Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne has passed away. He was 76 years old.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time,” his family said in a statement they posted on X.
His death comes weeks after he reunited with Black Sabbath for the first time in 20 years for a final show. His performance came amid a string of health issues for the Godfather of Heavy Metal.
In 2020, Osbourne revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a nervous system disorder that affects movement. He told Good Morning America that the diagnosis came after a fall in 2019, while recovering from pneumonia. Also in 2020, he revealed he had been diagnosed with the lung disease emphysema.
The Prince of Darkness rose to fame in the ’70s with his band Black Sabbath, the originators of the heavy metal sound. He later went solo with his album “Blizzard of Ozz” in 1980 and later released 13 albums.
In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist in 2024.
In 2002, he was exposed to a younger audience when he, alongside his wife Sharon and their children Kelly and Jack, starred in the MTV reality series “The Osbournes.” The series showed a softer side of the rocker.
The “Crazy Train” singer leaves behind his wife Sharon and six children: Kelly, Aimee and Jack, who he shares with Sharon, and Jessica, Louis and Elliot, who he shares with first wife Thelma Riley. He also leaves behind grandchildren.
