RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Tim Curry, the actor who famously played the gender-bending mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show among dozens of other memorable roles, died late Tuesday night, reports TMZ . He was 80.
Timothy James Curry was born on April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, England, the son of a school secretary and Royal Navy chaplain. He got his start as an actor in plays and musicals, performing in productions of Hair and After Haggerty . In 1973, Curry starred in Rocky Horror ’s original London stage production at Royal Court Theatre, and was later featured in the 1975 big-screen adaptation. Although it was released in the United States to little fanfare, it experienced a second life as a midnight movie. The film’s exploration of gender and sexuality resonated with its eccentric fandom, with queer communities in particular relating to Curry’s character, a vampish, fishnet-wearing “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania.”
The rest of Curry’s career mostly focused on villainous roles in movies such as 1982’s Annie , where he played the antagonist Rooster Hannigan, who teamed up with orphanage manager Miss Hannigan to pose as Annie’s long-lost parent for a cash reward. In 1990, Curry played the sadistic, raspy-voiced Pennywise in ABC television miniseries It , adapted from Stephen King’s 1986 namesake novel. And in 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York , he portrayed a nosy Plaza Hotel concierge. Curry also had several voice acting roles, including early ’90s parts as Captain Hook in Peter Pan & the Pirates and Hexxus in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. Beyond his acting, Curry had a musical career that included three albums, 1978’s Read My Lips , 1980’s Fearless , and 1981’s Simplicity . In 2012, he suffered a major stroke that left half of his body paralyzed.
In a 2025 interview with the Guardian , Curry spoke about why chose to portray the gender-nonconforming Dr. Frank-N-Furter. “I did think it was risky and indeed it was. But I like risky. I would choose risky over anything. That’s the best way to be,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that I had the courage to do it, and I did and that was good. I resolved to apply it to my life.”
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