It was fifty years ago....

 ... that the world was introduced to a dance craze where you were told to "Step to the left. Jump to the right. With your hands on your hips, you bring your knees in tight. But it's the pelvic thrust that drives you insane". 

Okay, a little weird of a start, but those lines are from the song "Time Warp" and was in the movie "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". The dance didn't catch on, if only for the Saturday midnight shows years later, but both the music and the film have had a cultural impact on all societies and all generations. 

Due to this year being the fiftieth anniversary of the 'show', there have been a lot of interviews over the last two months from the cast. This includes a convention at the end of September in Los Angeles and a handful of video clips from news shows. The various speaking engagement included Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell, Patricia Quinn and Tim Curry. Although I haven't seen or heard anything where Susan Sarandon or Richard O'Brien are being interviewed, there have been photos posted online of Jim Sharman, who directed the movie. 

It's so weird to know this "cult classic" is fifty. Yes, it's before my time, and strange to watch, but it's one of those movies that has a place in the world - for good and for bad. I remember going with my youth group in the 1990s to see a shadow cast performance. I really want to say it was at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge. 

For some strange reason, that theater is sticking out in my mind. How else would I know of it? Last time I was in the area, I was in college and would randomly pop in to Harvard Square (which is the next block). I'd not be there at night, for a show and it feels like this would be the only place that would hold such an event. When I went to see Rocky Horror, I was in my early teens (like... 10?). I remember my youth group standing against a brick building, waiting to get let in to the theater. There were other adults outside, not part of our group - random strangers wanting to see the movie too. It wasn't freezing out, but it also wasn't warm, considering it was late at night. It was one of those early fall evenings where we had our jackets on (because it was after 10pm and we'd get out after 2am and bus back to the religious building to sleep in, so our parents would pick us up that Sunday morning). I didn't know much at that point about the film, but it was something to do with my youth group; an experience for the under 18 crowd (we ranged in age from 9 to 18). From that point on, over the years, I gained an appreciation for the movie and the cast. 

I also gained a better appreciation for Tim Curry. I had seen quite a few of his ventures, leading up to the night I went to RHPS, as well as looking into his life since. He's a stage performer, musician, actor, activist and now author. 

His memoir Vagabond was released "just last week" and it's available in the following formats: audiobook, audio CD, e-reader and paper copy. I want to say that the title is taken from a song off of one of his albums, but I could be wrong. 

According to a few articles, Curry has voiced the audiobook copy. Given that he's confined to a wheelchair due to a 2012 stroke, it's amazing that he not only had his memoir written, but he read it aloud for audiophiles. He's totally taking the right direction and not letting this disability ruin his life.

Per Amazon, the synopsis is:

"This memoir is a celebration of Tim Curry's life’s work, and a testament to his profound impact on the entertainment industry as we know it today.

There are few stars in Hollywood today that can boast the kind of resume Tony award-nominated actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance, and a genuine understanding of human darkness. 

Now, in his memoir, Curry takes readers behind-the-scenes of his rise to fame from his early beginnings as a military brat to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time. He goes in-depth about what it was like to work on some of the most emblematic works of the 20th century, constantly switching between a camera and a live audience. He also explores the voicework that defined his later career and provided him with a chance to pivot after surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2012 that nearly took his life. 

With the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the 40th anniversary of Clue, there’s never been a better time for Tim to share his story with the world."

 

I am interested in obtaining a copy of either the audiobook or audio CD but I know it'll be a large file and multiple discs. It's going to be worth it, but I may end up just buying the book instead as I totally want to read this memoir. He's an interesting person as it is, and I would love to support him by purchasing his writing. I've just got to decide which format I want to get. The holidays are coming up, so maybe my relatives will kick over a few bucks in my Amazon account and I'll be able to choose what version I want to obtain, but then again, if I can save enough, I'm also going to need an external hard drive. 

Oh, the priorities... support the arts and also a reading habit, or get a device to back up all my digital junk from my computer... First World problems! 

But I would suggest to anyone reading this, definitely support the arts. Let's unban books and get all humans reading again, even if they're buying the audio version...

Take care of yourselves and learn something new!

Cheers;