Tim Curry, Rocky Horror Picture Show Actor, Dead at 80
The beloved actor also starred in Home Alone, Clue, Legend, and Stephen King's IT. Tim Curry, Rocky Horror Picture Show Actor, Dead at 80 Abby Jones
Tim Curry , the do-it-all legend known best known for his roles in The Rocky Picture Horror Show , Home Alone 2: Lost in New York , Clue , IT , and countless other films, has died at the age of 80.
TMZ reports that Curry passed away late Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home.
Timothy James Curry was born on April 19th, 1946 in Grappenhall, Cheshire. Growing up, Curry and his family lived in Plymouth, London, and Bath, and he began exhibiting a talent for singing. Having decided to focus on acting, he studied English and drama at the University of Birmingham and graduated in 1968.
Also in 1968, Curry landed his first major acting role in the original London cast of the musical Hair. During that production, Curry met Richard O’Brien, the writer of The Rocky Horror Show musical. O’Brien would go on to cast Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a diabolical, cross-dressing mad scientist with a posh English accent. Curry would go on to reprise the role in the cult 1975 film adaptation, a breakthrough moment for his career.
In film, Curry’s appearances included Annie (1982), Legend (1985), Clue (1985), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Charlie’s Angels (2000), and Scary Movie 2 (2001). His best-known television role was as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the 1990 ABC miniseries It, though he made numerous guest appearances in shows like Criminal Minds, Roseanne, Monk, Will & Grace, and Psych .
Despite his screen success, Curry appeared onstage consistently in the 1970s and ’80s, starring in productions of Titus Andronicus, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Travesties, and over a dozen more. After a hiatus from stage roles during most of the ’90s, he portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in a 2001 production of A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden.
Curry suffered a major stroke in July 2012 and used a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, prompting his switch to doing mostly voice acting roles in the 2010s. Though he drastically cut down his public appearances after the stroke, he reunited with his Rocky Horror castmates and reprised his role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter numerous times , including during a 2020 fundraising event in support of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
