Although Tony and Golden Globe-winning actor Barry Bostwick is best known as Brad Majors from 1975’s cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” he’s not quite sure it boosted his career per se.
“I can’t say that ‘Rocky Horror’ ever got me another part,” said Bostwick. “I’m not quite sure ‘Rocky Horror’ has done anything than given me a forum to talk about this genre of film and maybe the social outcome of it possibly. Everything I’ve done since then has not been Brad Majors.”
Bostwick – who also played Danny Zuko in 1972’s original Broadway production of “Grease” and Mayor Randall Winston on 1996-2002’s “Spin City” – joked about how “Rocky Horror” did NOT get him the part of George Washington in the two mini-series, 1984’s “George Washington” and 1986’s “George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation.”
“I don’t know how they could’ve cast me as Washington a few years later if they had seen me in a bustier and high heels, strutting around the floorshow of ‘Rocky Horror,’” he said, laughing.
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On the heels of his Oct. 15 appearance in East Lansing, Bostwick will appear at the Motor City Comic Con Nov. 8-10 in Novi. Other notable actors attending John Cusack (“Grosse Pointe Blank”), John Rhys-Davies (“Indiana Jones”), Andy Serkis (“Lord of the Rings”), Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”), George Takei (“Star Trek”), Kevin Grevioux (“Underworld”), Dave Coulier (“Full House”), Alan Ruck (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”), et al (see sidebar).
“It’s all about meeting folks I wouldn’t normally have met in my life. Their lives are so interesting to me – not just the when-I-first-saw-‘Rocky-Horror’ stories – but the specifics of their jobs, families and goals,” said Bostwick. “I know it sounds corny, but it’s way more important than the money for me.” Then he added, tongue-in-cheek, “Well, that may not be totally true as we still have two kids in college!”
Bostwick spoke about how he got the part in “Rocky Horror.” In short, it was his musical theater background. At the time, he was performing onstage in New York City.
“I was attracted to these larger-than-life characters who were iconic,” he said. “On the page, what would’ve been a 2-dimensional character, I’ve always tried to bring the third dimension to it, a certain reality, but still have that slight edge of unrealistic expectations. I had seen Tim (Curry) perform it onstage. He just blew the walls down! I just wanted to work with him because he was such a phenomenon. When they offered it to Susan (Sarandon) and myself, it was a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to work with Tim and who wouldn’t want to be in something that was colorful, weird and really different for the time? It propelled my musical career further than if I was just a guy on the bowery, which I was: Just a guy on the bowery, but I actually had some work behind me!”
Directed by Jim Sharman (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Richard O’Brien) “Rocky Horror” blends comedy, parody, musical, horror, science-fiction – paying tribute to low-budget sci-fi and horror movies of the 1950s-1960s. It’s based on 1973’s musical stage production “The Rocky Horror Show.”
The movie also stars future Oscar winner Sarandon (1996’s “Dead Man Walking”) as Janet, Emmy nominee Curry (1990’s “It”) as Dr. Frank N. Furter, and Grammy-winning singer/actor Meat Loaf (1999’s “Fight Club”) as Eddie.
“Rocky Horror” begins with newly engaged couple Brad and Janet whose car breaks down. They walk to a nearby castle, occupied by misfits. There, they meet Frank, a mad scientist who’s actually an alien transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.
Upon release, “Rocky Horror” received negative reviews. However, it became a hit on the midnight movie circuit. The screening of non-mainstream movies at midnight was aimed at building esoteric audiences, encouraging repeat viewing and social interaction. Fans began dressing up as the characters, spawning similar performance groups across the nation. They also performed alongside the film and shouted back at the screen.
“I don’t think a lot of people were into it until it really took off on the midnight circuit,” he said.
Bostwick praised Sarandon.
“Susan is one of the wittiest, brightest people I’ve ever known,” he said. “It was a joy to interact with her on a daily basis. She had the ability to understand what was funny about the character. Not a lot people get that; they want to be silly and over the top. Underneath it all, Janet had a certain intelligence and self-awareness Susan brought to the part. It was always challenging because she would do unique things with this part that I don’t think other people have ever done. From the moment you meet her, you know she’s a sexy woman with some hidden agendas.”
He also praised Curry.
“Tim is the consummate professional,” said Bostwick. “He had the grounded, sorta over-the-top wit that character needed with the undercurrent of evil, which that character had. Because he was such a good actor, there was so many layers to the character. I was like a witness to this amazing creature that interacted with Susan and I on a daily basis while we were making the film. At the same time, I knew Tim was a gentleman, a kind and compassionate human being and not that character, who was weird and evil.”
He shared memories about Meat Loaf, who died in 2022.
“How can you not love Meat Loaf, even if you’re a vegetarian? He was another larger-than-life character… He always gave 100% to everything he did. He was full of life. Unfortunately, his life is over – he gave it all to the fans over the years,” said Bostwick. “I admired his talents and his humanity. Nobody else could do what he did on stage at his concerts by creating these characters and giving an evening of out and out theater, while singing as good as anybody at the time. First and foremost, he was an actor. There were not a lot of rock ‘n’ roll singers at that time who’d go that far to create characters… he was the Pavarotti of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Bostwick attributed the staying power of “Rocky Horror” to its fans.
“It happened simply because of the audience who wanted to act up, act out, have an evening in the theater that they controlled, and they were generating with their enthusiasm and drunkenness,” he said. “It’s a rock concert with a few lines in between it that ended up being a social phenomenon. It didn’t start as that. It started out as a collection of good rock ‘n’ roll with this storyline slapped on top of it.”
He continued: “I think the organic quality of how it became what it became is so special. There’s one guy, Sal Puro in New York, who was the first one to organize the audience into the party in which it became. Sal was always the host of that. He started the first fan clubs, he started working with 20th Century Fox to promote it and help create the fanbase for it and coalesce the fanbase worldwide. He published newsletters and wrote books on it. It’s him and the fans he was able to gather to create this monster of entertainment.”
Motor City Comic Con Nov. 8-10
The Motor City Comic Con will be held at the Suburban Collection Showplace, which is located at 46100 Grand River Ave. in Novi on the following dates and times:
- Friday, Nov. 8, from noon to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ticket prices and packages range between $10 and $249. Kids (ages 5 and under) attend FREE throughout the weekend. Kids (ages 12 and under) attend FREE with a paid adult on Sunday, Nov. 10, which is Kids Day.
Tickets can be purchased online. If purchased at the door, the prices of all tickets and packages will increase by $5-$10. Additional processing fees will apply. Admission does not include the cost of autographs and selfies. Nor does it cover parking.
People are encouraged to monitor the MotorCityComicCon.com website for the latest, up-to-date information. They should also monitor the website to see if any media guests and/or comic creators have been added or if any have cancelled.
For questions or more information, call (248) 426-8059 or visit MotorCityComicCon.com. Follow MC3 on social media:
- Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/motorcitycomiccon/)
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/motcitycomiccon/)
- Twitter (https://twitter.com/MotCityComicCon)
