Reg Livermore

Reg Livermore (born December 11 1934) is an Australian actor who originated the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the first Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show. Directed by Jim Sharman and boasting production designer Brian Thompson, it opened in Sydney on April 19th, 1974 at the New Arts Cinema in Glebe and ran concurrently with the 1974 Roxy Cast version in Los Angeles, that featured Tim Curry. The Australian version also featured original costuming by Sue Blane.

Like many of the original players from Rocky Horror, Livermore had previously appeared in Hair, as well as in a show-stopping performance as King Herrod in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Not having seen Curry's earlier creation, Livermore mad the part his own, basing his Frank on Bette Davis. After thoroughly immersing himself in the role, Livermore began taking liberties with the original direction and began performing in the audience, making the show interactive. Livermore made the role (in his words) "dangerous" and "unpredictable" for the 3 1/2 year run, which included a 1974 Australian Cast album.

Livermore returned to the role a decade later, and brought the same aggressive stance to Frank that mad the Australian version stand out. According to Livermore, "Some years after I'd quit the show, I finally succumbed and saw the movie version; I was shocked and surprised to observe how beautiful Tim Curry was. Nobody ever told me Frank 'n' Furter was supposed to be attractive; I went out of my way to make myself as grotesque as possible."