Kelley graduated from Fresno State with a degree in journalism. He has been an online writer for over 12 years.

Ozzy Osbourne may be the wildest, party-hardy rocker of all time. He truly is one of the biggest characters rock and roll has ever produced. He’s certainly lived a life filled with adventures, misadventures, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. There was craziness of all sorts (some of it is hard to believe). Ozzy Osbourne’s life is the stuff of legend.

This article explores 26 of the craziest things Ozzy has done in his unusual life. It’s hard to narrow the list to 26, but I did my best. Every aspect of this list came from Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography I Am Ozzy, published in 2009. If it contains BS, blame Ozzy, not me.

Craziest Things Ozzy Osbourne Ever Did

#1-13 #14-26 1. Arrested and convicted for burglary 14. Threw meat on his audiences 2. Ozzy took revenge on his teacher 15. Accidentally put a live bat in his mouth 3. Worked at a slaughterhouse 16. Took a piss on the Alamo 4. Was stuck with a purple nose for weeks! 17. Shaved off people's eyebrows for fun 5. Ozzy's hotel was invaded by satanists 18. Took a pee on a police car 6. Drove drunk to the hospital 19. Was thrown out of a concentration camp 7. Used penicillin to cover up his affairs 20. Surfed atop an aerial tramway 8. Angrily shot a bunch of cats 21. Fear of AIDS made him stop cheating 9. Accidentally drugged a vicar 22. Slipped a doom dot into someone's drink 10. Shared cocaine with stewardesses 23. Ozzy attempted to strangle his wife 11. Set chickens on fire in a fit of rage 24. Embarrassed himself at the White House 12. Ozzy stripped in public 25. Regularly took 25 Vicodin pills a day 13. Ozzy bit the head off of a dove 26. Pushed a 50-inch TV out a hotel window

1. Arrested and Convicted for Burglary

Born in December 1948, Ozzy Osbourne graduated high school at 15 (they graduate younger in the U.K. than in the U.S.) Before Ozzy turned 18, he was arrested and convicted for burglary and sentenced to three months in prison. (Ozzy had to do the time because his father refused to pay the fine.)

2. Ozzy Gets Revenge on His Teacher

While still in school, Ozzy’s metal shop teacher, Mr. Lane, often punished Ozzy by slapping him on the arse with a big piece of wood. To get even, Ozzy liked to heat a penny for three or four minutes and then slip it into Mr. Lane’s desk. At some point, Mr. Lane, out of curiosity, would pick up the penny and—yeow! Ozzy would get a good laugh.

3. Worked at a Slaughterhouse

While still a teenager, Ozzy got a position in a slaughterhouse. His job was to kill cows by shooting them in the head with a gun that fired a steel spike. At times, Ozzy would end up covered with blood and guts.

4. Stuck With a Purple Nose for Weeks!

While singing with Earth, the band that would eventually become Black Sabbath, Ozzy, in an effort to always play the clown, would do just about anything to get the audience’s attention. One time he found some purple paint backstage and covered his nose with it. Unfortunately, the paint was indelible and didn’t wear off for weeks!

5. Ozzy's Hotel Was Invaded by Satanists

While on the road with Black Sabbath in the early 1970s, the hotel where the band was staying was invaded by Satanists, some of whom had camped out in front of Ozzy’s hotel room. To get rid of these fanatics, Ozzy blew out their candles and sang to them “Happy Birthday.”

6. Drove Drunk to the Hospital

When Ozzy’s first wife, Thelma Riley, began giving birth to Ozzy’s first child (Jessica “Starshine” Osbourne) Thelma insisted he had to drive her to the hospital. The trouble was, Ozzy was drunk (“pissed” as Ozzy often expressed it) and didn’t have a driver’s license. He drove anyway.

7. Used Penicillin to Cover Up His Affairs

At the end of an American tour in 1972, Ozzy, who had been sampling groupies for months, got a blast of penicillin before returning home to the missus.

8. Angrily Shot a Bunch of Cats

In those days, Ozzy and Thelma had lots of new cars. When Thelma’s brand new Mercedes inexplicably got all these scratches on it, Ozzy investigated and discovered that stray cats were climbing on it while it was kept in the garage. So, one night, Ozzy sneaked into the garage, whipped out his shotgun and blasted as many cats as he could.

