Actor Tim Curry, best known for his raucous portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in film and on stage, died Tuesday night, Aug. 25, at his home in North Hollywood. He was 80 years old and had suffered a debilitating stroke 14 years ago.
Curry was also known for his portrayal of evil clown Pennywise in It, Wadsworth the butler in Clue and Rooster Hannigan, opposite Carol Burnett as his sister Miss Hannigan in the movie version of Annie, among a host of other — often comedic — roles.
TMZ reports that officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were called to Curry’s home at around 11:23 p.m. Tuesday. Police said no foul play is suspected in his death.
Curry was born April 19, 1946, in the U.S. and got his start onstage in 1968 in the original London production of Hair, according to People magazine. In addition to his many roles on stage and screen, Curry was “a prodigious voice actor, winning a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for his work on Peter Pan and the Pirates.” He also narrated dozens of audiobooks and released three musical albums1: Read My Lips in 1978, Fearless in 1979 and Simplicity in 1981, and in October 2025 he released a memoir titled Vagabond, People noted.
Curry never married and had no children and, throughout his life, carefully guarded his personal life, saying that his personal life was nobody else’s business.
— Tammye Nash