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Legendary actor, Tim Curry, dies at 80
Published : Thursday, 27 August, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Observer Online Report
Tim Curry, legendary actor known for deep baritone voice, flamboyant performance, and unrivalled camp, passes away at the age of 80. He was known for starring in Legend, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the original It miniseries.
His manager confirmed his death on Wednesday (August 26), saying he passed away on Tuesday (August 25) peacefully at his home in Los Angeles. As of writing no cause of death was disclosed, though for several years Curry has been in poor health.
Born on April 19th, 1946, in Grappenhall, Cheshire, Tim Curry studied drama in Birmingham University. He would have a full-time role as part of the original London cast on the musical Hair in 1968. It was here that he would meet Richard O’Brien, the man who would write Curry’s star-making role as the “sweet transvestite from Transylvania”, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, in the musical and its film adaptation, Rocky Horror Picture Show. His performance would become the defining element of the film, turning the film into a cultural phenomenon, and set the stage for his illustrious career, in all its camp and glory.
He would go on to act as Wadsworth in Clue (1985), Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996), , the concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Darkness in Legend (1985), among many others. Internet users and gamers would recognize him best for his role as Premier Anatoly Cherdenko in the live-action cut scenes for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, who proudly declared that he will escape to the one place not corrupted by capitalism, Space!
But perhaps his most iconic villain role would be in the Stephen King horror mini-series, It, as the nightmare clown from Hell, Pennywise, long before Bill Skarsgård donned the mask. In a 1975 interview on television, Curry acknowledged that such an unconventional role would be a career risk. But then again, if it wasn’t so risky he wouldn’t have taken such a role in the first place.
He would lend baritone voice to many voice roles in many animated series, such as Nigel Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys, Dr. Mystico in Freakazoid!, Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Captain Hook in Peter Pan & the Pirates. However, he would get a Razzie Award for his performance in Congo (1995), something Curry joked that he deserved after giving such a poor performance.
However, starting from 2011, Curry would step away from British stage production due to his ill health, and two years later, his agent confirmed that Curry suffered a stroke, though he was recovering in good health. But he would return to the big screen in the 2024 horror film, Stream. Aside from acting, he was also singer and composer, who performed his own rock band and several albums.
In 2025, he also wrote a memoir, Vagabond, detailing his life and experience in acting. When asked by fans why he chose the name, Curry answered that he chose the name, due to actors once being lumped in with thieves and vagabonds in the 17th century.
He lived in his house in Los Angeles. He never married and had no children.
-NS/MT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
