Tim Curry became a cult actor following his role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter Role in Rocky Horror Picture Show. The English actor and singer started his journey toward Hollywood on the theatrical stage – as of today, he’s been acting for over four decades.
Tim’s life changed drastically when he suffered a stroke in 2012. Thankfully, he survived, but for years, the 77-year-old had to go to both physical and speech therapy.
So what is Tim Curry doing today? And how is he doing after the stroke? Here’s all you need to know!
Tim Curry was born in Grappenhall, England, on April 19, 1946. His father, James, worked as a Methodist Royal Navy chaplain; his mother, Patricia, as a school secretary.
Tim Curry – early life
When Tim was only an infant, his family moved to Hong Kong. There, tragedy struck, as his father suffered a stroke. So his family moved back to England and the city of Plymouth. He spent a lot of time with his maternal grandfather, who lived close by (and, coincidentally, helped him in a role later on in life).
Related to his father’s work with the church, Tim showed promising talent in singing. At age six, Tim was a soprano in his local church, and four years later, he’d become a Shakespearean actor.
When his father passed away, Curry and his family moved to London.
He attended the Kingswood School boarding school in Bath, and appeared destined, even from a young age, for a life in show business. After graduating, Tim went on to study drama at Birmingham University. In 1968, he graduated with a combined degree in drama and theatre studies.
While studying in Birmingham, Curry shared a house with actor, screenwriter, and director Patrick Barlow. At the time, Curry was, as mentioned, a great singer. However, his acting hadn’t really yet come to the fore.
In fact, Curry was pretty much seen as a major solo star.
“I remember being amazed by his extraordinary singing voice – it was just completely perfect, just something he was born with – it came ready-made,” Barlow told The Guardian.
“We would go to university parties and end up having a drink and whatever, and he would break out into song, this marvellous bluesy voice.”
Breakthrough work in ‘Hair’
After graduating in 1968, Curry, Barlow, and some other friends were sat in a car one day headed for London. Tim had been denied admission to the Birmingham Repertory Theater because he was not a member of Actors’ Equity. Instead, he was to try to pursue his dream in another way.
The plan was to join a street theatre troupe in Chalk Farm, though none of the group knew what to expect. As mentioned, Tim’s voice had become his trademark in his early days, and after just 24 hours in London, he had gotten himself his first professional job.
“Someone had told us about it – none of us really knew how to get in anything in those days. We got there and of course, I was the only one who stayed,” Barlow recalled.
“Tim and Judy got a job in Hair the next day. All Tim had to do was just sing, of course, and Judy just had to say, hello, I’m here.”
Tim’s first professional role was as part of the original London cast of the rock musical Hair, though he very nearly missed out on appearing in the beloved, yet controversial, musical.
At his audition, Curry was asked if he had any professional experience, as well as if he had an Equity card (meaning he was a member of the Actors’ Equity Association). According to his website, Tim lied about both.
Wanted to be an actor rather than a singer
Though producers shortly found out that he had neither professional experience or an Equity card, they were “sufficiently impressed” with his talent and presence. That led to them sponsoring him with union membership.
“I wanted to do the Sodomy, Fellatio… song but I ended up just jumping up and down at the back as part of the troupe. It was a very peculiar production. People just didn’t turn up if they were a bit stoned or they thought they’d stay home. But I was a real trouper. I always showed up,” Tim explained.
Hair brought Tim Curry instant fame. However, he still wasn’t sure about what he wanted to do. He longed to sing, but at the same time also wanted to become a professional actor. In an interview with the LA Times, Tim explained that he was offered recording contracts and given the opportunity to join music groups. His real passion, though, lay elsewhere.
“I was offered things, recording contracts, offered to join groups. But as I thought about it, I got rather snippy. No, no, no, I decided, I want to be an actor,” he said.
“I treated Hair like a drama school. You were always able to rewrite your part. You built up your physical presence. And because everyone was competing for attention, you learned quite quickly to make your presence felt.”
So Tim decided to chase his passion for acting, working in the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Glasgow Civic Repertory Company, and the Royal Court Theatre.
Tim Curry – ‘The Rocky Horror Show’
It was with the Royal Court Theatre that Curry delivered a magnificent rendition of the mad transvestite scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show musical. This was to become a life-changing move. In 1975, he landed the part of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show when it became a Hollywood production.
“They asked me to audition for it, and I sang “Tutti Frutti,” which was appropriate, really. I started playing [Frank-N-Furter] as a German, then I saw the costume. It was quite diva,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“I heard a woman on the bus one day saying, in this posh voice, ‘Are you looking at a new house when retiring or your place in the country?’ and I thought, ‘That’s it!’ Almost like the Queen. Well, it was a smash from the moment it opened. It was a tiny theater. There were only 60 seats. And then they brought it over to Los Angeles.”
The 1975 release of the film Rocky Horror Picture Show became a huge success. Curry starred alongside Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn, and Meat Loaf. While the film didn’t earn any prestigious awards, it became a cult classic, and elevated Tim to a whole new level of stardom.
But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be thrown out of a screening of his film, which Curry actually was.
“I was hoping it was going to be a very commercial Warhol movie,” he said. “It was odd because, in fact, I was living in the building behind the Waverly. (cinema) I did go, and I was thrown out because they thought I was an imposter, not actually me. ‘Get out of here’ is exactly what they said.”
For years, Tim was reluctant to talk about the show, because he was worried that it would typecast him.
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