Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien
Richard O'Brien in 2006
Birth name:	Richard Timothy Smith
Gender:	Third gender
Date of birth:	March 25, 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth:	Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Role(s):	Actor, writer, broadcaster, theatre performer
Character(s) played:	Lawrence Fletcher

Richard Timothy Smith (born March 25, 1942), known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand songwriter and actor, best known as the creator of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its sequel, Shock Treatment. In his native Britain he is also remembered for hosting the adventure game show The Crystal Maze from 1990 to 1994. On Phineas and Ferb, he performs the voice of Lawrence Fletcher, father of Candace, Phineas and Ferb.

Notable Roles

• Apostle and Leper, Jesus Christ Superstar (London stage production)
• Riff Raff, The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Dr. Cosmo McKinley, Shock Treatment
• Fico, Flash Gordon
• Gulnar, Robin of Sherwood
• Maze Master, The Crystal Maze
• Damien, Spice World
• Lawrence Fletcher, Phineas and Ferb

Background Information

• Nicknames: Reckless Rick, Ritz.
• Born in England, but moved to Tauranga, New Zealand when his father decided to switch jobs from accountant to sheep farmer.
• Changed his name from Smith to O'Brien after learning there was another Richard Smith registered with the British Actors Equity. He chose O'Brien because it was his maternal grandmother's name.
• His role on Phineas and Ferb is an unofficial reunion with two other actors from The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie: Tim Curry (Stubbings and Dr. Lloyd Wexler in the A Hard Day's Knight episode as well as Worthington Dubois in Tri-State Treasure: Boot of Secrets) and Barry Bostwick (Clyde Flynn). However, Lawrence does not meet Stubbings or Wexler. The only time he meets Clyde is during the opening of the Crack That Whip episode, when Lawrence is previewing his speech to Phineas, Ferb, Grandma Betty Jo, Clyde and Linda; and when he is sitting awkwardly in Clyde's Cabin in Last Train to Bustville. Lawrence does meet Worthington - his rival in the antique business - in Tri-State Treasure.
• The character of Dr. Frank-N-Furter is based in part on Alice Cooper.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been running in theaters around the world for more than thirty years.
• A life-size bronze statue of Richard O'Brien in his Riff Raff space suit was unveiled in Hamilton, New Zealand on November 25, 2004.
• O'Brien identifies as third gender, but uses he/him pronouns.

External links

• Richard O'Brien at Wikipedia
• Richard O'Brien at the
• Richard's MySpace page
• Interview at TheCelebrityCafe.com