\u201cRest in peace dear Tim.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard O’Brien (left) with actor and singer Tim Curry at the Savoy Hotel in London, 1973. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Curry died at his Los Angeles home. The actor had faced ongoing health challenges since suffering a major stroke in 2012.<\/p>\n
He was known for playing Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pennywise in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s It.<\/p>\n
Across a career spanning more than five decades, Curry built an extensive body of work that stretched across film<\/a>, television, theatre, animation and voice acting.<\/p>\n His film credits included Annie, Clue, Legend, The Hunt for Red October, The Three Musketeers, Congo, Addams Family Reunion and Scary Movie 2.<\/p>\n During a TV interview last year, he reflected on mortality with characteristic humour and candour.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t fear death. I try to avoid it. I think we all do, but I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it,\u201d Curry said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye, and I want to earn it.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien moved from England to New Zealand at the age of 10. His upbringing in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty directly inspired the cult classic, particularly his time working as a barber in Hamilton.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien\u2019s son, Linus, noted in a 2025 documentary that if Curry hadn\u2019t defined the role<\/a> in the original stage production, \u201cRocky would not be what it is today\u201d.<\/p>\nRichard O’Brien (left) and Tim Curry attending the 15th Anniversary Celebration of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in California, 1990. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n