Tim Curry died from coronary artery disease, according to reports. Curry died August 25 at his home in Los Angeles. The beloved star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue, It and Annie was 80.
According to documents from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health obtained by People, Curry also suffered from a history of stroke and kidney cancer, both of which contributed to his death but did not cause it. Curry had spoken openly about the 2012 stroke that left him unable to walk. However, his kidney cancer diagnosis had not been publicly shared.
Born Timothy James Curry in Cheshire, England, in 1946, Curry was the younger child of Patricia, a school secretary, and James, a Methodist chaplain for the Royal Navy. He had an older sister, Judith – a concert pianist, who died in 2001. Curry burst onto the West End scene after graduating from Birmingham University, when he was cast in the original U.K. production of the hit hippie musical Hair.
Describing it as a “liberating” experience — one which involved stripping onstage — Curry played the part of the free-spirited hippie, Woof. He became good friends with his co-star Richard O’Brien, who went on to write the role that would define Curry’s career: cross-dressing mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter in musical The Rocky Horror Show. The camp, sexually subversive rock musical, opened in London in 1973, and Curry took on the role for two years, performing onstage in New York and at the Roxy in Los Angeles.
In 1975, he reprised the role for the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Among the many paying tribute to Curry after his death was Susan Sarandon, who co-starred in the film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial.
Plan auto-renews until cancelled. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Sharing several photos of the pair together on Instagram, Sarandon wrote: “What a funny, sexy, original he was.
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