Tim Curry, Rocky Horror Icon and Beloved Character Actor, Dies at 80

TIM CURRY, LEGENDARY ACTOR AND ROCKY HORROR ICON, HAS DIED AT 80

TL;DR: Tim Curry, the actor and singer beloved for his groundbreaking, era-defining performance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at 80. He also has a fun, if fictional, tie to the soap world.

Remembering Tim Curry, an Icon of Stage and Screen

Tim Curry has died at 80, according to multiple reports. The actor passed away Tuesday night at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles. Law enforcement sources say police responded to the home following a medical emergency and that no foul play is suspected. A cause of death has not yet been released. Curry had lived with significant mobility issues since suffering a major stroke in 2012, which required brain surgery and left him using a wheelchair. As recently as last September, he spoke publicly about still being unable to walk, telling interviewers he hoped to eventually sing and dance again.

Curry’s career spanned more than five decades, but he will forever be most closely tied to his groundbreaking, earth-shattering performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), a role he originated on stage in London in 1973 before bringing it to film. The performance turned him into a cult icon and launched a devoted following that has never faded. Curry later called the film “a rite of passage” for generations of fans.

Have a memory of Tim Curry you want to share? Send it our way at amber@soapoperamagazine.com, we’d love to hear from you.

A Career That Touched Nearly Everything, Including Soaps

Beyond Rocky Horror, Curry’s resume was massive: Wadsworth the butler in Clue, Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It, the Lord of Darkness in Legend, and a Daytime Emmy-winning turn voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates. He earned three Tony nominations for his stage work and released three solo albums as a singer.

He also has a genuine, if tongue-in-cheek, connection to the soap world. In the short-lived 1997 ABC sitcom Over the Top, which Curry starred in and co-produced, he played Simon Ferguson, a self-absorbed actor who gets fired from a fictional daytime soap called “Days to Remember” and moves in with his exasperated ex-wife. Per Deadline, Curry’s death was confirmed by his longtime manager and friend, Marcia Hurwitz, who said in a statement that “throughout his life, he refused to be boxed in or confined to others’ expectations.”

Share your favorite Tim Curry role or memory in the comments below.

Sending Our Condolences

Tim Curry spent decades refusing to be pinned down to one kind of role, and that fearlessness is exactly why so many different corners of pop culture are mourning him today, from horror fans to musical theater lovers to, in our small corner, anyone who ever laughed at a soap star getting fired on a sitcom and thought, “that’s oddly familiar.” His work will keep finding new audiences for a long time to come.

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