Ozzy Osbourne, the rock and heavy metal icon turned reality show star, has died, according to his family. He was 76.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,\u201d 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. \u201cHe was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Black Sabbath rocker lived with Parkinson\u2019s disease. Earlier this month Osbourne played what was dubbed his \u201cfinal bow\u201d<\/a> from a throne at Villa Park in the U.K.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cParanoid,\u201d \u201cIron Man\u201d and \u201cWar Pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n After his 1979 departure from the band due to substance abuse issues, Osbourne launched a successful solo career beginning with 1980\u2019s Blizzard of Ozz, which featured his hit track \u201cCrazy Train.\u201d Osbourne became widely known for his wild onstage persona, including infamously biting the head off a bat<\/a> during a 1982 concert. (He later got a rabies shot<\/a>.) He went on to release 13 studio albums and was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame \u2014 in 2006, with Black Sabbath, and again in 2024 as a solo artist.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Osbourne announced he had been previously diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/a>, a progressive nervous system disorder, in January 2020, a condition he later told the Los Angeles Times<\/a> he had lived with since 2003.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not dying from Parkinson\u2019s. I\u2019ve been working with it most of my life,\u201d the singer told the newspaper. \u201cI\u2019ve cheated death so many times. If tomorrow you read \u2018Ozzy Osbourne never woke up this morning,\u2019 you wouldn\u2019t go, \u2018Oh, my God!\u2019 You\u2019d go, \u2018Well, it finally caught up with him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to Parkinson\u2019s, the musician also suffered other health issues, such as a severe staph infection in 2018<\/a> and multiple spinal surgeries<\/a> following a fall that aggravated an old injury.<\/p>\n