ritz

Richard O'Brien

Richard Timothy Smith was born on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, England.At the age of 15, he bid school life good-bye. Richard found great enjoyment in "the late night double features", the old classic Sci-fi movies of the era such as the Hammer films, When Worlds Collide, Doctor X, etc. He has since noted that it was common for the men in the audience to call out comments to the screen, often very snide remarks to impress their girlfriends. Yet another thing that would come back. The images of these films, as well as less-than-low-budget classics like Ed Wood films made a mark on his mind. And perhaps watching the silver screen is what prompted the next event in his life- namely giving up the notion of becoming a farmer and moving to England, at the age of 22.
His first break was received when he joined the touring cast of Hair in 1969. An important job, because not only was it work, but it brought him together with later Frank-n-Furter, Tim Curry, as well as his first wife Kimi Wong. In 1972, he got a small part in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. He was a chorus member, and the only line he actually remembers as his very own was "see my purse, I'm a poor, poor man". He was also the understudy to King Herod, and was given a chance to play the role, which he interpreted as an Elvis Impersonator. The reception was notably less than phenomenal, unfortunate especially today when you consider the current way Herod is interpreted in modern presentations of the musical. Deciding against returning to the chorus and his one sung line, he opted to quit the company.
Richard approached Sharman with Science Fiction. He and musical director for The Tooth of Crime (another Shepard play in which Richard appeared as Crow) Richard Hartley went to Richard's flat to hear the song and the small sections of script he had. After no less than three run-throughs of the number, Sharman agreed to put on the play for a five-week run at the Theatre Upstairs.
The Rocky Horror Show ran at the Theatre Upstairs for it's initial run, and was moved to the King's Road Theatre, where it ran for 2 years. Lou Adler saw the musical, and immediately snagged up the rights, looking to make a movie. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was made on a very small budget, and featured mostly reprised roles from the various incarnations of the musical productions, and two American newcomers, Susan Sarandon in the role of Janet, and Barry Bostwick as Brad.
By now, Rocky had taken it's footing as the cult classic it has become, and Richard's name began to gain more and more credibility as a performer and writer. Approached by 20th Century Fox to make a follow-up film to Rocky, Shock Treatment was released, with Richard in the role of Cosmo McKinley, the deranged psychoanalyst. But even with the success of Rocky, Shock Treatment failed to make the hoped-for impact, and Richard himself has called it the worst acting he's ever done. Though he has publically decried the merits of the film, he stands by the songs fiercely as being better in many ways than those that appeared in Rocky.
More film and television appearances followed, including Revolution, the short film subject The Contraption, an appearance as the villain Gulnar in the British series Robin of Sherwood, as well as penning a few songs for the film The Return of Captain Invincible.
Richard's resume resembles a long list of this that and the other, and he has often pointed out that he simply took film roles for friends as opposed to actually looking for them.
Richard turned his attentions back to music, and created the alter ego, Mephistopheles Smith, a devilish representative for the "afterlife option" of Hell, which, according to the show, has now been dubbed "Club Inferno". Richard even took the show on the road with Disgracefully Yours, as well as performing at the 1992 Transylvanian Convention in England.
Television was kinder to O'Brien it seems, and he landed the title role in the British children's television series The Ink Thief. Playing the Vampiric villain, Richard said of his role that he "wanted children to be scared, but not terrified". He also appeared in a long standing run as the host of the Crystal Maze, a British Game show. Richard left after four years as the host, claiming that game show hosts get locked into the framework. Edward Tudor-Pole succeeded Richard as the host, but many fans still consider Richard the best host the game had.
2000 saw Richard in Dungeons and Dragons as the leader of the Thieves' Guild, Xilus. Though the film was widely panned by critics and fans of D&D alike, Richard's performance was consistently cited as one of the highlights of the film. He also co-starred with Elvira for Elvira's Haunted Hills, which is slated for video release in the near future.
Richard lives in England and has three children- Linus, Joshua and Amelia.