Tim Curry, best known for his roles in It and The Rocky Horror Picture Show has died, aged 80.
News of his passing was confirmed this afternoon (Wednesday August 26), and TMZ reports that the actor passed away last night (Tuesday August 25) at his home in Los Angeles.
At time of writing, no cause of death has been shared, although local law enforcement reportedly told TMZ that police went to his residence at 11:23pm last night, and suspect no foul play.
Curry began his acting career in the ‘60s, starring in the West End production ‘Hair’ back in 1968 after graduating from Birmingham University. He later got his big break with 1975 cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in which he acted alongside Susan Sarandon and took on the role of the iconic Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
Tim Curry, 1970. credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
He later went on to be the first actor to take on the role of Pennywise the clown in the 1990 mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s It, and film roles across his career included appearances in Annie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Muppet Treasure Island, The Hunt for Red October, and Scary Movie 2.
He would go on to return to the stage throughout his career, performing mainly for audiences in London and New York, and roles included debuting the role of King Arthur in Spamalot. He would go on to be nominated for three Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
As well as performing on stage and on screen, Curry also was a prominent voice actor, voicing multiple audiobooks and winning a Daytime Emmy for his work on Peter Pan and the Pirates in 1991.
In more recent years, he has been out of the spotlight, and suffered a stroke in 2012, which required brain surgery.
In 2015, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Actors Fund Tony Awards, and the following year, he took part in The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again – a television remake of the hit ’70s film. In the series, he took on the role of the narrator and criminologist.
Last year he released his biography Vagabond, and also revealed that he was unable to walk.
“I still can’t walk, which is why I’m in this silly chair, and that’s very limiting,” he said during an interview at a special screening for The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s 50th anniversary last year (via The Telegraph). “So, I won’t be singing and I won’t be dancing very soon. I still have real problems with my left leg.”
This is a developing story.
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