NEW YORK – First, there was the music. Then, the ratings-grabbing television series, which spawned a flurry of magazine covers. Now, Ozzy Osbourne and his family have signed a book deal.
Simon & Schuster announced plans Thursday to publish two books about the heavy metal icon and his family. One will be a paperback in November tied to The Osbournes, the MTV series that chronicles Osbourne's unorthodox, profanity-laced home life with his wife, Sharon, and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack.
A hardcover memoir is planned for spring 2003, told from the perspectives of each family member, including the couple's oldest child, Aimee, who's not involved in the TV show.
"The Osbournes are a popular phenomenon of the first magnitude," said Carolyn Reidy, president of the publishing house's trade division. "Their appeal is multi-generational and covers the entire political and cultural spectrum. We're bleeping delighted to publish them at Simon & Schuster."
It's been reported that the deal is worth $3 million, but publicity director Seale Ballenger said that number is off "by a significant amount."
"It's not that much and that's not a number we'd release," Ballenger said, but he did say the deal is worth six figures.
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