We’re sharing it again followingthe death of Meat Loaf, who played Eddie in the cult classic.
(Fox Home Entertainment has released a special Blu-ray edition to mark the occasion.)
“I’m definitely going to need to get all of your numbers,” says Sarandon.
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.Everett Collection
I started playing [Frank-N-Furter] as a German, then I saw the costume.
It was quite diva.
and I thought, That’s it!
Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, and Susan Sarandon in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.Everett Collection
Almost like the Queen.
Well, it was a smash from the moment it opened.
It was a tiny theater.
Art Streiber for EW
There was only 60 seats.
And then they brought it over to Los Angeles.
PATRICIA QUINN (Magenta):It was really quite a big hit in London.
Meat Loaf in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.Everett Collection
I remember Mick Jagger came to see us, as did a lot of others.
MEAT LOAF (Eddie):When they called forRocky Horror, I had no idea what it was.
All I knew was they wanted me to come to L.A.
In the play, I played Eddie as well as Dr. Scott.
And I went, “No, there’s only one you.”
CURRY:The show was a big hit at the Roxy theater [in NYC].
Various film companies started circling, and Fox eventually made a proper offer.
It made sense to make a movie.
I had become friends with Tim because I had girlfriends who were in the L.A. stage production.
I didn’t even know they were casting the movie.
So I read and they were like, “Oh my God!”
But I said, “Yeah, but I can’t sing.”
I was really embarrassed.
The moment we got off the plane, we were either rehearsing or prerecording.
We never heard the last of it.
SARANDON:It was cold.
Everybody was working under the gun.
I mean, in a way, I was the only one that had done a film.
There was no ceiling.
It was raining right into the building.
BOSTWICK:It just caught fire.
You tried not to feel the cold even though the rain was coming through the roof.
It was like a comedy of errors.
That ain’t easy.
I was like, “They don’t even have hot rooms, let alone a hot tub.”
CURRY: I was hoping it was going to be a very commercial Warhol movie.
I never even knew it had opened.
It definitely didn’t open in New York.
And then it slowly started gaining traction as a midnight movie.
CURRY:It was odd because, in fact, I was living in the building behind the Waverly.
“Get out of here” is exactly what they said.
QUINN:Every generation introduces their children to it.
SARANDON:Molly Ringwald took me to a screening pretty early on.
That was the first time I saw it; I believe it was 8th Street, the whole ritual.
I’ve been back to see it.
I brought Natalie Portman and Thora Birch and my daughter when we were doingAnywhere but Herein L.A.
It’s clearly a rite of passage.
A version of this story appeared inEntertainment Weekly’sissue from Oct. 16/23, 2015.
