See Tim Curry's Last Outing at Rocky Horror Picture Show Celebration

“I think the message of the film—don’t dream it, be it—is very important,” he reflected during the Academy Museum’s celebration in September. “One of the things that the movie does, I think, is give anyone permission to behave as badly as they really want, in whatever way and with whom. And I’m proud of that.”

He added at the time that the film’s ongoing impact, especially way the film has been embraced LGBTQ+ communities, “means a lot.”

He also shared an update on the lingering impacts of his stroke, which he said was the only reason he wasn’t trying to recreate some of Frank-N-Furter’s iconic moves.

“I still can’t walk, which is why I’m in this silly chair, and that’s very limiting,” he admitted. “So, I won’t be singing and I won’t be dancing very soon. I still have real problems with my left leg.”

But even then, his signature humor shown through. Letting out a yawn, he joked, “It’s awfully late, isn’t it? Why don’t we show the pic?”

Indeed, despite his yearslong health struggles, Curry held onto that lighthearted optimism until the very end—and he wasn’t worried about whatever might come next.

“I don't fear death,” he told CBS Sunday Mornings in October. “I try to avoid it as I think we all do, but I suspect that in the end I will welcome it. I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye and I want to earn it. I want to earn the privilege of not being here.”

“I'm not galloping towards it,” he clarified, adding, “I may well embrace it.”

For a look back at the actor’s life in photos, read on.