Tim Curry, of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' dies at 80

The gender-bending role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter put Curry on the map in 1975. He then went on to play a number of villainous roles like Gomez Addams, Pennywise and Bill Sikes, but also Mozart and William Shakespeare.

Actor Tim Curry died at the age of 80, Variety, TMZ and other celebrity news outlets reported on Wednesday. 

A cause of death was not immediately given but Curry had been in poor health for some time following a severe stroke that left him confined to a wheelchair and wrote in his memoir "Vagabond" last year that he was still not able to walk. 

Curry won Laurence Olivier and Tony Award nominations for his work on stage in the UK and the US, as well delivering Emmy-winning TV performances later in his career. 

Who was Tim Curry?

Curry was born in Cheshire into a Navy family in 1946 and spent his life bouncing around an array of different homes in the UK and even Hong Kong. He ultimately went to school in Bath, impressing as a soprano singer, and university in Birmingham. 

He played in London musicals in the late 60s and early 70s seeking his big break, which came in a 1973 unusual musical ultimately destined to graduate to the silver screen. 

Curry was given the role of the lingerie-clad sweet singing transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in 1975. Despite the very German sounding name and initial rehearsals with a German and American accent, he ultimately played the mad scientist with an exaggerated upper class Belgravia accent, in what a Guardian newspaper 1973 review referred to as a "garishly Bowiesque performance as the ambisextrous doctor." 

He went on to play an array of other roles that involved elaborate costumes, unusual mannerisms, and often a fairly pronounced dark but also comedic side in his career.

These included Gomez Addams in the "Addams Family Reunion" cinema reboot, Long John Silver in "Muppet Treasure Island," the suspicious Plaza Hotel concierge in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," Pennywise the Clown in a miniseries based on Stephen King's novel "It," and even as the voice of Chancellor Palpatine in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

In another Star Wars connection, Curry was even cast as the Joker for "Batman: The Animated Series," having been considered for the role in the 1989 film as well, until Mark Hamill supplanted him. 

Curry also played some of history's most consequential figures like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William Shakespeare, and even King Arthur — albeit in the Monty Python musical stage show "Spamalot." He was also among the first actors to branch out into video game roles, perhaps most notably as the fictional Soviet military officer Anatoly Cherdenko in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. 

He released several solo studio albums and also contributed to various soundtrack records throughout his career, with his musical background apparent in many of his acting roles.

Edited by: Rana Taha

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