Actor Tim Curry has reportedly passed away at the age of 80.
Curry first found fame as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show before going on to enjoy a five-decade career across stage and screen.
No cause of death has been announced. It is understood that the actor had been in ill health for some time.
While Curry will be remembered for his iconic role as Frank-N-Furter, a character he originated in the original London stage production, his career encompassed many memorable performances. Among them were the terrifying Pennywise in the television adaptation of Stephen King’s It and the villainous Rooster Hannigan in the film adaptation of Annie.
Born in Cheshire, England, Curry spent his youth in Hong Kong and several British seaside towns, as his family moved regularly between locations. He studied at the University of Liverpool before pursuing an acting career in London.
He joined the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968. There he met Richard O’Brien, who later wrote The Rocky Horror Show, which premiered in 1973. The production became one of the most successful musicals of all time, and many of the original cast members reunited for the 1975 film adaptation. Although the film was not an immediate commercial success, it grew into a cult classic through midnight screenings and later found a wider audience through home video.
Curry earned widespread acclaim in the Broadway production of Amadeus, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in 1980. He returned to the London stage in 1982 in The Pirates of Penzance and went on to appear in West End productions including The Rivals, The Threepenny Opera, and Love For Sale.
His film credits included Annie, It, Legend, and Clue. He also appeared in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Muppet Treasure Island, and The Hunt for Red October. On television, he featured in Earth 2, Over the Top, Rude Awakening, Criminal Minds, Psych, and Return to Cranford.
Voice acting formed another major part of his career, with Curry contributing to numerous animated productions and audiobooks. In 2004, he returned to Broadway in Spamalot, where he originated the role of King Arthur and later performed it in both New York and London.
Following a stroke in 2013, Curry used a wheelchair and reduced his professional workload. He later published an autobiography. His final screen appearance came in 2016, when he appeared as the Criminologist in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
