# Richard O'Brien
**Richard O'Brien** (born Richard Timothy Smith, 1942) is an English-born New Zealand actor, writer, and television presenter best known for creating the stage musical *The Rocky Horror Show* (1973) and for playing Riff Raff in its 1975 film adaptation, *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*.[1](https://entertainment.ie/person/richard-obrien/) • [2](https://teara.govt.nz/en/plays-and-playwrights/page-3) He also hosted the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) game show *The Crystal Maze* and has worked as a songwriter, stage actor, and voice actor across a career spanning more than five decades.[3](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/the-5minute-interview-richard-o-brien-songwriter-actor-tv-presenter-426218.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and year | Richard Timothy Smith, born 1942 in Cheltenham, England[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-lionel-bart-and-richard-o-brien-1074040.html) |
| Defining work | *The Rocky Horror Show*, written in the early 1970s, opened at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in 1973[5](https://pioneertheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ROCKY-HORROR-Study-Guide.pdf) • [6](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/timeline.php) |
| Film role | Riff Raff in *The Rocky Horror Picture Show* (1975); he also co-wrote the screenplay[2](https://teara.govt.nz/en/plays-and-playwrights/page-3) • [7](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/productionnotes.php) |
| Television | Host of Channel 4's *The Crystal Maze* for four years[8](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube) |
| Other stage roles | The Child Catcher in the first stage production of *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang*; Fagin in a New Zealand production of *Oliver!*[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) |
| Voice work | Voice of Lawrence Fletcher, father of the title characters, in Disney's *Phineas and Ferb*[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) |
| Later life | Lives in Tauranga, New Zealand; tours a one-act show, *The Kingdom of Bling*[8](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube) |
## Early life and entry into theater
O'Brien spent his first ten years in [Cheltenham](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheltenham), where he attended a state school and struggled as a learner; he could not read a clock face until he was 11 and was punished with the strap for poor performance.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-lionel-bart-and-richard-o-brien-1074040.html) • [10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html) His family emigrated to New Zealand when he was 10, in 1952, and he attended Tauranga Primary School and later Tauranga College in the [Bay of Plenty](https://www.edgepedia.org/bay-of-plenty).[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html) • [8](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube) He left school at 15, spent a year at a training farm, and then worked for five years as an apprentice barber.[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html)
In 1964 he returned to England by boat.[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html) His entertainment career began in 1965, at age 23, riding horses in British-made films; he joined a stunt agency and appeared in *Carry On Cowboy* and *Casino Royale*, having learned to ride growing up in New Zealand.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/07/richard-obrien-actor) Not wanting to become a full-time stuntman, he attended an evening drama school and worked backstage in West End theaters.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) In 1968 he appeared in the London production of the rock musical *Hair*, in a cast that also included the young [Tim Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-curry), who would later create the role of Frank-N-Furter.[12](https://www.loudersound.com/music/joan-armatrading-whatevers-for-us-interview) • [13](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/tim-curry-rocky-horror-show-star-dies-at-80/) In 1969 he joined the ensemble of *Gulliver's Travels* at the Mermaid Theatre, a production by the set designer Sean Kenny, who gave him advice he later cited as formative: "the only person who can finally stop you is yourself."[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/07/richard-obrien-actor)
## The Rocky Horror Show
**Writing the musical.** During one winter of the early 1970s, out of work between acting jobs, O'Brien began writing a script originally titled *They Came From Denton High*.[5](https://pioneertheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ROCKY-HORROR-Study-Guide.pdf) The show drew on his own enthusiasms, including comics, science fiction and horror B movies, and 1950s rock 'n' roll, as well as his struggles with his identity.[14](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/richard-obrien/) • [5](https://pioneertheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ROCKY-HORROR-Study-Guide.pdf) He described himself at that point as "a gauche undereducated teenager who loved comics, B-movies and all things populist."[14](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/richard-obrien/) Songwriting in the mold of his idols [Buddy Holly](https://www.edgepedia.org/buddy-holly) and [Otis Redding](https://www.edgepedia.org/otis-redding) has remained his overriding passion.