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Born in Cheltenham, England, Richard Smith's family moved to Tauranga, New Zealand, in 1951 when his father, an accountant, decided to become a sheep farmer. Watching horror and science-fiction double features in nearby Hamilton, Smith added an interest in acting to his love of rock and roll. He moved back to England in 1964, tried singing, then became a movie stuntman and fringe theater actor. He changed his name to O'Brien (his beloved maternal grandmother's name) one day while on the phone to British Actors Equity, to avoid confusion with another Richard Smith. He met director Jim Sharman in 1972, when Sharman cast him in the dual roles of Apostle and Leper for the London stage production (transferred from Sharman's native Australia) of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Working again with Sharman on a production of Sam Shepard's "The Unseen Hand", O'Brien mentioned a new rock musical he'd been writing called "Rock Horror." The play went into rehearsals as "They Came from Denton High," and at Sharman's suggestion, was retitled "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" before opening in June 1973.

Jim Sharman spent much of his young life at the circus, where his father and grandfather ran a travelling boxing sideshow. Taking an interest in theatre, he attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, graduating in 1966. Sharman became interested in directing experimental theatre. While directing the Sydney production of Hair in 1970, he met a young architectural student named Brian Thomson, who would become his longtime set designer. His local production of Jesus Christ Superstar caught the attention of lyricist Tim Rice, who brought him and Thomson to London in 1972 to stage the production, which included Richard O'Brien. Directing the stage production of "The Rocky Horror Show" gave Sharman the opportunity to direct its film version The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and its sequel Shock Treatment (1981). Sharman went on to become one of Australia's most respected theatre directors.

Michael White was born in Scotland in 1936, and educated at the Sorbonne in Paris. After working as a Wall Street runner in New York in the fifties, White took an interest in theatre, spending five years as assistant to Sir Peter Daubeny at the World Theatre in London. At 26, White produced his first West End play, a production of Jack Gelber's The Connection. White then produced Sleuth and Oh! Calcutta! before co-ordinating the production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In 1973, White produced the original Theatre Upstairs production of The Rocky Horror Show, and went on to produce the film version The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). White has authored his autobiography, Empty Seats.

Trevor White was born in Essex, England. He sang and played piano with the group Sounds Incorporated, and moved to Australia when the group broke up. He played Jesus in Jim Sharman's 1972 Sydney production of Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1974 while visiting London, White heard that Sharman was auditioning singers to re-record Rocky's vocals for The Rocky Horror Picture Show before the film's release (an unnamed session singer was used as Rocky on the soundtrack album; Peter Hinwood did not sing on the album or film, but mimed to the session singer's vocals during filming). White auditioned for musical arranger Richard Hartley, and dubbed Rocky's songs and vocal noises during editing at EMI-Elstree Studios for the final mono film sound. White later toured with the Kinks, then returned to Australia to work as a songwriter. Trevor White was interviewed by Scott Michaels for his 2002 book Rocky Horror: From Concept to Cult. Richard Hartley confirmed in the book that White dubbed Rocky's part in post-production.

Richard Hartley's long and varied career as a musical arranger and composer has included just about everything, from playing piano in a r&b band in Paris to scoring strings for reggae records to arranging scores for experimental plays, TV and films. Hartley was brought in to help with musical auditions for the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972, where he first met director Jim Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien. While scoring Sharman's production of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand in 1973, Hartley was asked to work with O'Brien on his new rock musical, The Rocky Horror Show. Playing keyboards as one of the original four-piece show band, Hartley also arranged O'Brien's songs, expanding his work later for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). As well as collaborating further with O'Brien on plays and films, notably on Shock Treatment (1981), Hartley scored films for director Joseph Losey, and went on to become one of England's most successful film composers.

Sue Blane studied costume design at Wolverhampton College of Art and Central School of Art and Design, finishing in 1971. She went to work for the Glasgow Citizen's Theatre, where she designed the costumes for Lindsay Kemp's production of The Maids in 1971, starring Tim Curry as Solange, wearing a black corset. She met director Jim Sharman in London in 1973, when he was looking for a costume designer for Richard O'Brien's new, low-budget musical The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court's Theatre Upstairs. Won over by Sharman's desperation, and pleased to be working with Tim Curry again, she borrowed Curry's corset from the Citizen's Theatre, glued on sequins, and created Frank-n-Furter's look and those of the other characters. Blane designed the Los Angeles (Roxy), Australia and 1975 Broadway productions of the play, as well as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and its sequel Shock Treatment (1981). Blane became a respected London theatre costume designer, with occasional forays into film and TV.