a tribute to Osbourne on X. "Goodbye dear friend - thanks for all those years - we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston- who'd have thought, eh?" the Black Sabbath bassist wrote. "So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you." As word spread of Osbourne's death, more people in the rock world took time to write tributes. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day took to Instagram to write "No words. We love you Ozzy," along with a photo of the star. Brian May, cofounder of Queen, also shared kind words, writing on Instagram alongside a photo from Osbourne's final show that he was "so sad to hear of Ozzy's passing." "His last appearance at Villa Park was a glorious way to say goodbye — the love in that place for him was gigantic," May continued. "I'm grateful I was able to have a few quiet words with him after the show. And happy to know he passed peacefully with his loving family close by. But the world will miss Ozzie's unique presence and fearless talent. My heartfelt consolations to Sharon and their great family. And to Bill and Geezer and my dear friend Tony — for this is family — I know only too well. REST IN PEACE dear Ozzie. Bri." Meanwhile, Jon Bon Jovi shared two photos of himself with Osbourne, writing"Much luv to Sharon and the beautiful Osbourne Family. So sorry to hear of your loss. Rest easy Ozzy.." Guitarist Tony Iommi, one of the founding members of Black Sabbath, took to X to respond to the death of his former bandmate. "I just can't believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park," Iommi wrote. "It's just such heartbreaking news that I can't really find the words, there won't ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz. Tony." The Osbourne family was one of the earliest celebrity clans to star in a reality television show based on their day-to-day lives. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne starred alongside their children, daughter, Kelly, and son, Jack, on The Osbournes, which premiered on MTV in March 2002. The show, which concluded in 2005 after four seasons, was MTV's highest-rated program at the time. "When we did it, it was a hundred percent real," Ozzy Osbourne told Hunger magazine in 2023. "What you saw is what we were like. We didn't plan on getting up and doing what we did, we just let things happen. And that was the trick of The Osbournes. People would come into our house and go, 'Is she always like this?' and we'd go, 'Like what?' People would say, 'You've got to film this. This is amazing!' But I was confused; I thought everybody had rows with their kids and their dog crapping on the floor." The music streaming platform shared a post on X in honor of Osbournem writing, "From the first notes of 'Black Sabbath' to the final chords of 'Paranoid,' Ozzy changed music forever. We're crushed, but forever grateful, and we'll never stop listening. Rest in peace, Ozzy." David Draiman, frontman for the heavy metal band Disturbed, called Osbourne a "dear teacher," his friend and "a father to us all." The tributes to Osbourne continue to pour in from all corners of the music industry. In a post on X, Adam Sandler paid tribute to Osbourne. He included a still from the 2000 film Little Nicky, in which Osbourne played himself in a scene featuring Sandler as the titular son of Satan. "Whether we were in our basements with our brothers, in the woods with our buddies, in the car, at a keg party, on a boat, at football practice, at a sleepover … Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness — Ozzy Osborne!" Sandler wrote. "Loved him a lot like we all did! Sending love to the family and so happy to have spent time with the legend himself. RIP." Nirvana's official X account posted a short message thanking Osbourne and Black Sabbath for inspiring the iconic grunge rock band led by the late Kurt Cobain. Though Osbourne famously bit the head off a dead bat onstage during a 1982 concert, he also advocated for animal welfare, something that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) acknowledged in a statement after his death. "Ozzy Osbourne was a legend and a provocateur, but PETA will remember the 'Prince of Darkness' most fondly for the gentle side he showed to animals — most recently cats, by using his fame to decry painful, crippling declawing mutilations," PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said in a statement to Yahoo News. "Ozzy may have been the singer, but his wife, Sharon, and his daughter, Kelly, were of one voice when it meant protecting animals. Ozzy will be missed by animal advocates the world over." Osbourne previously participated in a 2020 campaign for the animal rights organization, which, in true shock rock fashion, featured his fingers amputated and bloody. The tagline for the campaign read, 'Never Declaw a Cat. It's an Amputation, Not a Manicure.' 'Amputating a cat's toes is twisted and wrong,' said Osbourne in a statement via PETA. 'If your couch is more important to you than your cat's health and happiness, you don't deserve to have an animal! Get cats a scratching post — don't mutilate them for life.' Talk show host Piers Morgan, who interviewed Osbourne and members of his family numerous times in recent years, paid tribute to Ozzy on X. Osbourne, the beloved Prince of Darkness, infamously shocked fans during a show on Jan. 20, 1982, when he bit the head off a bat while performing at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium. At the time, Osbourne, who had been on the road over a year, developed an onstage ritual involving raw meat. Osbourne would chuck raw meat at the crowd, at which point audience members would throw back whatever outrageous things they could. That night, at the Des Moines show, someone threw a bat onstage. 'I thought it was a rubber bat,' Osbourne explained in the documentary The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne via Rolling Stone. 'I picked it up, put it in my mouth, crunched down, bit into it, being the clown that I am." Osbourne quickly realized that he'd made a horrific mistake. 'Bats are the biggest carriers of rabies in the world,' he continued. 'And I had to go to the hospital afterwards and they started giving me rabies shots. I had one [on each rear and I had to have that every night.' In a post on Instagram, rocker Yungblud shared a photo of himself and the star, writing that he didn't think Osbourne would "leave so soon." He called the Black Sabbath frontman "so full of life" in their last meeting. "But as it is written with legends, they seem to know the things that we don't," said Yungblud, whose real name is Dominic Richard Harrison. "I will never forget you — you will be in every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage. Your cross around my neck is the most precious thing I own. You asked me once if there was anything you could do for me and as I said then and as I will say now for all of us the music was enough. You took us on your adventure — an adventure that started it all." He concluded the post with "I am truly heartbroken. You were the greatest of all time." Heavy metal band Metallica posted a wordless tribute to Osbourne, featuring a photo the band took with him along with a broken heart emoji. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, who was among the special guests at Osbourne and Black Sabbath's star-studded final show on July 5, posted a photo, presumably taken backstage, of himself with Osbourne and fellow guitarists Slash and Jeff Beck. Sharon Osbourne, who's been married to Ozzy Osbourne for over 40 years, told Billboard the idea for "Back to the Beginning," the all-day benefit concert held in Birmingham, England, on July 5, was hers. The event was billed as Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final show ever. 'It was my idea,' she said, 'because [Ozzy's] one regret was he didn't get the chance to say thank you to his fans before he finished his world tour. We were in the middle of his [2018 No More Tours 2] world tour, his retirement tour; we'd only done about nine months of the tour and he got sick.' The benefit marked the first time in 20 years that the original bandmates had come together to perform. An accompanying concert film, Back to the Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow, containing footage from the show, is also reportedly scheduled for release in early 2026. Osbourne felt compelled to perform onstage a final time, in spite of his declining health. Sharon told Billboard, 'He kept saying, 'It's my one regret' and 'I want a chance to really say thank you.' And this is what we thought would be the best way to do it. It's a celebration of Ozzy and Sabbath and the music.' Public Enemy rapper and fellow reality TV star Flavor Flav said he was heartbroken over Osbourne's death. Ozzy Osbourne has been the frontman for Black Sabbath, one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands, since its formation in 1968. Osbourne was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice — first with Black Sabbath in 2006, and again as a solo artist in 2024. Here's a look at photos from his storied music career. In an Instagram post, Elton John remembered Osbourne as a "trailblazer," a "true legend," a "rock god" and "one of the funniest people I've ever met." Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready thanked Osbourne for his music, which he described as "terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time." Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Ozzy Osbourne: The rock star of Aston who said goodbye at Villa Park
