Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue Actor, Dead at 80

And yet fame came quite easily for Curry as he graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1968 and landed his first professional job in the original London cast of Hair. Not just his acting debut, it was a life-changing booking as he would meet Richard O’Brien, who would go on to cast Curry in his iconic role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1973’s The Rocky Horror Show. Curry played the role in London and again on Broadway before slipping back into his corset and fishnets to make his big screen debut in the 1975 film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Though Curry admitted in his memoir that he could be "overly self-critical", he noted, “Playing somebody like that wakes you up to new dimensions of human nature. I can’t imagine a better role to enable me to embrace my contradictions and see them through. I learned not to limit myself—artistically, professionally, sexually, or mentally. Over the course of thousands of appearances, on and off the stage, stepping into Frank’s very high-heeled shoes forced me to carry a persona of real confidence.”

From there, Curry found himself playing a slew of varied roles across film, television and the stage, including playwright William Shakespeare in the miniseries Will Shakespeare (1978), composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the original Broadway production of Amadeus (1980), con artist Rooster in the musical Annie (1982), Wadsworth—the butler who “buttles" in Clue (1985), the murderous Pennywise in the 1990 TV adaptation of IT and Long John Silver opposite the Muppets in Muppet Treasure Island (1996).

And while many of his characters had a slightly evil bent, Curry was conscious of never playing the same character twice to not only maintain an aura of mystery on screen, but to also remain an enigma in real life. 

“One of the keys is to not encourage an identity,” he explained on CBS Sunday Mornings in 2025. “And I’ve turned to nurse that. I have protected that and continue to.”

It’s a sentiment he reiterated in his autobiography, saying he would not “be dishing out lurid details of my love affairs.”

“I guarantee you, if it matters, that I have experienced true love, true heartbreak, and everything in between, including no small amount of wreckage. Which, naturally, helps inform who I am,” Curry wrote. “I have loved and been loved and I hope you have, too. But I'm not interested in your romances. And specifics about my affairs of the heart or the bedroom are-respectfully-none of your f--king business.”

Curry was always happy to surprise fans with his choice of roles, which he did when he played King Arthur in the 2005 Broadway musical Spamalot based on Monty Python’s 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He played the role again in London in 2007 and picked up Tony and Olivier award nominations for his performance. 

But Curry didn’t just limit himself to acting, as he was also a prolific singer, releasing three albums during his musical career: 1978’s Read My Lips, 1979’s Fearless and 1981’s Simplicity.

In 2012, Curry’s life was forever changed when he experienced a stroke during a routine massage. The ensuing invasive brain surgery left him unable to walk, paralyzed on his left side. 

“I had a certain amount of rehabilitation,” he shared on CBS Sunday Morning. “I had to learn how to speak again, that was very weird. I hated not being able to speak.”

Thankfully, he was able to regain his speech and continued voice acting in various projects like 2016’s Over the Garden Wall and 2024’s Stream. 

As Curry reflected on his career in his later years, he was grateful for the fact that he was able to make his fans feel seen and heard, writing in his memoir that it “was such an honor” that they cared so much about him and his career despite his physical setbacks. 

“It never loses its power to have these incredibly nervous kids approach and tell me that I have changed their life in one way or the other,” he wrote. “Those exchanges are so meaningful to me. I’m truly grateful for them.”

He also took time to think about the end of his life, joking that while he didn’t “fear death” he did try his best “to avoid it.”

“I suspect that in the end I will welcome it,” he shared on CBS Sunday Mornings. “I think it may be very comforting to go bye bye, and I want to earn it.”

Keep reading for a closer look back at his life...