9. Accidentally Drugged a Vicar

One day, when the vicar paid the Osbournes a visit (Ozzy is a member of the Church of England), Thelma inadvertently gave the priest a big piece of cake that Ozzy had laced with some potent Afghan hashish. Soon the vicar passed out, and the Osbournes had to carry him to the car and take him home. For three days the vicar was ripped and, fortunately for the Osbournes, didn’t remember what had happened to him.

10. Shared Cocaine With Stewardesses

On a flight home to England, Ozzy was carrying four grams of cocaine in his sock. Worried about taking the dope through customs, Ozzy gave the coke to the stewardesses, who snorted the stuff while still working on the plane.

11. Set Chickens on Fire in a Fit of Rage

Thelma, in an effort to keep Ozzy from partying all the time, bought him a coop filled with chickens. But Ozzy hated the chickens and hated feeding them. One night, while drunk, he took his shotgun to the coop and began shooting the birds. Then he set fire to the coop and into the flames he threw live shotgun cartridges, and they soon went bang-bang-bang!

12. Ozzy Stripped in Public

One night during the “Blizzard of Ozz” tour in Germany, while dining with some straight-laced folks, Ozzy climbed onto the table and began doing a striptease. Once naked, Ozzy urinated into this man’s carafe of wine. Afterwards, Ozzy wasn’t invited back to Germany for many years.

Black Sabbath

13. Ozzy Bit the Head Off of a Dove

During a meeting at CBS records, Ozzy, now a solo artist, in order to intimidate the public relations people, pulled out a dove, bit off its head and threw it on a table, where it twitched about, spilling blood and feces everywhere. Soon, somebody shouted, “Get this animal out of here! Now!” Then they threw Ozzy from the premises.

14. Threw Meat on His Audiences

During Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman” tour in the early 1980s, he would use a catapult to hurl pieces of meat into the audience. Enamored of Ozzy’s bizarre routine, young people would bring pieces of animals to the performances. One time, a kid brought an ox’s head—after he had killed and dismembered the beast!

15. Bit the Head Off of a Dead Bat!

During one performance, somebody in the audience threw something at Ozzy. He thought it was a rubber bat, so he picked it up and chomped down on it. Soon, realizing something was wrong, Ozzy spit out a live bat. Later, as a precautionary measure, Ozzy had to get rabies shots.

16. Took a Piss on the Alamo

While touring in San Antonio, Texas, Ozzy got drunk one night, and Sharon Arden (later to become his wife), took Ozzy’s clothes, hoping to keep him at the hotel and out of trouble. But Ozzy donned one of Sharon’s frilly frocks and took a walk. Later, while still dressed in drag, he took a leak on the walls of the Alamo, a historic national monument, where the cops soon busted him. It was a decade before the authorities allowed Ozzy to play in San Antonio again.

17. Shaved Off People's Eyebrows for Fun

When Ozzy had guests stay at his house at Outland Cottage in England, he would slip into their rooms at night and shave off their eyebrows. Ozzy thought this was hilarious fun.

18. Took a Pee on a Police Car

One night, in Memphis, Tennessee, Ozzy, drunk and looking for a place to urinate, chose a white car parked in a lay-by. Then he soon discovered this was an unmarked police car, and the lady cop at the wheel arrested him and threw him in jail for the rest of the night.

19. Thrown Out of a Concentration Camp

While in Germany, once again, Ozzy Osbourne, drunk while seeing the sights, may have been the only person ever thrown out of Dachau concentration camp.

20. Surfed Atop an Aerial Tramway

This time, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while drunk and coked out of his head, Ozzy took a ride in an aerial tramway. When the vehicle suddenly stopped, a thousand feet up, Ozzy took a ladder to the roof of the vehicle, lifted the hatch, and climbed atop it. Then, when the thing started moving again, Ozzy rode on top, his arms wide, as if surfing at Malibu.

