Tim Curry, the actor whose performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter became his signature role in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a decades-long midnight-movie staple, and who later played Pennywise the clown in “Stephen King’s It,” died at his home in Los Angeles late Tuesday night; reports place the death on August 25, 2026. He was 80.
Key facts
- Died: Late Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles, at age 80; reports place the death on August 25, 2026
- Born: April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England
- Signature roles: Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”; Pennywise in “Stephen King’s It”
- Cause of death: Not disclosed; police found no indication of foul play
- Survived by: An elder sister
How the news broke
TMZ was first to report the death, saying police responded to Curry’s home at about 11:23 p.m. and found no indication of foul play. His manager confirmed the death to CBS News, and the death was also reported by Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Newsweek and other major outlets. No cause of death has been made public.
Early life and a signature role
Curry was born April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England. He broke through on the London stage in 1973, originating the role of the mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show,” then reprised the part in the 1975 film adaptation that became his signature role and a decades-long midnight-movie staple.
A wide-ranging career
He built one of the more varied character-actor careers in film and television. He played Pennywise the clown in the 1990 ABC miniseries “Stephen King’s It” and the butler Wadsworth in “Clue” (1985). His range showed elsewhere too: the demon Darkness in “Legend” (1985), Rooster Hannigan in “Annie” (1982) and Cardinal Richelieu in “The Three Musketeers” (1993). He was the hotel concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992) and Long John Silver in “Muppet Treasure Island” (1996), and made guest appearances on shows including “Criminal Minds” and “Will & Grace.”
Stage and voice work
On stage, Curry earned three Tony Award nominations over his career — for “Amadeus” in 1980, “My Favorite Year” in 1992, and “Spamalot,” in which he played King Arthur on Broadway starting in 2005 and later in the West End. He also received two Olivier Award nominations and a Grammy nomination for audiobook narration.
Curry’s voice became one of his most recognizable tools in later decades. He voiced the villain Hexxus in “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992), Nigel Thornberry in “The Wild Thornberrys” and the “Rugrats” film franchise, and Chancellor Palpatine in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” from 2012 to 2014. He won a Daytime Emmy for voicing Captain Hook in “Peter Pan and the Pirates” in the early 1990s.
A stroke that changed his career
A stroke on July 13, 2012, changed the course of Curry’s career. It required brain surgery and left him with paralysis and lasting mobility problems on his left side; he used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Voice acting became his primary outlet afterward.
A final public appearance
Curry made a rare public appearance on September 26, 2025, at the Academy Museum’s 50th-anniversary celebration of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” seated in a wheelchair alongside castmates Patricia Quinn, Barry Bostwick and Nell Campbell and producer Lou Adler. “I still can’t walk, which is why I’m in this silly chair, and that’s very limiting,” he told the audience. “I still have real problems with my left leg.” That same fall, he published a memoir, “Vagabond.”
Curry never married and had no children, and he is survived by an elder sister, according to E! News.