Tim Curry has died at 80. TMZ reports that the prolific British actor and singer, who famously portrayed Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975 musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, passed away Tuesday night at home in Los Angeles. No cause of death has been disclosed, but Curry suffered a number of health problems later in life, including a stroke in 2012 that left partially paralyzed.
Born on April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, Cheshire, Curry, the son of a naval chaplain, grew up in Hong Kong and in a number of British seaside towns, his family eventually settling in Plymouth. Showing a talent for singing early on, he received classical vocal training as a boy before studying English and drama at the University of Birmingham. He graduated in 1968, the same year he landed his first major acting role in the original London cast of the musical Hair. During this time, he met Richard O’Brien, the writer of The Rocky Horror Show musical, which was initially staged in a small experimental theater before moving to larger venues. Curry was then in the movie adaptation, which was not successful upon its release but later became a cult phenomenon.
Curry would go on to sign with A&M Records, recording his 1978 debut album Read My Lips with Alice Cooper/KISS producer Bob Ezrin. Its follow-up, 1979’s Fearless, included ‘I Do The Rock’, his only solo track to crack Billboard Hot 100. In 1989, A&M released The Best of Tim Curry. The following year, he appeared as the Prosecutor in Roger Waters’ production of The Wall – Live in Berlin.
Curry’s other notable film performances included Annie (1982), Legend (1985), Clue (1985), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Charlie’s Angels (2000), and Scary Movie 2 (2001). In television, he played Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It. He returned to the stage throughout his career, earning his first Tony nomination for his portrayal of Mozart in the 1981 stage play Amadeus. In 2015, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Actors Fund Tony Awards. His memoir, Vagabond, was published last year.
