Known for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Clue,” and more cult classics, the electric performer was a patron saint of the midnight movie whose seductive impact can never be forgotten. For audiences familiar with the transgressive thrill of repertory screenings, Curry was more than “just” an actor. An icon of cult cinema whose electric spirit never flickered, even when he was ailing in his final years, Curry was an undeniable force in acting whose ability to sell viewers on the seductive power of fearless spectacle is still unmatched. Whether Curry was strutting onstage live in fishnets and heels for “The Rocky Horror Show” on the West End — or purring through the musical’s perfectly calibrated film adaptation in movie theaters for decades after that — the man rarely missed. (…) It’s impossible to talk about Curry without stressing the mammoth impact of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975). A genre-bending, queer fringe film phenomenon that immortalized Curry as a countercultural icon decades before his death, the beloved indie remains the longest-running midnight movie of all time. As the simultaneously menacing and strangely sympathetic Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Curry didn’t just anchor the zany world created by writer and co-star Richard O’Brien. Instead, the movie’s unexpected main attraction became indelible proof of its timelessly powerful thesis of acceptance.
via indiewire: Tim Curry, Midnight Movie Legend and Singular Acting Talent, Dead at 80
sieeh auch: Tim Curry, actor famed for ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dead at 80. Tim Curry, the baritone-voiced British actor who pranced to movie fame as a singing, lingerie-clad “sweet transvestite” in the 1975 cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died at the age of 80, his manager said on Wednesday. A cause of death was not immediately given, but Curry had been in ill health for some time. He died peacefully on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, his manager said. Curry appeared in numerous movies, often as a hammy villain, was nominated three times for a Tony Award for Broadway roles, and performed voice work in many animated films and TV shows. But his best-known role was Dr. Frank N. Furter, which came in his debut film, the outrageous, crowd-pleasing horror-comedy-musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” co-starring Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. “I’m not much of a man by the light of day. But by night I’m one hell of a lover. I’m just a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania,” Curry sang in one scene as he strutted around with garish eye shadow and lipstick, in a skimpy black outfit complete with black stockings and garter belt. In a 1975 television interview, Curry noted the risk of having his career defined by such an outlandish role – a prescient worry, as it turned out. “When I read it, I just thought it was very, very witty and funny,” Curry said, although he confessed to some initial reluctance; Tim Curry, the versatile star turned pop culture icon with ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80. British actor Tim Curry, best known for his portrayal of mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died. Curry died at his home in Toluca Lake, his longtime manager and friend confirmed to The Times. (…) Curry is best known for originating the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the self-proclaimed “Sweet Transvestite” and purveyor of pleasure who guides a stranded young couple — and audiences — through an unpredictable evening of sexual exploration and liberation. He debuted the offbeat experimental musical in fishnets and pearls in 1973 on the tiny stage upstairs at the Royal Court Theater in London, where it first became an underground sensation. (…) “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” became the original midnight movie that endeared generations of audiences with its flamboyant characters, spawned interactive screenings across the country and secured its spot in the pop culture lexicon. “It was part of the sexual revolution, really,” Curry told The Times in 2025 upon the film’s 50th anniversary. “Experiment was in the air and it was palpable. I gave them permission to be who they discovered they wanted to be. I’m proud of that.”
