Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien, the creative force responsible for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, entered the world on March 25, 1942 in Gloucestershire, England. His formative years unfolded mainly across rural New Zealand, where an early passion for science fiction and horror cinema gradually steered him toward drama and music. Those combined pursuits produced The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a satirical musical first conceived for the stage and later transferred to the screen in 1975. The picture failed to attract audiences during its initial run in theaters, yet midnight screenings launched at New York City's Waverly Theatre in April 1976 quickly transformed it into a global cult sensation. Subsequent screen roles took O'Brien into Flash Gordon, Revolution and Dark City, while he also served as host of the British game show The Crystal Maze; in 1995 he created and performed in the fresh stage work Disgracefully Yours, drawing on selections from that score for his first album, Absolute O'Brien, released in 1999.