Ozzy Osbourne went from aging rocker to reality TV star, rebranding himself for a younger generation
Analysis: He'll be remembered differently by several different generations, and that's almost the definition of a pop cultural icon.
There were a few times, back in the 2000s, where I would watch Ozzy Osbourne's reality TV series The Osbournes and think, wait a second.
Is he definitely alive?
He'd mumble, stare blankly, bump into things. He was the show's punchline.
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne arrive at The Recording Academy And Clive Davis' 2020 Pre-GRAMMY Gala.
IMAGE PRESS AGENCY
Can I get a quick welfare check? Sharon?
The Osbournes set Ozzy's public image for a younger generation: the aging rocker whose penchant for drugs and booze had left its mark.
Because Ozzy's whole persona was cheating death, it's weird to know that he is, in the end, just like the rest of us: mortal.
Before the Kardashians, there were the Osbournes
The Osbournes was based in reality but it exaggerated what took place to make it more funny, according to Jeff Stilson, a former late-night comedy writer who worked as a co-executive producer on the show.
"We are often compared to Survivor and Big Brother, but we are not like those shows," he told RN Breakfast in 2002.
"That's the family, but for every 500 minutes of footage that we shoot, we use one minute.
"We are a comedy … We are structuring our show so it feels more like a sitcom."
The show — a hit at the time — was an early version of a format that would become hugely popular in the following years.
This kind of not-quite-reality TV, filmed inside a family unit and heavily edited, became the format for the various Housewives seasons and Keeping Up With The Kardashians, among others.
And just like the Kardashians used their TV show to grow their brand and sell their own merchandise, The Osbournes helped Ozzy and his family re-energise the singer's celebrity for a younger generation unfamiliar with Black Sabbath.
"We broadened our audience by millions," he said in 2002.
The series went on to win an Emmy for outstanding reality program that year.
In the show, Ozzy would swear and argue and complain, but his manner was always tinged with innocence.
The Prince of Darkness ultimately seemed like a good husband and father.
A classic rock 'n' roll frontman
What's interesting about that later-in-life view of Ozzy was that it supplanted the idea of Ozzy the musician.
The Birmingham-born untrained singer had a voice that fit the glam rock genre he grew up in. It was theatrical, like he was the evil character in a Broadway production.
Ozzy Osbourne performs during NFL half-time in 2022.
AFP / Getty Images / Kevork Djansezian
First with Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist, Ozzy was a rock 'n' roll frontman at a time when the rock 'n' roll frontman was a must.
Every long-haired, tight-panted rock act worth their elaborate rider — Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper — had a point man (and it was always a man) whose job was as much to throw around his sex appeal as hold a note.
But where Zeppelin's Robert Plant stood out for his tenor, Ozzy had not just a great voice but character and a backstory.
This was the working-class troublemaker who got kicked out of Black Sabbath for being a drug addict — quite a feat — and who famously bit the head off a dead bat.
Ozzy Osbourne during a concert in Paris, 1983.
Christian Rose / Roger-Viollet via AFP
His pop cultural cache was off the charts.
He found his way onto The Simpsons, Wayne's World and elsewhere. Late in life, as it was revealed he was battling Parkinson's, he collaborated with Post Malone, a legend among people under 25.
The two Ozzys
Which version of Ozzy will prevail?
The menacing singer of a pioneering hard rock band who commanded huge crowds across a decades-long career?
Or the big, befuddled family man, roaming around his mansion swearing at his dogs for shitting on the carpet?
The answer is both.
We all contain multitudes, and this dichotomy was Ozzy's.
