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Wayne Osmond, who co-founded the Osmonds, scored four Top 10 singles with the group and was a regular on the hit variety show Donny & Marie starring his younger brother and sister, died January 1 in Utah after a stroke. He was 73.

The news was confirmed in a Facebook post by his brother Merrill Osmond, who wrote in part: “I’ve never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met. Until I see him again, know that he was loved.”

Born on August 28, 1951, in Ogden, Utah, Wayne Osmond began singing with his siblings Alan, Merrill and Jay in a barbershop quartet called The Osmond Brothers during the late 1950s. The boys’ father, George Osmond, got them an audition on The Lawrence Welk Show, but they weren’t hired.

The first "Pigs in Space" segment of "The Muppet Show" occurred in the third episode of the show's second season, the one hosted by Milton Berle. "Pigs in Space" sought to lampoon all of the most popular sci-fi tropes of the day, most notably "Star Trek," which was exploding in popularity at the time thanks to endless syndication deals. The segments took place on board a pig-shaped vessel called the Swinetrek, which was commanded by the handsome Captain Link Hogthrob (Jim Henson). Miss Piggy (Frank Oz) played First Mate Piggy, and the ship's chief medical officer was Dr. Strangepork (Jerry Nelson). The "Pigs in Space" segment was so popular, it appeared in 32 episodes of "The Muppet Show" through its fifth season. The segment was revived for the short-lived 1997 series "Muppets Tonight," where it was called "Pigs in Space: Deep Dish Nine: The Next Generation of Pigs in Space."

"The Muppet Show...

Marty Krofft, whose work with brother Sid on television is well known and highly regarded, has passed away.

Per ABC News, Krofft died at his Los Angeles home on Saturday while surrounded by family and friends. His longtime rep, Harlan Boll, confirmed Krofft's passing in a statement, citing kidney failure as the cause. Krofft was 86 years old.

"On behalf of the Krofft family and Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, I have been asked to announce the passing of their brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather - the legendary and iconic industry mogul, Marty Krofft," the statement reads.

Krofft is very well known for his work on television with brother Sid, with whom he formed the production company Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures. Along with Sid, who's eight years older, Marty was working on puppet shows like The Banana Splits Adventure Hour when the brothers were hired by NBC to produce a Saturday morning show for children.

Marty Krofft, one half of the legendary team behind H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost and so many more, has passed away at the age of 86. The cause of death was kidney failure.

Sid and Marty Krofft left an indelible mark on pop culture – despite their most famous works only really ever having a small selection of episodes to them: H.R. Pufnstuf had a mere 17, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters had 25 and Land of the Lost (a favorite here at JoBlo.com) had 43 across three seasons, their highest. Still, their works, which often felt like fever dreams and acid trips, remain some of the most visually arresting and – whether they ever fully realized or not – drug-friendly works of their generation. Sid and Marty Krofft, too, remained faithful to their creations as they were adapted for different generations, serving as producers on the Will Ferrell-starring Land of the Lost...

On September 7, 1974, one of the greatest sci-fi television series of all time premiered — on a Saturday morning. Land of the Lost was the brainchild of brothers Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft, the 1970s television super-producers behind children's shows H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, as well as the Donny & Marie variety show. The show featured the Marshall family, who found themselves transported to a prehistoric-like land populated with dinosaurs, monkey-like cavemen, and a terrifying species of lizardmen called the Sleestak.

The series starred Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall, with Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman starring as his children Will and Holly. As the show's opening theme song explains so famously, the three are rafting when an earthquake drops them down a waterfall, transporting them to a strange land. The show earned blockbuster ratings for three seasons and 43 episodes from 1974 to 1976, and its popularity only grew in syndication,...

LAS VEGAS -- Marie Osmond is looking to return to daytime.

The singer-actress, who recently completed a stint on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, has joined up with Program Partners for an hourlong entertainment/lifestyle talk show targeted to launch in fall 2009.

Osmond, who hosted the late-'90s daytime talk show Donny & Marie with her brother, was at NATPE on Tuesday for the surprise announcement. Osmond said the new show, being called Marie, will focus on topics of interest to women.

"It will be a real feel-good show," she said. "I've been through a lot of things in life and have no problem talking about it. Women need a safe place where they can laugh, feel good and relate to (other women)."

Osmond said that she's more than willing to share her own experiences -- from her house burning to postpartum depression to going through the adoption process to divorce and being a single, working mom to eight kids.

Ritch Colbert, who founded Program Partners with Josh Raphaelson, said it was the right time to launch the show.

Donny Osmond has signed on to host ABC's upcoming unscripted series The Great American Dream Vote.

The show, from Warner Horizon Television and Mike Fleiss' studio-based Next Entertainment, features eight contestants who reveal a lifelong dream to the studio audience, explaining why they think it deserves to be fulfilled. Contestants will square off, and the studio audience will cast votes, eliminating entrants over several rounds.

By the end of each show, two finalists will remain. Then viewers at home will have the opportunity to vote on which of the two most deserves to have his or her dream realized, with the results being disclosed at the opening of the following week's episode.

ABC has not set a premiere date for Dream Vote, executive produced by Fleiss and Lisa Levenson, who also exec produce the network's Bachelor series.

During his 43-year career, Osmond's credits have included hosting or starring in such shows as variety series The Donny & Marie Show, talker Donny & Marie, game show Pyramid and an upcoming British version of Pyramid.

"Debuting on network television at the age of 5 was exciting enough, but then 10 years later, a real-life dream came true: My sister and I became the youngest hosts in television history when 'The Donny & Marie Show' premiered on ABC in 1976," Osmond said.