Rock Musician, Illustrator. A bassist, he was a member of the 1960s rock ensemble "The Nazz". He attended the Philadelphia College of Art, prior to forming the rock band Woody's Truck Stop with Todd Rundgren. Influenced by The Beatles and The Who, Van Osten formed Nazz with Rundgren and gained exposer as an opening act for The Doors in 1967. Their self-titled debut album "The Nazz" was released in 1968 and yielded the minor hit "Open My Eyes" and also included the Top-100 song "Hello It's Me". Two more studio albums "Nazz Nazz" (1969) and "Nazz III" (1969) were recorded prior to the disbanding in 1970. Osten remained in the entertainment industry and utilized his education in art to collaborate with Sonny and Cher on several ground-breaking music videos including "The Candy Man" (1972), "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" (1973) and "Sweet Gypsy Rose" (1973). In 1974, he joined Disney and served as a staff comic artist on comic books featuring such characters as Mickey Mouse and Goofy. In August 2015, Van Osten was the recipient of the Disney Legends Award for his service.
Rock Musician, Illustrator. A bassist, he was a member of the 1960s rock ensemble "The Nazz". He attended the Philadelphia College of Art, prior to forming the rock band Woody's Truck Stop with Todd Rundgren. Influenced by The Beatles and The Who, Van Osten formed Nazz with Rundgren and gained exposer as an opening act for The Doors in 1967. Their self-titled debut album "The Nazz" was released in 1968 and yielded the minor hit "Open My Eyes" and also included the Top-100 song "Hello It's Me". Two more studio albums "Nazz Nazz" (1969) and "Nazz III" (1969) were recorded prior to the disbanding in 1970. Osten remained in the entertainment industry and utilized his education in art to collaborate with Sonny and Cher on several ground-breaking music videos including "The Candy Man" (1972), "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" (1973) and "Sweet Gypsy Rose" (1973). In 1974, he joined Disney and served as a staff comic artist on comic books featuring such characters as Mickey Mouse and Goofy. In August 2015, Van Osten was the recipient of the Disney Legends Award for his service.
Bio by: C.S.
Advertisement