21. Fear of AIDS Made Him Stop Cheating

During the AIDS scare in the middle 1980s, Ozzy finally realized that you didn’t have to be gay to catch the deadly disease. So, one time, after sleeping with a groupie, he had himself checked for the virus. At first, the doctor thought Ozzy had AIDS, then he later changed his diagnosis. Ozzy was so freaked out by the experience that he vowed to never again cheat on Sharon.

22. Slipped a Doom Dot Into Someone's Drink

One time, while flying, a woman sitting in front of Ozzy kept annoying him, so he slipped a Doom Dot into her drink and soon the lady fell asleep. This Doom Dot was a so-called "Mickey," which is a gel cap containing chloral hydrate.

23. Ozzy Attempted to Strangle His Wife

In September 1989, at perhaps the worst period of Ozzy’s drug abuse, he was arrested and charged with attempted murder by strangulation of his wife, Sharon Osbourne. Later, Sharon dropped the charges.

24. Embarrassed Himself at the White House

Invited to a White House dinner during the administration of George W. Bush, Ozzy got blasted on alcohol and, while screaming wildly in front of 1,800 people, Bush could be heard saying, “This might have been a mistake.”

25. Regularly Took 25 Vicodin Pills a Day

During 2002, when The Osbournes, one of television’s first reality shows, was a big hit on MTV, Ozzy was taking as many as 25 Vicodin pills per day, and this was among as many as 42 different prescription drugs he consumed on a daily basis.

26. Pushed a 50-Inch TV Out a Hotel Window

Recently, he and his friend Zakk Wylde pushed a 50-inch TV set through the ninth floor window of a hotel and let it fall to the pavement below (it was something Ozzy had always wanted to do). When this huge TV set hit the ground, it exploded like a nuclear bomb. The hotel charged Ozzy $38,000 for the destruction of the television.

Myth or Reality? Stories of Black Sabbath

Story Myth or Reality Explanation Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is missing two fingers Part myth, part reality Iommi lost the tips of two fingers in an accident at a factory where he worked. He uses two thimbles to replace the tips. Black Sabbath was the inspiration for the “Stonehenge” scene in the movie “This Is Spinal Tap” Reality Butler told “Classic Rock Revisited” that during the band’s “Born Again” tour in the 1980s, Sabbath’s then manager wrote down the wrong dimensions for a Stonehenge stage set. At one point, Sabbath spent more on cocaine than on its albums Reality Butler told “The Guardian” that the band spent $15,000 more on cocaine for “Vol. 4’s” recording sessions than it did on the album itself. Many of Black Sabbath’s songs are about the devil. Myth In a 2013 interview with “The Guardian,” bassist Geezer Butler said war was the main theme of their songs from the Vietnam era. Osbourne said, “We were never really into the occult.” Ozzy fought a robber naked Reality Ozzy sleeps naked and did in fact chase a robber from his home in the buff. There's a terrifying image for you!

What Really Happened With Ozzy and the Bat?

Before the famed bat incident ever happened, Ozzy was already prone to decapitations of winged creatures. In 1981, he bit the head off a live dove in Los Angeles, during a meeting with terrified record executives.

The legendary bat incident in Des Moines has been prone to mythologizing. Fortunately, the bat was already dead. In fact, according to Mark Neal, the kid who threw the bat on stage, it had been dead awhile and was close to rancid. He was 17 at the time he tossed the bat corpse on stage. Neal's younger brother had brought the bat home from school, alive and flapping, about two weeks before the concert.

The Neals, obviously, failed to keep the bat alive as a household pet. Mark's friends, who were more than aware of Osbourne's bizarre antics, convinced him to seal the bat remains in a baggy and tuck them inside his coat.

When he threw the bat on stage, Mark assumed that Ozzy might just make a silly comment or find it cool (in a gross way). He never expected that Ozzy would actually take a bite. Mark told the Des Moines Register, "It really freaked me out... I won't get in any trouble for admitting this, will I?"

After the concert, Osbourne was rushed to Broadlawns Medical Center for rabies shots. Pam Culver, the nurse supervisor that night, remembers the circus that surrounded his visit. The mob of reporters were everywhere and wanted to know every annoying detail. Culver told the Des Moines Register, "For a week that [handling the fall out of Ozzy's visit] was probably 50 percent of my job—fielding calls from England and Canada and all over the United States. People wanted to know how much did it cost to do that, and did it hurt, and how may shots did he have to have, what part of his body did we have to attack?"

