Ozzy Osbourne: A Life of Chaos, Crippling Health Issues, and Insane Stunts

Ozzy Osbourne's existence was a relentless grind against health disasters and jaw-dropping stunts, making his survival into old age nothing short of miraculous.

In his final years, the Prince of Darkness relied on a wheelchair and crutches, performing his Back To The Beginning show from a throne. He revealed he had undergone "seven surgeries in the past five years" while battling Parkinson's disease.

Osbourne led Black Sabbath from 1968 until his dismissal in 1979, a casualty of his own heavy alcohol and drug abuse. After leaving the band, he launched a successful solo career and co-created the annual Ozzfest tour with his wife, Sharon Osbourne, and their son Jack.

His health issues were severe. In 2003, a horrific quad-biking accident in Buckinghamshire left him with fractured vertebrae in his neck, a broken collarbone, and six injured ribs. Sharon disclosed that during the crash, Ozzy's heart stopped, and he was revived by a security guard who resuscitated him after he had no pulse for a minute and a half.

Years later, in 2019, another accident struck when he fell at home while recovering from pneumonia. He thought he was paralyzed after hitting the bathroom floor and called out to Sharon for help. "I saw this big white flash when I hit the floor," he recounted. "I thought I was paralyzed, so very calmly I said, 'Sharon, I can't move. I think I've done my neck. Call an ambulance.'

This fall exacerbated previous injuries from the quad-bike crash, dislodging metal rods implanted in his body. Doctors inserted metal plates into his neck after the fall, but they were later removed due to discomfort. Ozzy criticized the surgery, claiming too much blame was placed on his Parkinson's diagnosis.

He expressed frustration over his condition: "I mean, when I came off the quad bike in 2003, I still did tours and I had Parkinson's back then. It was THAT *******g surgery." He lamented his struggles to walk, revealing that he hadn't walked properly since the surgery.

Ozzy predicted his demise with grim humor: "I'm nearly f***ing dead!" He underwent four spinal surgeries to address damage from the 2019 fall but refused any further procedures.

Reflecting on his health challenges, he told Rolling Stone UK, "It's really knocked me about. The second surgery went drastically wrong and virtually left me crippled." He described the ordeal of having a tumor removed from one of his vertebrae during surgery as "pretty rough," admitting that his balance was severely affected.

Despite his struggles, he remained determined to enjoy life. He recounted a conversation with Sharon about smoking marijuana: "I said to Sharon that I’d smoked a joint recently and she said, ‘What are you doing that for! It’ll ****ing kill you!’ I said, ‘How long do you want me to ****ing live for?!’

In 2020, Ozzy disclosed on Good Morning America that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2019, calling that year one of his "most painful and miserable." He faced severe nerve pain, mobility issues, and blood clots requiring regular blood thinner injections.

When he announced his retirement from touring due to being "not physically capable" of performing, he described it as one of the hardest things to communicate to fans.

In a recent health update, Ozzy was seen preparing to sign autographs at Son of Monsterpalooza with his family. A video showed him signing while Jack urged him to go “faster, faster.”

Before his physical decline, Ozzy lived on the edge with reckless abandon. In 1982, during a performance in Des Moines, someone threw what appeared to be a fake rubber bat on stage. He bit into it without realizing it was real and ended up with rabies shots for the rest of the tour.

This was just one of many outrageous moments in a life filled with drama. While touring with Motley Crue in the 80s, he shocked them by snorting a line of ants as if they were cocaine. His infamous habit of throwing hunks of meat at audiences only added to his wild reputation.

As Black Sabbath's frontman, he became synonymous with heavy metal but also gained notoriety for drug abuse and alcoholism. The Birmingham-born singer sold over 100 million records worldwide with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.

“I’m nearly f***ing dead!”