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Richard O'Brien

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Richard O'Brien, born Richard Timothy Smith on 25 March 1942, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer and singer. He was born in Cheltenham and emigrated at the age of ten with his family to Tauranga in New Zealand, where his father had bought a sheep farm. He worked as a hairdresser for the Embassy Theatre in Hamilton, where he saw many late shows and got the idea for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 1964 he returned to England, where, thanks to his horse riding, he got a start as a stuntman in Carry On Cowboy. He took his mother's surname.

Music and breakthrough

In 1970 he spent nine months in the touring production of Hair. In 1973 he wrote the musical The Rocky Horror Show, which has been performed continuously ever since. For the 1975 film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he co-wrote the screenplay with director Jim Sharman and himself played Riff Raff. He also co-wrote the musical film Shock Treatment from 1981. He also acted in Flash Gordon, Spice World, Dark City and Ever After.

Influence

From 1990 to 1993 he presented the Channel 4 game show The Crystal Maze, and he voiced Lawrence Fletcher in the series Phineas and Ferb. In 2011 he also received New Zealand citizenship. The music of Rocky Horror, full of rock 'n' roll and science fiction, became a cult classic.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, such as Time Warp, and notice how the lyrics give the dance instructions. Do you hear the influence of 1950s rock 'n' roll?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists