So what did you make of the reaction when you first went to that theater to see the participation and see what people, how they received this film?

Oh, I was, um, God charmed.

Isn't a strong enough word.

Uh, I was, uh, you know, having been in New York during the sixties and having gone to a lot of sort of happenings, you know, in, in, in lofts and storefronts and this and that.

And, uh, seeing a lot of off, off Broadway shenanigans.

Oh, there's another word.

I wasn't shocked by it.

I mean, Who could ask for anything more?

So what did you make of the reaction when you first went to that theater to see the participation and see what people, how they received this film?

Oh, I was, um, God charmed.

Isn't a strong enough word.

Uh, I was, uh, you know, having been in New York during the sixties and having gone to a lot of sort of happenings, you know, in, in, in lofts and storefronts and this and that.

And, uh, seeing a lot of off, off Broadway shenanigans.

Oh, there's another word.

I wasn't shocked by it.

I mean, Who could ask for anything more?

you don't have to he

had he had a he had an aura he had and everything he did whether it's spam a lot or whether it's the pirate king on stage or or Clue, he had a confidence and you couldn't look away, you know? And it all started with Rocky Horror.

He created this whirlwind of energy and created this, such a unique character.

And I think the people who try too hard to change the nature of the piece and the nature of his character, I think they fail at exploring the real undercurrents of a Rocky Horror picture show and when it becomes a Rocky Horror show.

The Fox version of it was just so candied up.

They couldn't...

They couldn't deal with the darkness.

But I kind of want to ask you, because this is such a huge part of the zeitgeist, what have you learned, you know, maybe a life lesson that you can take away from being a part of this film or maybe just from fan encounters? What have you taken away from it?

Did you ever think that when you took this role 50-plus years ago that it would be the cultural phenomenon that it was today? Was this a throwaway role for you? Was it a, well, I just needed the work? What kind of a role was this for you and how it

expanded? It was a musical, and they weren't doing a lot of musicals then.

And so I jumped at that because...

I was from Broadway.

I did a lot of Broadway shows.

If you have the chance to do a musical on film, you do it.

Also, I like the...

And Rocky Horror Picture Show has been basically on the air since, I believe, 1975 or so?