Tim Curry was a patron saint for the kooky. From his breakout starring role in 1975’s cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Curry brought his bulbous eyes and madcap energy to every performance. Intensely private about his personal life, he built a following on the strength of his oddball characters, including the zany butler in 1985’s Clue, the evil clown Pennywise in 1990’s It, and King Arthur—a Tony-nominated turn—in 2005’s Broadway hit Spamalot. In acting roles, “I would choose risky over anything,” Curry said last year. “That’s the best way to be.”
Born in northwest England to a Methodist chaplain, Timothy James Curry was blessed with “a mischief-maker’s good looks, a casual athletic grace, and a supple and resonant voice,” said The New York Times. Acting was his obvious calling, and after graduating from the University of Birmingham, he quickly found parts in regional theater. But it was the “campy sci-fi romp” The Rocky Horror Show that made him a star, said Rolling Stone. Originating the cross-dressing Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the London stage in 1973, Curry reprised his role in the U.S. production in Los Angeles and then in the film. While the movie version “famously bombed” at first, it became “a midnight-movie sensation,” packing cinemas with costumed fans singing along, and it is still regularly screened today.
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