Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien
Born Richard Smith
(1942-03-25) 25 March 1942
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Occupation Actor, writer, broadcaster,
voice actor, theatre performer
Citizenship British (1942-Present), New Zealand (2011-Present)
Period 1965–present
Notable works The Rocky Horror Show (Writer and Actor)
Robin of Sherwood (Series 3, as Gulnar)
The Crystal Maze (Presenter)
Phineas and Ferb (Voice of Lawrence Fletcher)
Spouse Kimi Wong (m. 1971–19??; divorced)
Jane Moss (m. 1983–2006; divorced)
Sabrina Graf (m. 2013–present)
Children Linus O'Brien, Amelia O'Brien and Joshua O'Brien
Website
www.rockyhorror.com

Richard O'Brien ( Richard Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer and theatre performer. After a long and successful career based in the United Kingdom, he gained dual citizenship with New Zealand in 2011, where he resided in Tauranga.

O'Brien wrote the musical stage show The Rocky Horror Show, which has remained in almost continuous production. He also co-wrote the screenplay of the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show released in 1975, appearing in the film as Riff Raff. O'Brien also appeared in the hugely popular ITV series Robin of Sherwood in 1986, as Gulnar, alongside Jason Connery. He presented the television show The Crystal Maze for Channel 4 from 1990 to 1993 and is the voice of Lawrence Fletcher, the title characters' father in Phineas and Ferb.

Early life

O'Brien was born Richard Smith in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. O'Brien emigrated with his family to Tauranga, New Zealand, at the age of 10, where his accountant father had purchased a sheep farm. He returned to England in 1964, after learning how to ride horses (a skill which provided him with his break into the film industry as a stuntman in Carry On Cowboy) and developing a keen interest in comic books and horror films. He launched his acting career using his maternal grandmother's name,[1] as there was already an actor named Richard Smith. He credited his time in New Zealand with instilling in him a sense of egalitarianism that enabled him to ignore the negative implications of social class in the UK upon returning, and gave him "a great sense of freedom".[2]

Work

To improve his acting skills, O'Brien took method acting classes, and then joined several stage productions as an actor. In 1970 he went into the touring production of Hair for nine months, and spent another nine months in the London production.[3] In the summer of 1972, he met director Jim Sharman who cast him as an Apostle and Leper in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Sharman then cast O'Brien as Willie, the alien in his March 1973 production of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.[4]

Sharman also helped make O'Brien's draft of a gothic-themed, schlock-horror comic-book fantasy romp into a reality. Sharman suggested changing the working title from They Came from Denton High, and The Rocky Horror Show opened at the Theatre Upstairs in June 1973.[5] Within weeks it had become a box-office hit, moving from the Royal Court to a nearby venue the Pheasantry in the King's Road, then to the Classic Cinema and eventually into the West End at the Comedy Theatre.

After seeing the second night's performance in the Theatre Upstairs, Jonathan King produced the original cast soundtrack in just over 48 hours during an off-stage weekend and rushed it out on his UK Records label. He also became a 20% backer with producer Michael White, who put up the remaining 80%.[6]

During this period, O'Brien and his wife Kimi Wong recorded and released a number of pop singles under the name Kimi and Ritz.[7]

Later career

O'Brien continued writing musicals with arranger Richard Hartley, including: T. Zee (1976), Disaster (1978), The Stripper (1982– based on the Carter Brown novel and produced in Australia), and Top People (1984). O'Brien and Hartley also provided three songs for the film The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), starring Alan Arkin. O'Brien wrote his one-man revue Disgracefully Yours (1985) singing as Mephistopheles Smith. O'Brien became a serial bit-part film actor and has appeared in Jubilee (1977), Flash Gordon (1980), Dark City (1998), Ever After (1998) and Dungeons & Dragons (2000), among others. Additionally he guest starred in five episodes in the third season of the HTV dramatisation of Robin of Sherwood, as the corrupt druid Gulnar. A music CD of the songs from Disgracefully Yours entitled Absolute O'Brien was released in 1998.[8]

He became the presenter of UK Channel 4's game show The Crystal Maze in 1990,[9] specialising in sardonic put-downs, occasional eccentricities and playing his harmonica at random intervals. The show ran from 1990 to 1995, with O'Brien presenting the first four series. It was regularly Channel 4's highest-rated programme, reaching a peak of 7 million viewers for the 1993 Christmas special. O'Brien left The Crystal Maze in 1993 after the fourth series; the show was then taken over by Edward Tudor-Pole. After two series without O'Brien, the show was cancelled.

