Jim Sharman is the son of the owner of Jimmy Sharman’s Boxing Troupe, a travelling sideshow of boxers that toured Australia in the 1940s. Sharman developed an interest in theatre after being exposed to vaudeville, and graduated from the production course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. In the late 1960s, he began directing theatrical productions, and between 1969 and 1973, he directed three era-defining rock musicals: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Rocky Horror Show. When Rocky Horror became a film, Sharman stayed on as director, directing not only The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but also its sequel Shock Treatment. However, Sharman’s love was always that of the theatre, and following Shock Treatment, he returned to directing theatrical productions including Shakespearean classics like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, and King Lear, and other plays such as Chess, Death in Venice, and What the Butler Saw. But for me, he’ll always be the director of the late night…Rocky Horror…picture show! Jim Sharman turns 68 today.