Donny and Marie Osmond rent N. Texas theater to watch ‘Force Awakens’

The original Star Wars was the No. 1 pop-culture phenomenon of 1977 — a year crammed with pop-culture phenomena. Somewhere in a galaxy that included Roots, Rumours and Elvis Presley dying their lived The Donny and Marie Show, hosted by the wholesome Donny and Marie Osmond, Star Wars fans themselves.

Big enough fans to rent an entire theater for a Friday screening of The Force Awakens — in Gainesville, up there on the Texas side of the Texas-Oklahoma state line.

"So I had this idea last week," Donny Osmond told People magazine, which broke the story. "Marie and I are on our Christmas tour and we have a day off between traveling from Tulsa to Gainesville, so I thought what are the chances that we could get some private theater owner to let us do a screening?"

But wait, there’s more: The brother-sister duo (hey, Star Wars has one of those!) gave away tickets on social media to fans who wanted to see the movie with them and their band.

"Not many people know this, but in '77 when Star Wars came out, George Lucas asked us to introduce these characters," Donny told People.

Marie added, "We've worked with amazing people over the years, from Frank Sinatra to Milton Berle to Bob Hope – but I'm very proud of standing next to C-3PO."

Clips from that special — a time-capsule of ’70s pop-culture kitsch if there ever was one, are on YouTube (Donny has been posting excerpts). The below clip is 12 minutes long, but R2-D2 and C-3PO enter around the 12-minute mark. And then there are the appearances by Kris Kristofferson, Redd Foxx and Paul Lynde. And Chewbacca. And dancing

Storm Troopers singing a parody of the Temptations/Rare Earth hit Get Ready. Yes, it’s a musical ... oh, just take a break and watch. As much as you can take.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Donny and Marie Osmond rent N. Texas theater to watch ‘Force Awakens’."