Legendary actor and The Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry died on Tuesday night at the age of 80.
Curry’s longtime friend and manager, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed to Yahoo that the actor “passed away peacefully at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles.” A cause of death has not been disclosed.
In 2012, the British actor suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed, and he had been dealing with serious health issues for more than a decade. According to TMZ, police responded to his home at 11:23 p.m. on Tuesday. There is no foul play suspected.
Curry is best known for his wide range of comedic and often villainous roles, accompanied by his unmistakable, rich, theatrical laugh. He started his professional acting career in the late 1960s, shortly after graduating from the University of Birmingham in the U.K.
The actor told CBS’s Sunday Morning last year that acting excited him, because it was “the freedom of being somebody else.”
Curry’s first paid acting gig was a 1968 London production of Hair,wherehe met actor Richard O’Brien, who wrote the 1975 musical comedy The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was then that Curry landed his breakout role as the corset-and-fishnet-stocking-wearing Dr. Frank-N-Furter, which later became a cult classic.
“He gave a lot of teenagers permission to be different, and I’m very happy that he did have that power,” Curry told CBS, referring to the flamboyant character.
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In 1990, Curry also portrayed the terrifying character Pennywise the clown in the television adaptation of Stephen King’s It. His other widely known roles included Mr. Hector, the Plaza Hotel’s nosy personal concierge in 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Curry’s other memorable movie credits include Annie(1982), Clue(1985), The Hunt for Red October(1990), The Three Musketeers(1993), Muppet Treasure Island(1996),Addams Family Reunion (1998) and Scary Movie 2(2001).
“Few actors can claim to have left as many distinct fingerprints on pop culture — and though he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012, he continued adding to his achievements as an artist and, most recently, a writer,” Curry’s publicist told Yahoo
While Curry played a wide range of roles, he wrote in his 2025 memoir Vagabond that he was not like any of them. “The distinctions between who I really am and who I’ve pretended to be as an actor have proven to be as not caused me much personal distress beyond the periodic necessity to deter stalkers.”
Over the course of his career, Curry also earned three Tony nominations for his performances in “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus.” He earned a 1994 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his multi-role performance on Tales from the Crypt.
Later in his career, Curry lent his voice acting talents to roles in children’s TV series, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Wild Thornberrys and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.
“Though widely known for his inimitable, flamboyant characters and colorful stage performances, his greatest legacies to those who knew him were his curious, expansive mind and generous, gentle heart, both of which remained open and filled with anticipation until his final breath,” wrote Curry’s publicist.
The actor was very private about his personal life and never married or had children. Curry is survived by his nieces Kate Lewis, Julia and Patrick Bullman, great nieces Josephine and Georgina, and nephew Mark Lewis.
“I don’t fear death, I try to avoid it,” Curry told CBS with a chuckle, “as I think we all do.”
“But I suspect that in the end I will welcome it … I think it may be comforting to go bye- bye, and I want to earn it,” Curry said with a laugh.
