Fez — Tim Curry, the British actor who terrified audiences as Pennywise and electrified them as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, has died at the age of 80.
Curry died peacefully at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, on Tuesday, August 25, his longtime manager Marcia Hurwitz confirmed. No cause of death has been disclosed.
The actor had lived with significant health challenges after suffering a major stroke in 2012, which affected his mobility and led him to use a wheelchair. He nevertheless continued working, particularly as a voice actor, and remained involved in public appearances and celebrations of his career.
Curry became inseparable from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” after portraying the flamboyant scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult musical.
He had originated the character two years earlier in the London stage production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” turning the role into one of the most recognizable performances in cult cinema.
His manager remembered Curry for more than the extravagant characters that defined his public image, describing him as a man with an expansive mind and a generous nature until the end of his life.
From Frank-N-Furter to Pennywise
Curry rarely disappeared into ordinary roles.
In 1990, he became Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the television adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” creating a version of the villain that frightened a generation long before Bill Skarsgård took over the character.
His film credits also included “Clue,” “Annie,” “Legend,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Muppet Treasure Island,” and “The Three Musketeers.”
Curry’s stage career was just as extensive. He received three Tony Award nominations for his performances in “Amadeus,” “My Favorite Year,” and “Spamalot.”
He also built an enormous body of voice work.
Curry voiced characters in productions including “The Wild Thornberrys,” “Peter Pan and the Pirates,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.”
He won a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for his performance as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan and the Pirates” and later received a Grammy nomination for his narration work on “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
A cult icon for more than five decades
Curry remained closely connected to “Rocky Horror” throughout his life despite the role becoming far larger than anyone involved could have predicted.
The film developed from an initially unsuccessful theatrical release into a midnight-movie phenomenon, eventually becoming one of cinema’s most enduring cult works.
Curry returned to the franchise in the 2016 television adaptation, this time appearing as the criminologist rather than Frank-N-Furter.
In 2025, he published his memoir “Vagabond,” reflecting on a career that stretched from London’s West End to Hollywood, Broadway, animation, and video games.
Tributes have since arrived from actors and former collaborators including Carol Burnett, Lesley Ann Warren, Susan Sarandon, and Luke Evans. Burnett remembered Curry as a dear friend and an exceptional performer of memorable villains.
Few actors managed to make menace, comedy, theatricality, and eccentricity coexist as naturally as Curry did.
For generations who discovered him through “Rocky Horror,” “It,” “Clue,” or even a cartoon voice, Tim Curry was rarely just another actor in the cast. He was usually the person audiences remembered.
