Tim Curry, 1946–2026

Tim Curry died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 80.

Nobody ever walked into a movie the way he walked into The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He originated Frank-N-Furter on a London stage, then put it on film in 1975. The movie flopped. However, midnight audiences found it, and fifty years later people are still throwing rice at the screen.

And that was just the (in)famous role. He charmed audiences as Wadsworth in Clue. He was Pennywise in the 1990 It miniseries. When my daughter was young, she watched The Wild Thornberrys and his iconic voice was there. Personally, I loved his appearance on an episode of Criminal Minds. He was Rooster in Annie. The concierge in Home Alone 2. And so many more.

A stroke in 2012 took his mobility but not the voice. He kept working. He published a memoir, Vagabond, in 2025, the same year Rocky Horror turned 50. I’m going to have to pick it up.

Nobody made bad look like so much fun.

Quit taking the good ones. Seriously. Knock it off.