In other roles O'Brien has conceptualised and played the role of the Child Catcher in the West End theatre production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.[9] He also occasionally performs cabaret-style music and comedy on stages around the world, singing songs from Rocky Horror among others. In 1995, he performed a select number of shows as the devilish charmer Mephistopheles Smith in a musical/comedy show he wrote entitled Disgracefully Yours, which was later given permission to be adapted into a musical, performed first by Eubank Productions for the Kansas City Fringe Fest in 2006, and more recently by Janus Theatre Company for the Edinburgh Fringe 2007, simply entitled Mephistopheles Smith. In late 2005, he appeared (as the spirit of the mirror) in the pantomime version of Snow White, which played at the Milton Keynes Theatre. In the summer of 2006, he played the Child Catcher in the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace.

O'Brien performed in Thank-You for the Music, a 90-minute ABBA documentary for ITV, directed by Martin Koch, who previously directed the musical Mamma Mia![10] The documentary included a remake of the mini musical '"The Girl with the Golden Hair" which ABBA performed during their 1977 world tour and featured on ABBA: The Album (also 1977). The musical was performed at the Prince of Wales Theatre and featured Richard O'Brien, Liz McClarnon and the Dynamos.[10] He also hosted the 1993 Brit Awards.

A patron of the Five Stars Scanner Appeal,[11] which benefits the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. From 2001-06 he hosted the annual Transfandango,[12] gala gathering of Dearhearts and Trans 'n' Gentle People to raise money for the hospital. This has now been superseded by Richard O'Brien's Halloween Party.

A script for another rumoured sequel entitled Revenge of the Old Queen of Rocky Horror, has been circulated on the web and reproduced on various fansites, though officially denied as O'Brien's work by his representatives. While he has worked on a screenplay by that title, it was never publicly released. He wrote the lyrics for The Stripper (based on the book by Carter Brown), a musical which had its British premiere at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch, Essex on 28 August 2009.[13]

In 2004, Hamilton City Council in New Zealand honoured O'Brien's contribution to the arts with a statue of Riff Raff, the character he played in The Rocky Horror Show, on the site of the former Embassy Cinema.[14] His love of horror and similar genres can be traced back to the countless afternoons he spent watching double feature horror/science fiction films at the Embassy before he moved back to the UK. This was made ironic when, in June 2010, O'Brien was refused New Zealand citizenship and so could himself not settle in the country. He commented "They build a statue of me and celebrate me as a New Zealander, but I have to go on my knees and do all sorts of things, and I'm probably too old."[15] The government eventually made an exception. O'Brien became a New Zealand citizen in December 2011.[16]

In September 2007, he reprised his role as the Child Catcher for the final 2 weeks of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's five-year British run, and then played the role in its Singapore engagement for the month of November, extended to 9 December. Also in December, he visited Hamilton, New Zealand for An Evening With Richard O'Brien, with presenter Mark Sainsbury and director Fiona Jackson."Fiona Jackson". Retrieved 10 March 2016. [17]

In December 2008, O'Brien donated his original script Pig in Boots to the Wireless Theatre Company,[18] who converted it into an audio pantomime. The show was recorded live at the Headliners Comedy Club in front of a studio audience with live FX and music. The production was opened by an original interview with O'Brien. In October 2012, O'Brien judged "Stage Fright" with the Wireless Theatre Company as part of the London Horror Festival and performed an acoustic set of Rocky Horror songs.[19]

In March 2012, he gave a performance of song and autobiographical stories, It's Party Time with Richard O'Brien at the Hamilton Founders Theatre to celebrate his 70th birthday. In June 2012, he returned to Hamilton, New Zealand to appear on stage as Fagin with the Hamilton Operatic Society's production of Oliver! at the Founders Theatre.[20]

O'Brien appeared in 2015 in The Rocky Horror Show in West End in the limited 11 performance run.[21]

In September 2016 O'Brien opened the second stage Embassy Park in Hamilton together with Mayor Julie Hardaker. http://www.voxy.co.nz/lifestyle/5/263770

In October 2016 O'Brien appeared as the Crystal Maze Computer in a one-off Celebrity Crystal Maze episode for the charity 'Stand Up To Cancer' on Channel 4.[22]

Personal life

In a 2009 interview O'Brien spoke about an ongoing struggle to reconcile cultural gender roles and described himself as being transgender or possible third sex. O'Brien stated, "There is a continuum between male and female. Some are hard-wired one way or another, I’m in between."[23] He expounded on this in a 2013 interview where he talked about using estrogen for the previous decade, and that he views himself as 70% male and 30% female.[24]