By October 1982, the auditorium directors in Des Moines had to create new rules which would "prohibit concert performers from using, presenting or in any way making live animals a part of a program at Vets without the consent of management."

Ozzy says he thought it was a toy bat. Although, knowing his drug abuse, can we be sure he would have cared either way? Osbourne has since lamented that he will be asked ridiculous questions about the bat incident until his death. He said, "[They'll ask me] How did it taste, Ozzy? Why did you do it, Ozzy!?" And then they'll dig me up and ask me again!"

Afterword

It’s truly hard to believe that Ozzy is still alive after all these years of heavy partying, perhaps the heaviest of all time. He’s been in rehab at least a couple times, but whether he’s quit drugs is anybody’s guess. Yet in spite of Ozzy’s overindulgence and penchant for risky behavior, he’s been married twice, has many children and grandchildren, and his list of accolades as a great rocker is a long one.

But how much longer will Ozzy Osbourne survive? Perhaps only the “Prince of Darkness” himself could answer that question.

Please leave a comment.

Ozzy's Biggest Hits

Song Album Peak Chart Ranking "Mama I'm Coming Home" "No More Tears" #28 "I Don't Want to Stop" "Black Rain" #61 "Shot in the Dark" "The Ultimate Sin" #68 "No More Tears" "No More Tears" #71 "Let Me Hear You Scream" "Scream" #1 "N.I.B" "Black Sabbath" #2 "Gets Me Through" "Down to Earth" #2 "Flying High Again" "Diary of a Madman" #2 "Back on Earth" "The Ozzman Cometh" #3

Questions & Answers

Question: Has Ozzy had sex while performing on stage?

Answer: As far as I know, Ozzy has never had sex while performing rock and roll.

Question: I got to see Ozzy and Black Sabbath in 1971, do you know what colors they were using?

Answer: I saw Black Sabbath about that time, and their colors seemed to be black and silver, with Celtic crosses around their necks.

© 2013 Kelley Marks

Lucinda Martinez on February 16, 2019:

Ok Crazy is the Word.

Ozzy stuckman on January 09, 2019:

I’m thankful for ozzy he’s a legend and I’m glad my dad named me ozzy after the legend

Kelley Marks on December 28, 2018:

Thanks for the comment, DJ Hurst. I think we agree that Ozzy is your quintessential out-of-control rocker. It's too bad many rockers, particularly the young ones, idolize this reckless, irresponsible guy (at least he used to be that way.) Later!...

DJ Hurst from London on December 28, 2018:

And if he wasn't a rich rock star he'd be avoided like the plague. It's all very well idolising him from a distance but if he was your neighbour you'd have something to say. I find it sad that anyone over the age of 18 finds such behaviour cool. And he's an awful singer. It's lucky for him and his family that he managed to sort his shit out. I like the odd Sabbath tune but he shouldnt be a blueprint.

Julie brown on July 17, 2018:

I love Ozzy!! The World will stop...when he is gone

Angel Of Death on May 27, 2018:

Ozzy is fucking awesome i believe him & Jimi Hendrix turned the tides to what heavy metal is today !!!!!! Just imagine if they were never to be.....

Steve Williams on November 10, 2017:

Would have to be the coolest neighbor ever

Rudy on October 21, 2017:

Got to love Ozzie the world's all time character!!! One time he was in the wrong hotel room naked sitting on commode. Guy came back to his room threw him out. Could not get back into his suite. Had to walk to lobby. Heard this on TV from one of his old band members.

martin on July 11, 2017:

without ozzy metal probably would not be what it is today. I hate how most folk see him as a nutter, and not the guy who jumped in the back of a van with sabbath and and kit, driving up and down the country writing songs and touring nd trying to make not just a name for himself and his band but a name for a completely new genre of music that wasn't really heard of. That man is my fucking idol.

