While always remembered for his legacy within heavy metal and shining a light on the genre, Ozzy Osbourne found himself exploring the world of Hollywood in 2002. With MTV looking to capitalize on reality TV, the network aired the first episode of The Osbournes on March 5, 2002. And over the years that followed, Sharon, Ozzy, Kelly, and Jack gave a rare glimpse into their lives. Only running for four seasons, at the time, it was the most-viewed series on MTV. Having left such an impact on music and television, MTV prepared to honor Ozzy with a tribute during the MTV Video Music Awards.
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Although the MTV Video Music Awards don’t air until September, producers are already hard at work, preparing for the event. Lining up performances, appearances, and seating arrangements, Van Toffler revealed he was working alongside MTV for the upcoming ceremony. Not giving away too many details, he admitted, “I have no doubt we will spend the next month figuring out the proper tribute and send off to Ozzy on the Video Music Awards, because he was such a large figure in music history, and the family [had] such an impact on MTV history, and we need to acknowledge that.”
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Even The Osbourne Family Was Shocked How Big ‘The Osbournes’ Became
For nearly three decades, Toffler found himself working at MTV. And during that time, he watched the Osbournes become reality TV stars. Recalling that time at the network, Toffler explained, “We were deep in the throes of reality television in the early 2000s but I don’t think we’d ever had someone over 50 years old featured on any show on MTV in its history.”
While preparing for the show Cribs, Toffler knew there was something real and special about the Osbourne family. “We shot a bit with the Osbournes, and we all kind of looked at each other and just felt there is some wonderful, serendipitous chaos and insanity in this house that people would eat up. What a loving, dysfunctional, chaotic, musical family they were. And it just hit us to keep shooting, which went on for years.”
Although seeing something special in the family, not even the Osbournes could predict how big it got. “It was a ginormous global hit. I remember sitting with Sharon having a meal, and we were both in disbelief that they were on the cover of every magazine. And it wasn’t music magazines, it was Variety. It was US Weekly and EW and People. It was amazing how the country and the world became infatuated with his family.”
Leaving his mark not just in music but in the history of MTV, the network is sure to make Ozzy’s tribute a highlight of the music awards.
(Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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