Tim Curry died on August 25 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 80.
His death came 14 years after a near-fatal stroke that left him permanently paralyzed. His manager, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed his death to Variety. The Los Angeles Police Department responded to his home at 11:23 p.m. and reported that no foul play is suspected. A cause of death has not been released.
According to Healthline, Curry suffered the stroke while receiving a massage. His massage therapist noticed something was wrong and called an ambulance. Curry then underwent brain surgery for two blood clots that had formed on his brain and spent a month in the hospital. The stroke did not become public knowledge until roughly a year after it happened.
Curry addressed his condition publicly at a special screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in 2025, held to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary. "I still can't walk, which is why I'm in this silly chair, and that's very limiting. So I won't be singing, and I won't be dancing very soon. I still have real problems with my left leg," he told reporters at the event.
Despite those limitations, Curry kept working. He shifted toward voice acting after the stroke, lending his voice to animated projects including "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and the movie "Ribbit." In 2025, he also published a memoir titled "Vagabond."
Curry first rose to fame in the 1970s for his role as the flamboyant Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," a role that made him a lasting cultural icon. He went on to play Pennywise in the television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's "It" and Wadsworth the Butler in the cult classic film "Clue."
His stage career was equally distinguished. He received three nominations for the Best Actor Tony Award and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991 for his voice-over work on "Peter Pan and the Pirates." In 2015, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Actors Fund Tony Awards Viewing Party.
Curry never married and had no children. Annual screenings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" are held worldwide and are expected to continue as a tribute to his legacy.
