Tim Curry, Iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show And Home Alone 2 Actor, Dead At 80

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Yet another titan of the entertainment world has passed. Tim Curry, the actor and screen legend best known for "Rocky Horror Picture Show," has died at the age of 80, per TMZ, only a day after the devastating news about Dolly Parton. According to the outlet, Curry was beset by health issues for several years and passed away at his Los Angeles home late Tuesday night, though the exact specifics have yet to be officially released.

The English-born star built an unparalleled career out of leaning into the niche and eccentric, first appearing on the stage as part of the original cast of the 1968 "Hair" musical before his big break as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "Rocky Horror" in 1973. His reprisal of the same role in the beloved 1975 film adaptation and cult classic cemented his status as an unconventional sex symbol and a genuine icon – a word we don't use lightly — to the LGBTQ+ community, opening doors for him throughout multiple industries. He would go on to be nominated for the first of three Tony Awards for Best Actor following his performance as Mozart in the play "Amadeus" in 1981 (losing to his co-star Ian McKellen), the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for "The Pirates of Penzance" (he was nominated for the prize again years later for "Spamalot"), and even a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children with the 2002 audiobook "A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning."

Curry leaves behind a lasting legacy as a successful solo musical artist with three studio albums to his name, a prolific and Daytime Emmy Award-winning voice actor, and one of the finest and most influential film/TV performers of a generation. He is already sorely missed.

Tim Curry was a modern Renaissance man with a knack for showcasing incredible range

To the extent that any summation of Tim Curry's life and career is even possible within a single obituary, none would be complete without referring to him as a truly one-of-a-kind performer. His incomparable screen presence extended from the stage to television to film and beyond, crossing between mediums with ease. This, of course, only highlighted the immense skill and talent and attention to detail with which he approached every project he was a part of throughout the decades.

Fans of multiple generations can comfortably claim any phase of Curry's oeuvre as their own. His rise to fame in theater and film throughout the 1970s and '80s gave us his unforgettable role as the Lord of Darkness in Ridley Scott's dark fantasy epic "Legend," his comedic turn as the butler Wadsworth in the classic murder-mystery romp "Clue," and the Broadway shows "Amadeus" and "The Pirates of Penzance." The next decade saw Curry establish himself as a character actor to be reckoned with throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Fans of a certain age will remember him fondly from "The Hunt for Red October," his scene-stealing (and nightmare-inducing) performance as the villainous clown monster Pennywise in the TV miniseries "It," his endlessly endearing appearance as Long John Silver in "Muppet Treasure Island," and, of course, his long-suffering hotel concierge Mr. Hector in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." Even kids enjoyed his work as an omnipresent voice actor, as he lent his vocals to everything from "Batman: The Animated Series" to "Mighty Ducks" to "The Wild Thornberrys" to "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

Curry was nothing short of a Renaissance man, redefining the meaning of "range" and breaking down boundaries as he did so.