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Actor Tim Curry, known for his iconic performances in cult classics like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the original screen adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” has died, his manager confirmed. He was 80.
A cause of death was not given, but his publicist said he died “peacefully at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles,” on Tuesday.
Born into a military family in Cheshire, England, in 1946, the British singer and actor grew up moving from place to place before eventually returning to the U.K. and starting his career, which began in the original 1968 production of “Hair” in London’s West End.
He went on to receive multiple Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards, alongside additional acclaim, throughout his decades in the business. Many considered his flamboyant and often genre-defying theatrical style to be a pioneering form of comedy, in a league of its own.
Not long after his West End debut, Curry rocketed into the global limelight with his portrayal of cross-dressing scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “Rocky Horror,” the 1975 musical comedy movie in which he starred alongside the likes of Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. He reprised the role for the screen after first playing it in the stage musical “The Rocky Horror Show.”
Curry’s also remembered widely for his role in “It,” in which he played the villainous clown Pennywise, when King’s 1986 novel was adapted into a miniseries in 1990. His performances in “It” and “Rocky Horror” were bookended by a number of others in major musical films and comedies, including “Annie,” “Legend,” “Clue,” “The Three Musketeers” and the “Home Alone” sequel. With them came a smattering of TV roles, from “Oliver Twist” to “Will & Grace.”
Curry reflected on the legacy left by his “Rocky Horror” stardom in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” last October, saying his character “gave a lot of teenagers permission to be different, and I’m very happy that he did have that power.”
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He also discussed his own identity in that interview, acknowledging his somewhat mysterious persona even as he built a prolific resume filled with funny, campy and generally over-the-top characters.
“I think it’s important,” he told “Sunday Morning,” of being an enigma himself. “I encourage it.”
Curry said at the time that he prioritized protecting certain parts of his real-life story from the public, adding that it was critical for him “to not encourage an identity.” At the time of the interview, he was promoting a memoir, called “Vagabond,” in which he looked back as far as his early childhood and his journey to worldwide fame.
Curry suffered a stroke in 2012, which left him partially paralyzed. He told “Sunday Morning” that he’d reached an age he didn’t necessarily expect to see when that happened more than a decade prior, especially since his father had died from a stroke when Curry was still a kid. But he also said death didn’t scare him.
“I try to avoid it, as I think we all do! But I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it,” said Curry. He laughed as he expounded upon that sentiment, adding: “I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye — and I want to earn it!”