Azcoffeenut@cox.net on November 20, 2016:

Ozzy used to be my idol, but after reading all the nutty stuff he has done, I can't believe Sharon is married to him. I know he has aged, but I hope it has been gracefully for the bloody bastard.

Jean Bakula from New Jersey on September 22, 2016:

If you listen to a lot of his songs, they are against the war machine and pleas for peace. It is amazing he's still alive having done all those drugs. Even when the Osbournes were on TV, it looked like he could barely move about the house. Then he would get on stage and jump around like his was in his 20's. I guess the buzz artists get from their audience is as addictive as drugs.

Kosmo on April 30, 2016:

Ozzy will probably never be completely free of alcohol or drugs; they're like the air he breathes.

Nancy Yager from Hamburg, New York on April 27, 2016:

It sounds like Ozzy is his own worst enemy. I hope that he can remain drug and alcohol free.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 31, 2015:

Thanks for the comment, A Bones. I'll have to check out the Bruce Dickinson scenario. At any rate, Ozzy will probably never divorce Sharon - she keeps him out of jail. Later!

A Bones from New Jersey on March 30, 2015:

The craziest thing he ever did was not divorcing Sharon after she repeatedly disrespected Bruce Dickinson.

rubs on March 31, 2014:

i just went to a sabbath concert it was crazy ozzys the best

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on June 10, 2013:

Thanks for checking out the story, Thief12. We both seem to like Ozzy's tales of hard partying and screwing up. Later!

Carlo Giovannetti from Puerto Rico on June 10, 2013:

Good hub. Lots of those, I already knew, but there were some I didn't.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on April 16, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, lorddraven2000. Ozzy amazes and confuses me too, and I actually like some of his music, especially "Children of the Grave." Later!

Sam Little from Wheelwright KY on April 16, 2013:

Ozzy never ceases to amaze or confuse me.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on April 15, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, Sneha Sunny. Maybe at one time Ozzy was mad and scary, but these days he seems a very average bloke - otherwise he'd be dead, of course. Later!

Sneha Sunny from India on April 15, 2013:

I didn't knew about him. He's so scary. And mad! That's all I can say after reading and seeing the pics. No offense. :) Good read! :)

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 20, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, ronaldoh. At least Ozzy makes for a good read. Later!

ronaldoh from England on March 20, 2013:

Not the rocker he was, but despite his crazy stunts (do not try these at home!!!!).The world has been a better place with him in it.Nice read.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 04, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, aparkhurst7. I think Ozzy has ADHD squared and then some. Later!

aparkhurst7 from Wilkes Barre, PA West Hartford, CT on March 04, 2013:

Some of the most successful musicians are a little crazy. ADHD for example.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 03, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, aprtkhurst7. I think Ozzy is OK too. Then again, for me, his craziness is just in a book - I don't have to live with him. Later!

aparkhurst7 from Wilkes Barre, PA West Hartford, CT on March 02, 2013:

Ozzy's craziness is part of who he is. I listen to Born Again almost every day!

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 02, 2013:

Thanks for the comments, jpcmc and torrilynn. Whether you love him or hate him, Ozzy Osbourne proves the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. Later!

torrilynn on March 02, 2013:

Hi Kosmo,

thanks for this very informative hub about Ozzy

Osbourne. I never knew he did so many crazy

things in his lifetime. thanks once again and

voted up.

JP Carlos from Quezon CIty, Phlippines on March 01, 2013:

Wow what a violent person. But still, he is in the limelight.

Kelley Marks (author) from Sacramento, California on March 01, 2013:

Thanks for the comments, peachpurple and krillco, Ozzy isn't necessarily a likeable guy, but he sure is an interesting character for whom many movies about the excesses of rockers past and present have been made. Later!

William E Krill Jr from Hollidaysburg, PA on March 01, 2013:

Much like Keith Richards, I suspect that there is a great deal of hyperbole based on far fewer (past) incidents. I think both Keith and Ozzy learned Hudini's lesson well: create a reputation, because that is what sells tickets.

peachy from Home Sweet Home on February 28, 2013:

Ozzy looks more like a dark vampire to me. I may be be a fan of Ozzy but he sure rock the the world. Voted interesting