It is with great sadness that we bring you the news Tim Curry, iconic star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Stephen King’s It, Clue, and much more has died at the age of 80. The multitalented stage and screen actor and singer, who suffered a major stroke in 2012 from which he never fully recovered, passed away at his Toluca Lake home in Los Angeles today, as confirmed by his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz.
The son of a Royal Navy chaplain and a school secretary, Timothy James Curry was born on 19 April, 1946 in the English village of Grappenhall, Cheshire. Suffice it to say, Tim Curry was never destined to follow in his folks’ footsteps. Having sampled the travelling actor’s life as a boy, moving from Cheshire to Hong Kong to Plymouth to Bath all before the age of 12, a young Tim soon found himself catching the thespian bug performing in school plays, going on to study Drama & English — or, rather, ditch classes and dive into extracurricular productions — at Birmingham University.
A talented soprano with undeniable acting ability and no compunction when it came to spinning a yarn to have that talent recognised, Tim Curry’s acting breakthrough came in the original production of Hair in 1968. It was while working on Hair that Curry first encountered Richard O’Brien, who some five years later would go on to write — and invite Tim to audition for — an experimental new musical: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was with his insatiable, provocative, fearless turn as that sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania Dr Frank-N-Furter — first in London, then Los Angeles, and eventually in director Jim Sharman’s cult classic 1975 movie — that Tim Curry announced his arrival as a bona fide star. Sure, Broadway may not have known what had hit it when Rocky Horror closed after just 45 performances in 1975, but with the likes of Mick Jagger and Tennessee Williams turning up and taking notice, it was clear Curry was only just getting started.
Alongside continued success on stage and on the small screen, Tim Curry became a household name and a fully-fledged movie star in the 1980s and heading well into the 90s with a slew of memorable turns in a wild variety of movies. He brought ineffable sleaze to Annie‘s moustachioed con man Rooster Hannigan; operatic malevolence (and an insane amount of prosthesis) to the literally devilish Darkness of Ridley Scott’s Legend; breathless, bumbling, wild-eyed brilliance to butler Wadsworth in the nutty boardgame based murder-mystery movie Clue; even more sleaze to Home Alone 2: Lost In New York‘s pompous Concierge; and, in one of his most out-of-left-field, outré turns, Curry proved perfectly cast as killer clown/force of ancient cosmic evil Pennywise in the OG miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It.
The thing about a performer such as Tim Curry is that once you start listing his roles — start reeling off his many, many movies, TV shows, and even video games (the man’s extraordinary delivery of the word ‘Space!’ in Command And Conquer: Red Alert 3 will always be famous) — you soon realise that he was the ultimate 27 percenter who always gave 100%, no matter the assignment. You need someone to play Long John Silver with a straight face while surrounded by literal Muppets? There’s Tim Curry. You need an eccentric Romanian philanthropist for your very silly Michael Crichton post-Jurassic Park cash-in? There’s Tim Curry. You need a voice for Nigel Thornberry, for an animated Emperor Palpatine, to read the entirety of Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events? There’s Tim Curry. You remember that ill-conceived Addams Family Reunion reboot in 1998? Its existence is justified almost entirely by the presence of Tim Curry as Gomez Addams. Tim Curry’s name in the credits of a project is a guarantee you’ll have had at least one reason to smile in whatever you’ve just watched, heard, or played.
In the hours since Tim Curry’s passing, tributes have poured in from friends, family, collaborators, and peers alike in their droves. Luke Evans, who’s just wrapped up an acclaimed run as Broadway’s latest Frank-N-Furter took to Instagram to pay tribute to ‘a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm’, sharing a letter he penned to the actor before finishing his Rocky Horror run. Curry’s Annie co-star Carol Burnett remembered ‘a dear friend’ on her own account, attesting that “nobody could play a lovable villain like he could.” Lesley Anne Warren, who starred alongside Tim Curry in Clue, paid her own tribute to her ‘companion in crime’ on Instagram, too, writing: “The brilliant, hilarious, hysterically funny , magician of artistry has left us. What an unbelievable joy to have shared a sound stage with him and to engage with such a master talent. I adored him. Bless his wild and inspired soul. Love you Tim”
Whether a sexual vampire, a breathless butler, a West Country accented pirate or a horned Lord of Darkness, Tim Curry was a singular performer who loved what he did and did what he loved his whole life through. He will be remembered for his immense talent, magnetic charisma, and a body of work that is destined to live on and bring joy to viewers of all ages for generations to come. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.