[15](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/castcrewlist_obrien.php)
Jim Sharman, who had cast O'Brien in a [Sam Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-shepard) play at the [Royal Court Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-court-theatre)'s Theatre Upstairs in 1973, loved the concept and reserved the tiny upstairs venue for the show; there O'Brien met Richard Hartley, his music partner of more than 40 years.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) • [5](https://pioneertheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ROCKY-HORROR-Study-Guide.pdf) *The Rocky Horror Show* opened there in 1973 and won the Evening Standard Best Musical Award.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) • [10](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html) O'Brien expected the original three-week run to end his involvement; instead the show became, in the words of his official biography, "the biggest cult musical of all time," and it launched Tim Curry's career.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/the-5minute-interview-richard-o-brien-songwriter-actor-tv-presenter-426218.html)
**The film.** Filming began in October 1974 at Bray Studios in England, a former Hammer Films lot. Over half the original stage cast, including O'Brien, reprised their roles in the movie, renamed *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*, directed by Jim Sharman from a screenplay by Sharman and O'Brien, with book, music, and lyrics by O'Brien.[16](https://audioculture.co.nz/articles/sweet-transvestite-richard-o-brien-and-the-rocky-horror-show-in-new-zealand) • [7](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/productionnotes.php) O'Brien played the handyman Riff Raff.[2](https://teara.govt.nz/en/plays-and-playwrights/page-3) The film flopped on release in 1975, but it found life as a midnight movie, and it is recognized as the longest-running theatrical release in history, sustained by costumed audience participation at screenings.[17](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/03/17/strange-journey-the-story-of-rocky-horror/) • [1](https://entertainment.ie/person/richard-obrien/) • [18](https://time.com/3985664/rocky-horror-picture-show-40-years/) On the 1975 soundtrack album released in New Zealand, O'Brien sang "Science Fiction/Double Feature," "Time Warp," and "Over At The Frankenstein Place."[16](https://audioculture.co.nz/articles/sweet-transvestite-richard-o-brien-and-the-rocky-horror-show-in-new-zealand)
## Television and later career
In 1990, O'Brien began hosting Channel 4's game show *The Crystal Maze*, which he did for four years.[25](https://www.itv.com/news/2017-01-13/comedian-richard-ayoade-to-host-first-new-series-of-crystal-maze-since-1995) He described it as the first thing he had done without lines, makeup, or a character, and said that at 50 it gave him "a new lease of life."¹[8](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/the-5minute-interview-richard-o-brien-songwriter-actor-tv-presenter-426218.html)
**Stage and screen roles.** In 2002, at 60, he played the [Child Catcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/child-catcher) in the first stage production of *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* at the [London Palladium](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-palladium), modeling the part on [Robert Helpmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-helpmann)'s performance in the 1968 film while adding what he called "a kind of spidery movement."[19](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/richard-o-brien-a-nasty-business-9156347.html) He performed for the Queen in the gardens of Buckingham Palace for Her Majesty's 80th birthday, played Fagin in a New Zealand production of *Oliver!*, and voiced Lawrence Fletcher, the father of the title characters, in Disney's animated *Phineas and Ferb*.[9](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf) His screen credits include parts in the Spice Girls film *Spice World* and *Ever After*, and he appeared in the 2017 New Zealand film *The Stolen* as Mr Russell.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-lionel-bart-and-richard-o-brien-1074040.html) • [14](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/richard-obrien/)
**Later work.** Now living in Tauranga, O'Brien continues to write and perform. His one-act show *The Kingdom of Bling*, which he describes as a "bedtime story" written after watching what he calls a dystopian political present, has toured New Zealand with him as narrator.[8](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube)
## Legacy and recognition
*The Rocky Horror Show* has run continuously somewhere in the world since 1973, and the 1975 film's midnight-screening culture, with its shadow casts and audience call-backs, has spread to more than 250 active casts in North America alone.[20](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2025-09-30-interview-with-linus-obrien-and-richard-obrien-about-strange-journey-feature-story-by-jennie-kermode) The show's blend of rock music, science fiction parody, and gender transgression has given it a particular place in LGBTQ+ culture; O'Brien has described it as giving "a voice to the voiceless," and his son has said that "Rocky has tangibly saved lives."[21](https://playbill.com/article/give-a-voice-to-the-voiceless-richard-obrien-on-50-years-of-the-rocky-horror-show-and-its-impact-on-the-queer-community) • [22](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/2025/07/21/linus-obrien-on-the-rocky-horror-film-show-rocky-has-tangibly-saved-lives-it-created-a-real-sense-of-community/) The 1998 Berlin Film Festival awarded the property a Special Teddy Award in the LGBT category.[14](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/richard-obrien/)
