Sharon Osbourne Reveals Her 'Biggest Mistake' With Ozzy: Turning Down Pirates of the Caribbean

In February, months before her husband died, Sharon Osbourne sat down with Billy Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, for his podcast The Magnificent Others. Partway through, she offered up something she said she had never told anyone: the biggest mistake she made in managing Ozzy Osbourne. She joked that she had several billion mistakes to choose from and they could be there all night, but this one stood out. Ozzy, she said, had been offered the chance to go and read for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Corgan asked if she had said no. She confirmed it. Then she added a thought that sounded like it had been turning over for years: wouldn't he have been perfect? She noted that Johnny Depp had wanted Keith Richards to play a pirate. The Rolling Stones guitarist did end up in the films, as Captain Teague, father of Depp's Jack Sparrow, in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.

Sharon had managed Ozzy since 1979 and helped shape his solo career, so she was speaking from a long vantage point. The interview was filmed before Ozzy's death last month at 76, only weeks after he played what he said would be his final concert. The remarks surfaced after his death and sit alongside other recollections she has shared.

In another interview, with Pollstar, conducted just five days before he died, she called the farewell show a huge success. She said it was the first time anyone had retired in this way, with the performance streamed and the proceeds going to charity. She said it was the right way to close out such a long career, and that she never wanted Ozzy simply to vanish without a big event. She also relayed what he told her that night: he had had no idea so many people liked him.

The concert, called Back To The Beginning, took place at Villa Park stadium in his native Birmingham, less than three weeks before his death. It reunited him with his original Black Sabbath bandmates, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, for the first time since 2005. More than 42,000 fans filled the venue. The money raised went to three charities: Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorns Children's Hospice. In his closing speech, Ozzy told the crowd they had no idea how he felt and thanked them from the bottom of his heart. A message on screen thanked everyone, said Birmingham Forever, and fireworks lit the sky.

His health had set the terms. Ozzy had spoken publicly about his Parkinson's disease in 2020, having lived with it since 2003. He had undergone seven surgeries in the previous five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023. He had said he hoped to keep recording after leaving the stage, but did not get the chance. His last solo album, 2022's Patient Number 9, featured guests including Iommi, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready.

Last month Birmingham turned out for his funeral procession. A brass band, Bostin' Brass, played Black Sabbath songs including Iron Man as thousands lined the streets and sang along. The hearse, with purple flowers spelling out Ozzy, passed his childhood home on Lodge Road in Aston, near Villa Park, where flowers had been left and the owners had put his picture in the front window. Sharon led the procession with her children Jack, Aimee and Kelly, and Ozzy's son Louis from his first marriage. Crowds chanted his name as she wiped away tears, and the procession stopped at Black Sabbath Bridge.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, who got to know him when the city gave the band its freedom of the city, called him a working class hero, humble and down to earth, who always promoted Birmingham and was proud to be born in Aston. Ozzy is survived by Sharon and his five children: Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. His family said he died surrounded by love. More recollections from those closest to him seem likely as the tributes continue.