If Aston Villa were going to use his music for their new kit launch video, Ozzy Osbourne wanted to be in it. 'We were approached in mid-late June,' his wife, Sharon Osbourne, told The Athletic in 2024. 'The pitch was that this was the first time Adidas was designing a kit for Aston Villa. Did Ozzy want to be involved? What a silly question.' Advertisement 'I was born in Aston and spent my childhood watching carloads of people going to the Villa football matches,' Ozzy added. Homeground, the creative agency Adidas entrusted with launching Villa's home kit last season, had approached Black Sabbath and their frontman, Ozzy Osbourne. They asked if they could use their song Paranoid, the club's previous walkout song that thumped around Villa Park every game before being replaced by Osbourne's Crazy Train. The band's team replied with one condition: 'If you're going to use it, they would really like to be in it.' 'Ozzy was very honoured to be asked to be included, especially with Geezer (Butler, Black Sabbath's bassist),' Sharon said. 'I went to Hollywood to see Ozzy and he was great,' Charlie Parker, creative director at Homeground, added. 'He is not as big a Villa fan as Geezer but he was saying how he used to live closer to the stadium than Geezer. He was talking about how he used to get paid to wash people's cars outside of Villa Park as a teenager. 'Deep down, Ozzy was doing it because he knew how much it would mean to Geezer. He told this amazing story about Sharon Osbourne's dad being the manager of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Geezer walked in one day and Ozzy was playing an ELO vinyl. Geezer went mental and said, 'You can't play that because they're Blue Noses, Birmingham fans'.' The kit reveal was an astonishing success. In the first three days, it was watched 6.5million times on Instagram, surpassing other Adidas teams including Manchester United (4.8m), Newcastle United (3.7m) and Arsenal (1.7m). Parker led the video but the Osbournes put their own touches onto the shoot. It was Sharon's idea to feature their dog, Bugsy, in a Villa kit. 'It just so happens Bugsy's a Villa fan,' said Ozzy. 'He should be the team's lucky mascot. I mostly stuck to the script, but I Ozzy-fied a few lines.' On Tuesday, Osbourne died at the age of 76. News of his passing prompted a wave of tributes from across the globe, with Birmingham — where he was born and raised, the city that shaped him into a rock star — paying its respects. That evening, Black Sabbath's music could be heard as fans congregated by the band's mural close to Birmingham New Street railway station. Less than 400 yards away, others made their way to The Crown pub, known as the 'birthplace of heavy metal' and the venue where Black Sabbath played their first gig. The pub is closed but as a Grade II-listed building, it will not be knocked down — especially with pictures and paintings of Black Sabbath plastered on the walls outside. It did not take long for bouquets and messages to be left on the Black Sabbath bench on Broad Street. His roots lay in the Midlands, and Osbourne was a son of Birmingham. He was the fourth of six children and was born in Marston Green hospital. His father, John, was a toolmaker and Lillian, his mother, a factory worker. They lived in a cramped two-bedroom house at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, a 10-minute walk from Villa Park. Advertisement Osbourne and Black Sabbath transcended into superstardom and he spent most of his life outside Birmingham, but no one — especially not Osbourne himself — forgot where he came from. 'The Prince of Darkness' kept his gentle Brummie accent and remained an immense source of pride for locals and Villa supporters. In January, a large tifo of Osbourne (top picture) cascaded from on top of the Holte End at Villa Park before the 4-2 win against Celtic in the Champions League. He was always heard inside the stadium whenever Crazy Train played as the players emerged from the tunnel — but now he was seen. In reality, it felt inevitable that Osbourne's final public outing and concert came at Villa Park, 17 days before his death. The most fitting farewell in front of 45,000 enchanted fans, clad in black for the heavy metal gig. Repeatedly, Osbourne had announced his retirement, even as early as 1992 when he named a set of live dates as the No More Tours tour and then once again in 2018. Yet the pull of one more show at Villa Park, organised by his wife Sharon, who carried out interviews beforehand in a Villa shirt, and joined by a star-studded cast that included Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, was the appropriate goodbye. 