The Rocky Horror Birthday Party

TIcket Stub to Rocky Horror Birthday Party

The first documented, official, ticketed gathering in celebration of the The Rocky Horror Picture Show took place at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, celebrating the first year of its debut in that city as a Midnight movie. The First Annual Birthday Party and Costume Ball, cosponsored by Presidio Theaters and the underground newspaper The Austin Sun, was held Saturday, April 23, 1977, at the enormous, ornate Paramount Theater in downtown Austin. Since May of 1976, the film was having successful runs at the Dobie Theatre in Austin, as well as the Riverside Twin in South-East Austin.

The audience of 1300 saw special guest Tim Curry awarded a certificate of honorary citizenship of Austin by Mayor Jeff Friedman (who appeared in a Jimmy Carter mask for the occasion.) Curry was also interviewed by the Austin Sun while in town. The band Texoid played, and a costume contest was held. UT drama student Leo Lerma performed "Sweet Transvestite" with the band and won the contest. The prize was one of Curry's original Frank N. Furter corsets. The local newspaper The Daily Texan reported on the event, stating that the corset was the one from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, while other sources from the theater's cast cite the corset as being one from the play The Rocky Horror Show.

The Second Rocky Horror Birthday Party was held again at the Paramount on Friday, May 12th, 1978, with the band Uranium Savages performing with Leo Lerma reprising "Sweet T", and a costume contest whose judges included Crazy Carl Hickerson (flower seller and perennial political candidate) and (current Selena/Stevie Ray Vaughn biographer) Joe Nick Patoski. The third anniversary was again at Paramount on Saturday, April 28th, 1979 with musical guests Weedo, a costume contest, and a performance by the 12-member Hot Patootie Production Company, featuring Leo Lerma. A fifth anniversary was held at Paramount on Saturday, April 25th, 1981 sponsored by KLBJ-FM and Riverside Twin, featuring a performance by Esther's Follies' Rocky Horror Revue and another costume contest.

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