Richie Tozier

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Lore & Background

Richie Tozier is the son of Maggie Tozier and an unnamed father. He is good friends with Bill Denbrough and the other members of The Losers Club: Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, and Mike Hanlon. After Bill's younger brother Georgie is killed by Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Richie and his friends each have individual encounters with Pennywise before facing It collectively in the sewers. After this encounter, they believe they have killed It, but they take an oath that if they have not succeeded, they will one day return to Derry to finish the job. Twenty-seven years later, Richie is a successful radio talk show host in Los Angeles and one of the only members of The Losers Club to have never married. Richie receives a call from Mike – who remained behind in Derry – that It has returned, causing the death of Adrian Mellon. Richie returns to Derry and reunites with The Losers Club, with whom he encounters It once again. Eventually, the group descends into the sewers to kill It by performing the Ritual of Chud. After the ritual, It mortally wounds and kills Eddie, leaving Richie devastated.

In Their Own Story

In the 1990 miniseries, Richie was portrayed by Seth Green as a child and by Harry Anderson as an adult. The adult portrayal is well known for a scene where Pennywise taunts him in a public library, which has become iconic for Tim Curry's over-the-top performance. In the 2017 film and its 2019 sequel, Richie was portrayed by Finn Wolfhard as a child and Bill Hader as an adult. This interpretation of Richie tends to make more pop-culture references and becomes a stand-up comedian as an adult rather than a DJ. In the adaptation of It Chapter Two, Richie is portrayed as being secretly in love with Eddie Kaspbrak until the latter's death, and Eddie remained unaware of these feelings. Director Andy Muschietti has stated that the decision to depict Richie as gay in It Chapter Two was based on this interpretation of the book. Stephen King said that while he didn't intend for there to be an unrequited romance between the two characters, he approved of the storyline.

Reader's Guide

Richie is known as being the comedian of The Losers Club, often telling jokes at inappropriate times, which leads to his friends often saying "Beep Beep, Richie" when they want him to stop talking. Richie's humor has been viewed as being either a defense mechanism, or a call for attention. It has been speculated that Richie uses his comedy as a defense mechanism, to hide his fear of not only Pennywise, but his fear of not being accepted by The Losers Club. Once Richie has his first encounter with Pennywise, his comedy turns into a coping mechanism as well, hiding his fears of the supernatural being and the possibility of his death at the hands of the creature. Strictly in It Chapter Two, it has been interpreted by some fans that Richie's comedic defense mechanism also doubles as him hiding his romantic feelings for Eddie Kaspbrak. The portrayals of Richie in the 2017 film adaptation by Wolfhard and the 2019 sequel by Hader were both highly praised and considered to be "show-stealers." Both portrayals were noted for their comedic relief and chemistry with their fellow cast members, in particular between Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer for the first film and Hader and James Ransone in the second. Hader's portrayal was noted for its blend of comedy and drama when required, as well as the subtle references to Richie's sexuality and his implicated love for Eddie, referred to by Pennywise as his "dirty little secret."

Did You Know?

• Richie's full name is Richard "Richie" Tozier, and his last name is pronounced t-o-zh-ər.
• In the 1990 miniseries, Richie was portrayed by Seth Green as a child and Harry Anderson as an adult.
• In the 2017 film and its 2019 sequel, Richie was portrayed by Finn Wolfhard as a child and Bill Hader as an adult.
• In the novel, Richie's exact birth date is not specified; in the miniseries, he was born in 1950; and in the films, his birth year is not explicitly confirmed in canon.
• Richie is the son of Maggie Tozier and an unnamed father.