Tim Curry, Star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ Dies at 80

Tim Curry, 2nd from right, in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tim Curry, the English actor and singer best known for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died yesterday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. No cause of death was reported, however, Curry had suffered a stroke in 2012. He was 80.

According to excerpts from his official bio at TimCurry.com, Timothy James Curry was born in Grappenhall, England, on April 19, 1946. “By the time he was six months old,” the bio says, “the family had moved to Hong Kong.” After his father suffered a stroke, the family settled in Plymouth [England]…Tim was not born into a show business family by any stretch; his father’s ancestors were County Durham builders and his mother’s family were seafarers.”

Curry’s father died when Tim was 12. Tim later studied art and drama at Birmingham University from 1965-68. His first acting job came in 1968, in the original London production of Hair. He participated in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of After Haggarty in 1970…and “also spent a season at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre as well as working in various West End shows and some small-scale television such as The Policeman & The Cook (1972).”

In 1973, says the bio, “he was invited by Richard O’Brien, a fellow cast member from Hair to audition for O’Brien’s new experimental musical The Rocky Horror Show, to be produced at the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs. Tim’s audition song was ‘Tutti Frutti.’…Rocky Horror was an enormous hit, transferring to several progressively larger venues while Tim was with the cast and attracting attention from celebrities ranging from Mick Jagger to Tennessee Williams.

“The Rocky Horror Show took Tim to Los Angeles for the first time, where it enjoyed a successful run at the Roxy on Sunset Strip. Record mogul Lou Adler produced the L.A. show, followed by the movie version; The Rocky Horror Picture Show, filmed in 1974. The film remains a cult phenomenon…and has helped cement Tim’s status as a pop icon to generations of fans.

“Tim’s first role after Rocky Horror was in Stephen Frears’ television production of Three Men in a Boat, in which Tim played author Jerome K. Jerome, alongside Monty Python’s Michael Palin,” the bio continues. “In 1975, he was approached to play Dadaist Tristan Tzara in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. After a run in the West End, the show transferred to Broadway and ran through 1976.”

Related: The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025

In 1976, Curry began to film the six-part television series The Life & Times of William Shakespeare, in the title role. He then moved into the area of music, “working with A&M Records, making three studio albums between 1978 and 1981. Bob Ezrin produced the first of these albums, Read My Lips.” Curry had a minor hit with the name-checking song, “I Do the Rock,” from his 1979 album Fearless and toured America and Germany in the late 1970s with a band including famed guitarist Dick Wagner.

Curry starred as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Broadway production of Amadeus, then made his final album, Simplicity, in 1981. In the ’90s, he continued to find work as an actor in productions ranging from the film Stephen King’s It to the television series Wiseguy and Tales from the Crypt. In 2004, Curry began his role of King Arthur in Spamalot in Chicago, repeating the role in London’s West End in 2006.

Curry also played Rooster in Annie, Wadsworth in Clue, the Lord of Darkness in Legend, the concierge in Home Alone 2, Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island and Hexxus in FernGully.

Curry’s award nominations included a Grammy, a Tony and both Daytime and Primetime Emmys.

Watch a clip from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

A 50th anniversary edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is available in the U.S. here and in Canada here.