"THE OSBOURNES": The Media Overkill Continues

The following article appeared in today's edition of New York Daily News:

Ozzy Osbourne should be worried. After years of cultivating his image as rock's Prince of Darkness, the former BLACK SABBATH singer has been hailed by Dan Quayle as a swell dad.

In a speech marking the 10th anniversary of his trashing of Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown character, the former veep applauded Osbourne as a new role model for America.

Having seen one episode of MTV's hit reality series The Osbournes, Quayle picked up that beneath the tattoos and curses there is a sweet, old-fashioned "Ozzy and Harriet" sentiment that has won over millions of viewers.

"You have to get beyond the sort of dysfunctional aspect," he said. "But underneath, I think, there are some very good lessons there that are being transmitted."

First off, Ozzy unlike Murphy Brown has an "intact family," he said at the National Press Club. "You have a mother and a father involved with their children. They love each other. They appear to be very involved with their children, not only in school but they say, 'Don't do drugs, don't drink alcohol.'"

The News' Helen Kennedy reports that Quayle, who criticized "Murphy Brown's" single-mom story line for "mocking the importance of fathers," said: "I felt I was right at the time, and I feel I'm right now."

In related news, Australia's Undercover has reported that an unauthorized book about the Osbournes is due to surface shortly through Bantam Books.

The Osbournes Unf***ingauthorized provides fans with an in-depth look into the lives of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and their children, 17-year-old Kelly and 16-year-old Jack. It includes a humorous analysis of the first 10 episodes, over 30 captioned photographs and biographies on all family members, including daughter Aimee, the daughter not seen on the show. In addition, the book will contain a glossary (What's Ozzy saying?),"rules" for parenting, as well as web sites and information about Ozzfest.

"We have so many avid, in-house Osbourne fans, we just couldn't resist being a part of the phenomenon that is Ozzy. Our book should satisfy those fans who just can't seem to get enough of The Osbournes," said Beverly Horowitz, Vice President and Publisher of the Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group, of which Bantam is an imprint. Editor Marissa Walsh will edit the book.

Entitled The Osbournes Unf***ingauthorized: The Completely Unauthorized and Unofficial Guide to Everything Osbourne, the book will contain everything you need to know about the family whose hit television series has captivated viewers of all ages. The 48-page trade paperback, written by Reed Tucker, will carry a suggested retail price of $8.95, and will go on sale nationwide on July 23rd. Bantam has announced a 250,000 copy first printing.