Tim Curry, best known for his roles in cult classics like It, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, has died at 80.
Curry’s manager confirmed to People that he passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday (August 25). TMZ was first to report the news on Wednesday that the beloved actor had died after officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call late Tuesday night to complete a death investigation for a male in his 80s.
Timothy James Curry was born in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England on April 19, 1946, to parents Patricia and James Curry. When his father died when Curry was 12 years old, the family moved to South London where he went to boarding school and then Kingswood School in Somerset. Though he was described as being a talented young singer, he decide to focus on acting and eventually graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1968 with a combined degree in English and drama.
He was best known for his beloved roles as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975’s Rocky Horror Picture Show and Wadsworth the butler in 1985’s Clue, as well as his portrayal as Pennywise the clown in the 1990 miniseries It, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. In 2012, Curry suffered a major stroke that left him in a wheelchair and caused him to take a step back from on-screen roles; however he continued voice acting in animated series.
In addition to his aforementioned iconic roles, Curry had hundreds of acting credits to his name, with roles in movies like The Hunt for Red October, Muppet Treasure Island, Charlie’s Angels, The Three Musketeers and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, among others. He has also voiced characters in beloved animated TV shows like The Wild Thornberrys, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Phineas and Ferb, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, and many more.
