Richard O'Brien

At 82 years old, Richard O'Brien physical status not available right now. We will update Richard O'Brien's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Career

O'Brien took method acting lessons and then appeared in multiple stage productions as an actor to develop his acting skills. He went back to Hair for nine months in 1970 and spent another nine months in the London production. In the 1972 London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, he met director Jim Sharman who portrayed him as an Apostle and Leper. In his March 1973 adaptation of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, Sharman then portrayed Willie O'Brien as Willie, the alien.

Sharman also assisted in the conversion of O'Brien's proposal of a gothic-themed, schlock-horror comic-book fantasy romp into a reality. Sharman suggested that We Came from Denton High School be changed to They Came, and the Rocky Horror Show opened at the Theatre Upstairs in June 1973. It had turned into a box-office hit within weeks, moving from the Royal Court to the Classic Cinema, a cinema on the King's Road, then to the King's Road Theatre (formerly known as the Essoldo), and eventually to the Comedy Theatre in the West End.

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 after seeing the second night's performance of The Rocky Horror Show in the Theatre Upstairs. He also became a 20% backer with producer Michael White, who accounted for the remaining 80 percent.

O'Brien and his partner Kimi Wong recorded and released pop singles under the name Kimi and Ritz during this period.

With arranger Richard Hartley, O'Brien continued writing musicals, including: T. Zee (1976), The Stripper (1981), and Top People (1984). O'Brien and Hartley performed three songs on the film The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), starring Alan Arkin. O'Brien wrote his one-man revue Disgracefully Yours (1985), with Mephistopheles Smith as the protagonist.

Flash Gordon (1977), Thunder City (1980), Ever After (1998) and Dungeons & Dragons (2001), among others. In addition, he appeared in five episodes of Robin of Sherwood's third series as the cyborg Gulnar. In 1998, a Disgracefully Yours CD named Absolute O'Brien was released.

In 1990, he appeared on Channel 4's game show The Crystal Maze, specializing in sardonic put-downs, occasional anomalies, and playing his harmonica at random intervals. The show spanned 1990 to 1995, with O'Brien presenting the first four series. It was always Channel 4's most popular show, with a peak of 7 million viewers for the 1993 Christmas special. After the fourth series, O'Brien left The Crystal Maze in 1993; Edward Tudor-Pole took over the display. The show was cancelled after two seasons without O'Brien.

O'Brien has designed and performed the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's West End theatre production. He appears on stage around the world occasionally on cabaret-style music and comedy, as well as songs from Rocky Horror and others. He appeared in a select few shows as the devilish charmer Mephistopheles Smith in a musical/comedy performance, which he later gave permission to be converted into a musical, first by Eubank Productions for the Kansas City Fringe Festival in 2006 and then by Janus Theatre Company for the Edinburgh Fringe 2007. He appeared (in the spirit of the mirror) in the pantomime version of Snow White, which appeared at the Milton Keynes Theatre in late 2005. In the summer of 2006, he appeared as the Child Catcher in Buckingham Palace's 80th birthday celebrations.

O'Brien appeared in Thank-You for the Music, a 90-minute ABBA documentary directed by Martin Koch, who also created the musical Mamma Mia! The film included a reimagination of 'The Girl with the Golden Hair,' which ABBA performed during their 1977 world tour and appeared on ABBA's ABBA: The Artist (also 1977). The musical was staged at the Prince of Wales Theatre and featured O'Brien, Liz McClarnon, and the Dynamos. He also hosted the 1993 British Awards.

The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is a beneficiary of the Five Stars Scanner Appeal. From 2001 to 2006, he facilitated the annual Transfandango, a gathering of Dearhearts and Trans 'n' Gentle People, raising funds for the hospital. Richard O'Brien's Halloween Party has since superseded this entry.

On the web and reprinted on several fan pages, a script for another rumoured sequel, Revenge of the Old Queen of Rocky Horror has been distributed, though O'Brien's reps have officially denied it. Though he has appeared in a screenplay by that name, it was never officially announced. He penned the lyrics for The Stripper (based on Carter Brown's book), a British musical that had its British premiere at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch (London) on August 28, 2009.

On the site of the former Embassy Cinema in New Zealand in 2004, members of the Hamilton City Council paid tribute to O'Brien's contribution to the arts by unveiling a statue of Riff Raff, the fictional actor who appeared in The Rocky Horror Show.

In September 2007, he reprised his role as the Child Catcher for the remaining two weeks of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's five-year British run. He was then involved in the Singapore operation from November to December, which was then extended to 9 December. He travelled to Hamilton, New Zealand, with host Mark Sainsbury and director Fiona Jackson.

O'Brien's original script Pig in Boots was donated by the Wireless Theatre Company in December 2008, where it was turned into an audio pantomime. The performance was filmed live at the Headliners Comedy Club in front of a studio audience of live FX and music. An original interview with O'Brien launched the project. O'Brien performed "Stage Fright" with the Wireless Theatre Company as part of the London Horror Festival in October 2012, acoustic set of Rocky Horror songs.

It's Party Time with Richard O'Brien at the Hamilton Founders Theatre in March 2012. In June 2012, he returned to Hamilton, New Zealand, to appear as Fagin with the Hamilton Operatic Society's production of Oliver. The Founders Theatre in Berlin.

In 2015, O'Brien appeared in The Rocky Horror Show in the West End for a limited 11-performance run.

Together with Mayor Julie Hardaker, O'Brien opened the second stage Embassy Park in Hamilton in September 2016. In October 2016, he appeared as the Crystal Maze Computer in a one-off Celebrity Crystal Maze episode for the charity 'Stand Up To Cancer' on Channel 4.

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