'I was working as an artist liaison at the show, ensuring everyone had everything they needed,' Liam Howard tells The Athletic. 'The more I got to know some of my heroes, the more I caught on to something: they were as in awe of this event as anybody else. For these artists who have played to millions of people and sold millions of records, it was like none of that mattered in that moment. They were about to play on stage with Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne at Villa Park — back where it all began alongside people they grew up listening to and being inspired by. 'They all saw it as an honour to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event, as much as the fans and the staff and anybody else watching at home. It felt like this huge community gathering more than a gig, with Villa Park being the heavy metal HQ. 'As myself and a few others made space for Birmingham's most iconic madman as he passed us by backstage, he took the time to acknowledge every one of us with a smile and a thumbs up. A brief interaction, but one that epitomised just how cool and down to earth he was.' Osbourne performed five songs on his own and four more with Black Sabbath, comprising the original band members and reuniting for the first time in two decades. 'His passion for Birmingham is something I've never seen before,' says Tarik Simsek, who attended the concert. 'He even teared up a bit, which got us all emotional too. It was a special moment for everyone. Despite his age, he moved around with so much passion, belting out his classics. His voice was a bit raspy but full of that raw energy we all loved.' A clearly fragile Osbourne was determined. He moved as much as he could while sitting on a bat-shaped throne, having lived with Parkinson's disease in the latter part of his life. Ozzy Forever! — BlackSabbath (@BlackSabbath) July 22, 2025 'Aston Villa, it's so good to be on this stage,' Osbourne roared. 'I've been laid up for, like, f***ing six years, and you've no idea how I feel.' 'There wasn't a dry eye in the house for Mama I'm Coming Home and not one head left unbanged for Paranoid,' says Howard. 'He was unbelievable,' says Kieron Murphy, who watched in the crowd. 'I knew he was ill, so for him to do two sets was amazing to witness. We were all part of music history. He was and will always be a force of nature and the godfather of metal.' Advertisement Osbourne meant something to Birmingham and Villa. When the season begins, Crazy Train will be sung even louder and take on even greater meaning. 'It was the greatest day of my life,' says Murphy. 'Ozzy and Black Sabbath have shaped me. My grandad was from Aston and told me stories of waiting for his mum to finish work at the factory. Ozzy would be there as a teenager waiting for his mother, too. Black Sabbath came from Aston, Birmingham. We are free to love and embrace their legacy at my club, Aston Villa.'
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
A Deaf Actress Has a Message She Wants You to Hear
When Rose Ayling-Ellis is lip reading, she's guessing most of the time. 'You can get the shape of a mouth,' she said recently, but to understand what someone is saying, context is everything. 'You have to pick up body language, the mood, the vibe,' she said. Ayling-Ellis, 30, said that learning to lip read had been 'a survival technique.' The actress, who was born deaf, speaks and also uses British Sign Language, and was aided in an interview by an interpreter. In the TV crime thriller 'Code of Silence,' which arrives on Britbox on July 24, Ayling-Ellis plays a deaf woman who is recruited by the police to eavesdrop discreetly. In the show, as in life, she said, lip reading is 'like a puzzle.' When Ayling Ellis's character, Alison, watches CCTV footage of suspected gang members, she scrutinizes their facial expressions and observes how they stand. Like any good detective, Alison must study the scene, piecing together clues. In a clever visual conceit, jumbled subtitles appear onscreen and gradually unscramble as she decodes each sentence. 'Code of Silence' first screened on ITV in Britain in May, and its debut episode drew over six million viewers, according to the broadcaster. Ayling-Ellis was already known to many from 'Strictly Come Dancing,' the wildly popular BBC show that inspired the 'Dancing With the Stars' franchise. She won the show in 2021 with a routine, to Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson's 'Symphony,' that fell silent halfway to mirror her experience of being deaf. That victory made her a household name and landed her TV presenting gigs, including as a sportscaster at the 2024 Paralympic Games. But after being 'on the TV as myself quite a few times,' she said, she wanted to get back to acting. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
