Richard O'Brien The creator of the The Rocky Horror Show wants to be allowed to return to New Zealand to retire. Richard O'Brien migrated to this country in 1952 when he was 10 and grew up in Tauranga and Hamilton. Although he owns land in Katikati in the Bay of Plenty, he lives in London and doesn't meet New Zealand citizenship criteria. The 68-year-old and his immigration adviser are appealing to Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman to make an exception. "I just want to die in New Zealand. It's my home; it always has been and it always will be," O'Brien has told the New Zealand Herald. "[New Zealand] has always given me a great deal of strength and comfort and I have my brother and sister and more family there. It's just home." O'Brien told the Dominion Post says he thinks his application should be "rubber-stamped" in light of his contribution to New Zealand. "I don't understand – they build a statue of me and celebrate me as a New Zealander, but I have to go on my knees and do all sorts of things, and I'm probably too old." A Facebook group has been started calling for O'Brien to be made a New Zealand citizen.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 6th June 2010 - 2:18pm