Ozzy Osbourne: My Family 'Invented a New ... Form of Television'

By Jo Piazza Posted Jan 28th 2010 03:50PM

Ozzy Osbourne asks readers to forgive him at the start of his autobiography, 'I Am Ozzy.' The godfather of heavy metal admits his memory of his life story might not be perfect after all the booze, coke, acid, Quaaludes, glue, cough mixture 9and too many other heavy-duty substances to list) he has consumed over the past forty years.

Osbourne didnt actually write 'I Am Ozzy.' He dictated his memories and musings to journalist Chris Ayres who put them together into a comprehensible package that remains riddled with Osbournes signature profanities.

PopEater talked to Osbourne, 61, about his learning disability that prevented him from writing this book himself, the craziest thing he has ever done -- over a life-time of crazy things -- and why he thinks his family's reality television experiment almost destroyed them. "We invented a new effing form of television and everything is reality now. It went crazier than anyone expected it to."

The former Black Sabbath frontman whose reality show 'The Osbournes' became the mold to be broken for family-centered reality programming and cleared the path for shows like 'Keeping up with the Kardashians', is more than candid about all of the crazy things that have happened in his life.

He talks openly about biting the heads off of bats and doves and killing cows, cats and chickens (but he does balk at the idea that he would ever kill a puppy...he LOVES puppies). He talks about lighting himself on fire with a cigarette, blacking out in the middle of a 12-lane freeway in Memphis after a night of drinking sake with Motley Crue at Benihana and how he almost killed a local English vicar when his first wife Thelma accidentally served him a piece of cake baked with Ozzy's Afghanistan hash. He left the vicar on his front porch, hoping for days that the cops wouldnt come and arrest him. The vicar turned out to be fine, except for a nasty hangover.

He once urinated in the head of a German music executives wine glass, and also on the Alamo.

Osbourne admits he still battled substance abuse issues when 'The Osbournes' became a smash hit on MTV in 2002, smoking pot and taking sleeping pills and other prescription drugs. He says he has only recently tried to put his years of hard living, which surprisingly have left him in excellent physical shape, behind him. Now all he wants is to make an album that hits the number one spot in America before he dies.

PopEater: How did this book get written?

Ozzy Osbourne: "I didn't actually put pen to paper. It would be too much for my ego to do that. What I did is talked to Chris and it was like doing an interview. He said to me it's done and I said, Are you sure youve got enough? Because there has been some more crazy stuff, but people dont like a book to be 500 pages. Mind you if I had to f---ing put pen to paper I would still be on page one."

PopEater: Whats your favorite story in the book?

Ozzy Osbourne: "My life is so full of anecdotes I don't have any favorites. The vicar one is interesting though, the one where I almost killed the vicar. I know I'll have to see him again one day. I'll be doing some chat show and come face to face with him."

PopEater: Has your family read the book yet?

Ozzy Osbourne: "Sharon read it and she said it was great and I said I can't write too many bad things and she said 'All you've got to do is write the truth.'"

PopEater: Did you ever think you'd grow up to be The Prince of Darkness?

Ozzy Osbourne: "Not really. I mean I was very insecure as a child. I was very full of fear and through therapy someone once said to me if you build a wall when you're a kid then it is hard to break down. My therapist tells me I have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from misdiagnosis of my learning disability. When I was in school they didn't even know what dyslexia meant. It never occurred to them there was a reason I couldn't read."

PopEater: When did you know you wanted to be a singer?

Ozzy Osbourne: "When the Beatles happened that's when I thought, 'That's something I want to do. I want to grow up to be someone my parents can be proud of.'"

PopEater: Do you have any regrets about putting your family in the spotlight for 'The Osbournes'?

Ozzy Osbourne: "The television thing was a wild experiment that went out of control. It started because we did that thing for 'MTV Cribs' and it was one of the most requested reruns so they suggested we do an extended version of that and low and behold we invented a new effing form of television and everything is reality now. It went crazier than anyone expected it to and it has dawned on me how much it must have f--ked my kids up. Jack ended up in rehab, Kelly ended up in rehab, I ended up in rehab. But they were teenagers they would have been drinking anyway."

PopEater: Would you do it again?

Ozzy Osbourne: "I don't know if I would do it again. I am kind of happy that when were gone and my children have children they can show their kids what their grandparents were like. It's like a living diary."

PopEater: Sharon is about to appear on the 'Celebrity Apprentice' and the kids are grown up and working on their own projects. Whats next for you?

Ozzy Osbourne: "I'm finishing up my new album. I haven't got a title for it. And then I'm going on a long tour and I don't know how long it will be but it will be cool."

Tags: heavy metal, ozzy, ozzy osbourne, ozzy-osbourne, reality tv, the osbournes

Comments

(9)

Thursday 28 January

By take4443

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My Family 'Invented a New ... Form of Television'"

No Ozzy, your family copied the Anna Nicole Show.

Friday 29 January

By mark

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His music undertakings are legendary....I'm surprised he lived through it

By peppa

YEAH YOUR RIGHT SCUZZY OSBORNE
YOUR FAMILY SURE DID HAVE A HAND IN CHANGING THE FACE OF TELEVISION, AS WE ALL KNEW IT !

I WOULDN'T BE SO PROUD IF I WERE YOU... OR THOSE OTHER FILTHY MOUTHED IDIOTS, YOU CALL YOUR FAMILY.

YOU GUYS LIVE IN A MANSION , THAT IS FILTHY WITH DOG CRAP, AND YOUR CHILDREN HAVE FOUL MOUTHS LIKE THEIR PARENTS !
WHAT'S THERE TO ADMIRE ABOUT THAT ???

SO, ... YES , SCUZZY,.... YOU, AND YOUR OUT OF CONTROL FAMILY, SURELY HAVE CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE SEE TV.... ONLY , IT'S FOR THE WORSE.... NOT THE BETTER >
GO BITE A RAT !!!
YOUR LUCKY TO STILL BE ALIVE.... I GUESS YOU'VE PICKLED YOUR BRAIN, AND YOUR INSIDES SO MUCH TO THE MAX, THAT IT DOESN'T KNOW IT'S ALREADY DEAD.IT JUST KEEPS ON TRUCKIN............

By Diana

Ozzie is a die hard rocker, that can sing like no one else. Yes, the Osbourne family is different. As we all live a differnt kind of life style. He knows he has lived too fast, and admits to it in his book. More than most people can say for them selves. I wish him, and his family all the best.

By Rick

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Yeah and they have a new term for it Dumb Fu** itis

By clevrrr

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The man lived through so much and still gave us all of this great music...amazing he is still alive

By Deanna

You go Ozzie !!! I cant wait to read the book he, and his writter wrote together. He admits to have needed the help to write it. Hes a good guy by all means, and can rock better than these younger kids do any day of the year. And he did it while 'disabled' more or less. If he could do all of what he did while under the influence, no telling what all he could have done sober. My hats off to him, he will be remembered long after hes gone.

Sunday 31 January

By Bill Farrell

I had the pleasure of meeting Ozzy at Barnes &Noble in Skokie,IL on Jan.30,2010 during a book signing.Before I met him I thought that he would be on an ego trip but I was wrong. He was very gracious and looked people straight in the eyes when he spoke with them. All I can say is thankyou,Ozzy, for Black Sabbath. Rock on,brother,until next time.

Thursday 11 February

By sara

Oh Dear God
you and your family are symboles of disgust. And you are proud of them? the tv show was depressing and negative

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