In 2025, for the film's 50th anniversary, O'Brien's son Linus O'Brien directed the feature documentary *[Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror](https://www.edgepedia.org/strange-journey-the-story-of-rocky-horror)*, featuring archival recordings and interviews with O'Brien, Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Lou Adler, and others.[21](https://playbill.com/article/give-a-voice-to-the-voiceless-richard-obrien-on-50-years-of-the-rocky-horror-show-and-its-impact-on-the-queer-community) • [23](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-173-richard-obrien-actor-writer-singer/id1645791721?i=1000727279200)
One point of record remains unsettled: while British interviews and profiles place his birth in Cheltenham, England, the New Zealand Walk of Fame, which has inducted him, states that he was born in New Zealand.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-lionel-bart-and-richard-o-brien-1074040.html) • [24](https://nzwalkoffame.com/inductees/richard-o-brien)
## References
1. [Richard O'Brien, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/richard-obrien/)
2. [Plays and playwrights: Theatrical explosion, 1960s and 1970s, Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand](https://teara.govt.nz/en/plays-and-playwrights/page-3)
3. [The 5-Minute Interview: Richard O'Brien, The Independent (2006)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/the-5minute-interview-richard-o-brien-songwriter-actor-tv-presenter-426218.html)
4. [How We Met: Lionel Bart and Richard O'Brien, The Independent (1999)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-lionel-bart-and-richard-o-brien-1074040.html)
5. [Rocky Horror Study Guide, Pioneer Theatre](https://pioneertheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ROCKY-HORROR-Study-Guide.pdf)
6. [Rocky Horror Timeline, TRHPS Official Fan Site](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/timeline.php)
7. [Production Notes, TRHPS Official Fan Site](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/productionnotes.php)
8. ['It's a wonderful classroom': Richard O'Brien on his love of YouTube, The Spinoff (2024)](https://thespinoff.co.nz/culture/19-10-2024/its-a-wonderful-classroom-rocky-horror-creator-richard-obrien-on-his-love-of-youtube)
9. [Richard O'Brien (Creator) biography, Penobscot Theatre Playbill](https://www.penobscottheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Playbill_Rocky_Digital.pdf)
10. [PASSED/FAILED: Richard O'Brien, The Independent (1997)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-richard-o-brien-1277093.html)
11. [Portrait of the artist: Richard O'Brien, The Guardian (2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/07/richard-obrien-actor)
12. [Joan Armatrading interview, Louder (cast of Hair, London, September 1968)](https://www.loudersound.com/music/joan-armatrading-whatevers-for-us-interview)
13. ['The Rocky Horror Show' Star Dies at 80, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/tim-curry-rocky-horror-show-star-dies-at-80/)
14. [Richard O'Brien profile, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/richard-obrien/)
15. [Cast & Crew List: Richard O'Brien, TRHPS Official Fan Site](https://www.rockyhorror.com/history/castcrewlist_obrien.php)
16. [Sweet Transvestite: Richard O'Brien and The Rocky Horror Show in New Zealand, AudioCulture](https://audioculture.co.nz/articles/sweet-transvestite-richard-o-brien-and-the-rocky-horror-show-in-new-zealand)
17. ['Rocky Horror' doc underscores heightened relevancy of a cult classic, The Washington Post (2025)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/03/17/strange-journey-the-story-of-rocky-horror/)
18. [How Rocky Horror Became a Cinematic Institution, TIME (2015)](https://time.com/3985664/rocky-horror-picture-show-40-years/)
19. [Richard O'Brien: A nasty business, The Independent (2002)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/richard-o-brien-a-nasty-business-9156347.html)
20. [Interview with Linus O'Brien and Richard O'Brien about Strange Journey, Eye For Film (2025)](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2025-09-30-interview-with-linus-obrien-and-richard-obrien-about-strange-journey-feature-story-by-jennie-kermode)
21. ['Give a Voice to the Voiceless': Richard O'Brien on 50 Years of The Rocky Horror Show, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/give-a-voice-to-the-voiceless-richard-obrien-on-50-years-of-the-rocky-horror-show-and-its-impact-on-the-queer-community)
22. [Linus O'Brien on The Rocky Horror Film Show, The Irish Times (2025)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/2025/07/21/linus-obrien-on-the-rocky-horror-film-show-rocky-has-tangibly-saved-lives-it-created-a-real-sense-of-community/)
23. [Ep. 173: Richard O'Brien, Vintage Annals Archive Podcast, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-173-richard-obrien-actor-writer-singer/id1645791721?i=1000727279200)
24. [Richard O'Brien, New Zealand Walk of Fame](https://nzwalkoffame.com/inductees/richard-o-brien)
25. [Comedian Richard Ayoade to Host First New Series of Crystal Maze Since 1995, itv.com](https://www.itv.com/news/2017-01-13/comedian-richard-ayoade-to-host-first-new-series-of-crystal-maze-since-1995)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames N to R*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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