It’s been 50 years since The Rocky Horror Picture Show hit the big screen, attracting fans across the globe.
The film, starring Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry, gained a cult following thanks to its rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack and midnight screenings, where fans dressed up as characters, acted out the film and talked back to the screen.
Before rock stardom, Meat Loaf appeared in the film as motorcyclist Eddie. His co-star Nell Campbell, who played groupie Columbia in the film, tells ABC Audio that he was an “absolute darling.”
“He was a big Texan baby with a voice of an angel with a jet engine behind it,” Campbell says of the musician, who died in 2022. “We all adored him.”
And one member of the cast got to do more than just act opposite him.
Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta in the film, says she made Meat Loaf prove a boast he made about being the best kisser at his Texas high school.
“I said, ‘Well, one would have to sample that.’ So I proffered my mouth towards him and we began to kiss,” she shares. “And I said, ‘They were right. You are the best kisser — in your high school in Texas.’”
The 50th anniversary of Rocky Horror is being celebrated with The Rocky Horror Picture Show Spectacular tour, with appearances by Bostwick, Quinn and Campbell. It will hit 55 cities in the U.S. and Canada, including Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
Plus, throughout October fans can catch a newly restored 4K version of the film in theaters; the 4K version will arrive on Blu-ray and on digital platforms on Oct. 7.
The soundtrack is also getting a 50th anniversary deluxe edition on red-in-gold vinyl on Oct. 10.
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