Damn.
Legendary British actor and singer Tim Curry, known for playing the evil cross-dressing scientist “Dr. Frank-N-Furter” in the Halloween cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died at the age of 80.
Curry reportedly died at his Toluca Lake home in Los Angeles late Tuesday night, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz.
TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources, that police responded to Curry’s house at 11:23 p.m. on Tuesday. They noted that there is no foul play suspected in relation to his passing.
Curry began his acting career in the late 1960s before earning his major breakout role in 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Decades later, the cult classic remains an interactive milestone, with fans attending screenings in costume to throw props and sing along to iconic tracks like “Time Warp,” “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me” and “Sweet Transvestite.”
He followed that success by starring as the famous playwright in the 1978 biographical miniseries “Will Shakespeare.”
Curry reentered the mainstream in 1982 with his role as “Rooster,” the sinister brother of “Miss Hannigan,” played by legendary comedic actress Carol Burnett, who attempts to kidnap little orphan Annie in “Annie.”
In 1985, Curry also played “Wadsworth,” the butler, in the dark comedy film “Clue.”
Continuing his “villainous” career, Curry went on to voice “the Serpent” and “Judas Iscariot” in the late 1980s and early 1990s animated direct-to-video series “The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.” He also played “Pennywise,” the wicked clown in “IT” (1990).
In 1992, Curry appeared as the scheming concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” alongside the bellman, played by conservative actor Rob Schneider. President Donald Trump also made a brief but notable appearance in the film, playing himself and speaking a single line: “Down the hall, to the left.”
Later, in 1996, Curry played the swashbuckling “Long John Silver” in “Muppet Treasure Island.” He also voiced “Forte,” the malicious pipe organ in the 1997 musical holiday film “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.”
Younger fans may also recognize his voice in his role as the evil Mouse King in “Barbie in the Nutcracker” (2001), or as “Chancellor Palpatine” and “Darth Sidious” in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
He voiced various characters in animated series including, but not limited to, “Batman: The Animated Series,” “Voltron: The Third Dimension,” “The Proud Family,” “Hey Arnold!,” ”Wonder Pets!,” “Ben 10: Alien Force,” “Regular Show,” “Ben 10: Omniverse” and “Phineas and Ferb.”
Curry received a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991 for his performance as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan and the Pirates.”
Overall, he is credited with playing more than 240 roles across movies and television. During a 1997 appearance on “The View,” Curry reminisced on his acting career, noting the common character tropes he was cast as.
“Eric Idle [of Monty Python] and I always have this greeting when we see each other: We shake hands and say, ‘Butlers and villains,’” Curry said. “I think it happens to a lot of European actors [when they come to the U.S.], particularly if you’ve never established yourself as a romantic leading man. The fact is, though, the bad guys are always much better written than the good guys, and they’re kind of irresistible to play.”
Curry received classical vocal training as a boy and grew up influenced by jazz artists like Billie Holiday as well as rock bands like The Rolling Stones. Before launching his solo studio career, he achieved massive cultural recognition for his vocal performances in musical theater and film, most notably as Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
In the late 1970s, Curry launched a solo music career as a rock singer, signing with A&M Records. He released his debut solo album, “Read My Lips,” in 1978. The record featured a mix of genres and consisted primarily of covers, including a reggae-style cover of The Beatles’ “I Will,” Burt Bacharach’s “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and Joni Mitchell’s “All I Want.”
He followed his debut with his most commercially successful album, “Fearless,” in 1979. Unlike his first record, Fearless focused heavily on original rock material co-written by Curry alongside producers Michael Kamen and Dick Wagner.
The album reached the Billboard 200 chart and featured his signature solo hit, “I Do the Rock,” which charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, alongside other popular tracks like “Paradise Garage.”
Curry released his third studio album with A&M Records, “Simplicity,” in 1981, combining original compositions such as “Working on My Tan” with covers of classic tracks like Squeeze’s “Take Me I’m Yours” and The Zombies’ “She’s Not There.”
Though he toured North America and Europe with his band between 1978 and 1980, he later stepped back from pursuing a standalone solo music career to focus more on acting, while continuing to contribute his vocals to various stage productions, film soundtracks and animated projects.
However, in 2012, the actor suffered a stroke that required brain surgery and left him in a wheelchair. Despite this, he continued voice acting. Last year, he also went on to release his memoir, “Vagabond.” Curry is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Judith. Though he never married or had children, he is survived by two nieces and a nephew.
I love Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue. Those are two of my favorite movies starring Tim Curry.
He was particularly good at playing insidious evil villains. He starred in Criminal Minds as prolific serial killer Billy Flynn in the Season Five finale episode “Our Darkest Hour” and in the Season Six opener episode “The Longest Night“. It was a chilling performance from an actor who clearly relished the role.
Rest in peace, Tim.