Let’s NOT do the Time Warp again.
Rufus Collins update - Sept 04 in RED
While trapped in the UK for over a year, unable to work, volunteer or leave, I became very weary. And restless. I was given the opportunity to meet
Pat Quinn, who played "Magenta" the maid in one of my favorite films ever, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was heaven to meet her, and she graciously let me interview her for an idea I had about a book. I often wondered who exactly the Transylvanians (Trannies) were in that film. You know, the people that danced the Time Warp. I decided to track them all down, and had considerable success I might add. The first is Sadie Corre, the little one. She and I have remained very good friends after this. After Sadie, through talent agencies and word of mouth, I was able to account for all, except for one. Tony Milner. He seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.Sadly, at least 3 of these actors are dead. This is for them.
Peggy Ledger was the first to go, and she was up there when they filmed it, in November of 1974. She was 74. People have nice memories of Peggy. She was also the only Trannie to have real lines in the film. During the wedding scene, she said, "I always cry at weddings." Most people who see the film in the cinema respond with, "SO DO I, HONEY!" She also was dancing during the Meatloaf song, and replied, "Lovely party."
Peggy lived in a street called
Queens Gardens, near Paddington station, in London. This is her house and front door. On the fourth of July 1981, Peggy succumbed to Bronchopneumonia in St. Mary’s Hospital, in Westminster. She was 81 years old. She was the widow of an actor, Hugh Whitmore Ledger, and left behind a son, Charles.
Her funeral was held at St. Paul’s (the actors church) in Covent Garden, where Christopher Biggins (probably the most famous Trannie) gave the eulogy.
The next to go was Fran
Fullenwider, and yes she was. Born in Texas originally, she moved to the UK
in the 1950’s. Fran was a successful model for the UGLY
Agency in London. UGLY specifically signed unusual people for their company.
I was told by a representative for the company that Fran came in looking for a
job as a secretary, but she honestly couldn’t fit in the office, so they
suggested her for modeling. She was in a few other films aside from Rocky
Horror –
The rest to go include Tony Then – in the days of people being not so politically correct, he was referred to as "chinky" on the set, because of his Asian roots. Tony was an accomplished musician, and graduated from the Institute of Choreology in London, and moved back to his native Singapore, and was a cofounder of the Singapore Dance Theatre. He died at the Communicable Diseases Center in Moulmein Road, Singapore, on December 16th of 1995. He was 51. Guess we know what he died of.
Ishaq Bux is dead. He mainly kept to himself on the set, so there were few recollections of him as a human being. He was in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is a way cool film. When I tried to contact him for an interview, I received a letter from his daughter stating that he was too ill to do an interview, but that he had fond recollections of being in the film. Ishaq died on September 2nd, 2000.
is another mystery. When I met with Peter Hinwood, the guy that played Rocky, he told me that he understood Rufus was dead. Cosmo of Cosmo’s Factory, the most excellent Rocky Horror reference page, told me that he was in touch with Rufus' sister, and that he was indeed dead. He died in New York City, and that’s all I know. When Rufus died, he was cremated, and is in a safe and protective environment.I just got word that one of the Transylvanians from Rocky Horror passed away recently. Hugh Cecil. He was a lovely man, and I'm so happy that I got to spend time with him, and we kept a correspondence. Hugh was in loads of films and videos, but most famous for Rocky Horror. Rest in peace, Mr. Cecil.
Hugh Cecil 1914 / 13 February, 2004
The book I co-wrote, Rocky Horror from Concept to Cult, was launched in London on May 30 of 2002 at the Royal Court Theatre, where I worked as a bartender for the last year of my life in London. It was great for the
wonderful publishers at Sanctuary to launch the book in the place "where it all began" in June of 1973. Guests included Trannies Perry Bedden, Kimi Wong O’brien, and Sadie Corre, the three people I met during my research, that I still consider good friends. Also, Terry Ackland Snow, the Art Director, and Trannie Christopher Biggins. Many people from the UK fan club showed up, and it was just a blast.Charles Gray is dead too, he was the guy that played the narrator. I'll do a bit on him one day.
Everyone else is pretty much accounted for, and if you get the book, you can read all about it.