English actor Tim Curry, best known for playing the outlandish Frank-N-Furter in film musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at the age of 80.
Curry first played the role on stage before the film version, which was released in 1975 and has remained a cult favourite.
The actor also played fearsome clown Pennywise in the 1990 TV version of Stephen King’s It, and was Long John Silver in 1996’s Muppet Treasure Island.
His other films included Annie, The Hunt for Red October, Home Alone 2, Scary Movie 2 and he was nominated for three Tony Awards on Broadway.
Born in Warrington in 1946, Curry’s first acting job after university was in the original London production of groundbreaking rock musical Hair in 1968.
In 1973, a fellow cast member, Richard O’Brien, asked Curry to audition for his new musical, and cast him in the role of the flamboyant lingerie-clad “sweet transvestite” Dr Frank-N-Furter.
Curry first put his stamp on the character of the riotous scientist on stage in the upstairs theatre at London’s Royal Court in 1973.
The show’s popularity snowballed and resulted in a big-screen adaptation, which also starred Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and O’Brien.
It was not an immediate hit at cinemas but became a fan favourite and holds the record for the longest-running theatrical release in film history.
Welsh actor Luke Evans, who played the role in a Broadway revival, called Curry “a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm”.
In a letter he recently wrote to Curry, Evans thanked him for his fearlessness and for “creating something so enduring, and for inspiring generations of actors to be a little braver than they thought they could be”.
“Being compared to you has been one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received, even though it’s a comparison no one could ever hope to live up to,” he wrote in the letter.
The official Rocky Horror Picture Show on Broadway account similarly thanked the late actor for “giving the world a little more freedom, a little more fearlessness, and through the tears in our eyes, the courage to BE IT” – a nod to Curry’s deliver of the famous line from the musical, “Don’t dream it, be it”.
Curry’s varied career also saw him appear on screen in 1982 musical film Annie as Miss Hannigan’s con-artist brother, 1985 murder mystery Clue, fantasy Legend alongside Tom Cruise also in 1985, and 1995 gorilla thriller Congo.
On stage, he received his first Tony nomination for playing Mozart in the original Broadway production of Amadeus in 1981.
Further Tony nominations came his way for My Favorite Year in 1993, then in 2005 for playing King Arthur in Monty Python musical Spamalot.
His performance in 2008 video game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 found him fame with a new generation of fans online.
As Soviet Premier Anatoly Cherdenko, Curry’s bombastic delivery of one line, and his apparent efforts to stifle a giggle as he said it, became a legendary meme online: “I’m going to escape, to the one place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism… space!”
One clip of the moment has more than 10 million views on YouTube, and has been endlessly shared across social media.
