In an inexplicable bit of entrepreneurial zeal, a restaurateur in nearby Orewa started the New Zealand Walk of Fame outside his eatery some 30 years ago. Orewa is a little beach town on the outskirts of Auckland, most famous for the annual hot rod show. All the biggest buildings are retirement homes. There is no connection to the film or entertainment industry that I’m aware of.

But who cares? If you’re world famous in New Zealand, you just might find yourself memorialised here.

Richard O’Brien conceived the Rocky Horror Show while working at a barber shop in front of a theatre in Hamilton, NZ. If you haven’t been to Hamilton you can’t know how unlikely that is, but trust me on this… Hamilton in the 70s, and Hamilton today for that matter, would be near the bottom of the list of likely birthplaces for a purposely kitschy musical about a cross-dressing alien scientist, his Frankenstein monster boy toy, and the loss of innocence.

Anyway… put the NZ Walk of Fame and Richard together, and a new star is born.

I didn’t exactly know what to expect at the star dedication ceremony, but in the end it was a pretty low-key event. There were maybe 40-50 spectators. A small handful dressed up.

O’Brien himself pulled up just in time, and simultaneously batted away and accepted the help he was offered navigating the curb and lectern area. He wears hearing aids and looks pretty frail. But he was still in tights and riding boots, and that’s awesome.

There were a few short speeches by the organiser, the main sponsors, and a couple of past honorees I’d never heard of. Then, some local dance kids sorta worked their way through the Time Warp. I’m sure they had no idea what they’d signed up for, but they were mostly game to give it a go. They were young and wholesome enough that the pelvic thrust (that’ll drive you insa-a-a-a-ane) made them all giggle and blush. Especially the guy with the blonde tips in his hair.

Then Richard himself got up for his acceptance speech. It was short and pithy. He said the real legacy of Rocky Horror was how many people it had brought together in real life, and how desperately important that is in the frightening world we live in. Amen, brother, preach! An excellent speech.

And that was it! 20 minutes start to finish.

In movie form, the Rocky Horror Picture Show occupied a short but intense period in my coming of age years. I was never one to dress up, but I knew every word of the dialogue and sometimes went as far as throwing rice and squirting a squirt gun. Saturday at midnight! Corsets and fishnets! Homosexual references! It all felt wildly transgressive, even though it wasn’t really.

But, as I said, a short period, and long ago. Now as my life has played out, it’s a toss-up whether I’ve seen Rocky Horror or A Christmas Story more times…

I didn’t go to the after party at the RSA for a chance to mingle with Richard, but I’m very glad to have had the chance to witness this quirky little bit of celebrity. Good on ya for bringing so much joy into the world.