Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith on March 25, 1942 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK) is a writer and performer. He is best known for writing the musical The Rocky Horror Show and its 1975 film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in which he played the character of Riff-Raff. The stage show has been in almost continuous production since, and the cinematic version is one of the best known and most ardently followed cult films of all time.