RIP: TIM CURRY

Tim Curry, the English actor and singer best known for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at age 80, according to an initial report from TMZ. Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Curry’s representatives for confirmation.

Per the outlet, Curry died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home, after enduring “serious health issues for more than a decade.” The LAPD confirmed to  that officers responded to a death investigation for a male in his 80s on Tuesday at 11:20 P.M. TMZ noted that “no foul play” was suspected at the time of his death.

The three-time Tony-nominee and winner of a Daytime Emmy Award, Curry will forever be known for creating the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the “sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania,” in The Rocky Horror Show stage production and follow-up film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Curry met the show’s composer, lyricist, and book writer Richard O’Brien when Curry was in the London production of Hair in 1968 and O’Brien was in the touring company in 1968. Though others have played the mad scientist at “The Frankenstein Place” over time — including an untold number of amateur players during Rocky Horror “shadow cast” performances — Curry’s mix of sleazy, slightly-demonic sexuality mixed with an upper crust demeanor immediately made him a legend, specifically in the LGBT community.

“The motto ‘Don’t dream it, be it’ is not necessarily limited to your sexuality,” he said in late 2025. “I think it applies to whatever you dream to be, and that’s a good thing. If it gives people permission to behave in a sexual way that they secretly want to, that’s a good thing, as long as it doesn’t hurt them.”

The success of Rocky Horror led to notable stage productions like Tom Stoppard’s Travesties, Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, and comedic film roles like John Huston’s adaptation of Annie (1982) and the madcap all-star comedy free-for-all Clue (1985).

Curry was born the son of a British Naval chaplain in 1946. As per his website, his parents met in Malta, were married in Egypt, he was conceived in South Africa, born in England, and raised partially in Hong Kong. He studied drama in school and quickly found work after graduation in the London production of Hair. He didn’t last long in the show, but found work elsewhere on the stage and on television. His official audition for The Rocky Horror Show was singing the early rock ‘n’ roll classic “Tutti Frutti,” wholly appropriate for the retro-kitsch, boogie-woogie vibe of much of the score.

The Rocky Horror Show opened in 1973 in London, then travelled to Los Angeles for a legendary run at the Roxy Theatre in 1974. It moved to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway the following year. The story, which encourages audiences to not “dream it” but to “be it,” follows two sweethearts, Brad and Janet, whose car breaks down near a spooky castle commanded by the pansexual Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

The movie version, released in 1975, drew from the burgeoning glam-rock scene, and predated a great many styles found in the later punk movement. In a 2025 interview with NPR, Curry said he initially thought the doctor character would “ be in a white lab coat,” not fishnets. Curry’s costars included Bruce Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, and Meat Loaf… as well as everyone in the audience.

The movie was not an initial success, but midnight screenings in New York’s Waverly Theatre led to word-of-mouth. As the fandom increased, audiences began shouting back at the screen. Over time, this led to a semi-canonical talk back script of tongue-in-cheek zings. This soon led to props (hurled toast being the most famous) and, eventually, people in costume prancing around the auditorium along with the action on screen. Funnily enough, Curry lived just a block from the Waverly when the film took off, so got to see people dressed like his character walking home late at night. This phenomenon has continued for five decades.

Concerning the movie’s longevity, specifically with young people, Curry said “to them, it’s daring… It’s a kind of rite of passage now, I think. It’s a guaranteed weekend party to which you can go with or without a date and probably find one if you don’t have one. And it’s also, I think, a chance for people to try on a few roles for size, you know, figure out - help them maybe figure out their own sexuality. I mean, I think that’s probably taking it a little deeper than it needs to go, but I think it has had a useful purpose in that way.” He added, “I’ve certainly had some very interesting and moving mail from people who have said, you know, thanks for helping me figure out who I was.”

In the 1980s, Curry was seen on film in Annie and under 10 tons of demonic makeup in Ridley Scott’s high fantasy Legend opposite Tom Cruise and Mia Sara. Next came Clue, an adaptation of the detective board game with a stacked cast including Madeline Khan, Martin Mull, Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp, Christopher Lloyd. The old school, screwball screenplay relies on Curry running around like a maniac barking dialogue at supersonic speeds for the film’s final scenes.

The late 1980s saw Curry’s first involvement with voiceover for animation. Paddington, Woody Woodpecker, Star Wars, Scooby-Doo, Barbie… Tim Curry has been involved with all of these brands at one time or another. One series, Peter Pan and the Pirates, led to a Daytime Emmy win.

In the early 2000s, he created the role of King Arthur in the Monty Python musical Spamalot on Broadway and on the West End. Curry also released three pop-rock albums from 1978 to 1981.

Curry suffered a stroke in 2012, limiting his mobility, which increased his working in voiceover. He did not give many interviews and worked to keep his private life private, though it is known that he was rather fond of gardening...