In June 2010, the media reported that O'Brien had been denied New Zealand citizenship owing to him being too old under the country's immigration criteria. O'Brien's application appeared to garner public support and the decision was later overturned on appeal.[25] In August 2010, New Zealand's Dominion Post reported that O'Brien would be allowed residency and possibly citizenship as an "exceptional" case.[26] According to the Waikato Times, he was officially registered as a New Zealand citizen on 14 December 2011.[16] In a 2017, he stated in The New Zealand Herald that he was proud to be a New Zealander.[27]

On 16 August 2010, he appeared on an episode of Celebrity Cash in the Attic, where he donated the takings from his sale of memorabilia to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester.

O'Brien has married three times and has three children. He and actress Kimi Wong were married on 4 December 1971 and had a son Linus in May 1972. He has a son and daughter from his second marriage to designer Jane Moss.

On 7 July 2012, aged 70, he proposed to Sabrina Graf, aged 35, a native of Germany, whom he had been dating for three years.[28] They married on 6 April 2013 at their home in Katikati, Bay of Plenty.[29][30]

Filmography

Acting

References

  1. ↑ Biography for Richard O'Brien on IMDb
  2. ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11814401
  3. ↑ "Richard O'Brien". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Shewey, Don (1997), Sam Shepard, Da Capo, p. 87, retrieved 10 March 2016
  5. ↑ Harding, James (1987). The Rocky Horror Show Book. Sidgwick & Jackson. pp. 22–23.
  6. ↑ Chalmers, Robert (22 April 2012). "Jonathan King: 'The only apology I have is to say that I was good at seduction'". The Independent on Sunday. London, UK.
  7. ↑ O'Bonzo, Andrew (May 2000), A Talk with Richard O'Brien's music publisher, Andy Leighton (57), Crazed Imaginations, pp. 12–15
  8. ↑ "Absolute O'Brien CD by Richard O'Brien (1999)". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 Stadlin, Matthew (14 September 2015). "Richard O'Brien interview: ‘There’s a lot of male in me – and a lot of girl as well’". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. 1 2 "News: Mamma Mia Lil!". Lil McClarnon official fansite. October 24, 2006. Archived from the original on November 30, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Five Stars – Home". Fivestarsappeal.co.uk. 20 June 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  12. ↑ "Transfandango home page". Wayout-publishing.com. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  13. ↑ "An Interview with Richard O'Brien". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "The Embassy - Home - Riff Raff Statue > Victoria Street > Hamilton > New Zealand". riffraffstatue.org.
  15. ↑ "Cult icon denied retirement in Bay".
  16. 1 2 Swainson, Richard (10 January 2012). "A drink with a hometown hero". Waikato Times. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "An Evening With Richard O'Brien". Eventfinda. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  18. ↑ The Wireless Theatre Company.
  19. ↑ Rocky Horror songs, wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk; accessed 13 December 2015.
  20. ↑ Milroy, Yvonne (10 May 2012). "Richard O’Brien joins 'Oliver!' rehearsals". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Creator Richard O'Brien To Star In The Rocky Horror Show Limited Run At Playhouse Theatre, LondonTheatreDirect.com, 25 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Richard O'Brien IS in the new Crystal Maze". Digital Spy. 11 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Richard O'Brien: "Society should not dictate gender", PinkNews.co.uk, 18 August 2009.
  24. ↑ Fidgen, Jo (18 March 2013). "Richard O'Brien: ‘I'm 70% man'". BBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  25. ↑ Gillespie, Kiri (5 June 2010). "Cult icon denied retirement in Bay". Bay of Plenty Times. Retrieved 21 October 2010. Although he was brought up in New Zealand since he was 10 and a statue has been erected in his honour in Hamilton, it is understood Mr O'Brien is not allowed to retire in New Zealand. He has been told that he does not meet the immigration criteria requirements which would mean O'Brien would have to be aged 55 or under to be sponsored by either of his siblings for permanent residency in New Zealand, and have secured a job offer.
  26. ↑ Hunt, Tom (2 August 2010). "Rocky Horror creator to be granted NZ residency". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  27. ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11814401
  28. ↑ Edwards, Natalie (19 January 2013). "Love at the double: Crystal Maze star Richard O'Brien, 70, to marry his girlfriend, 35". Mirror UK. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  29. ↑ "Richard O'Brien's white wedding". Bay of Plenty Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  30. ↑ "Rocky Horror star marries". Sunlive. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
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