{"id":581718,"date":"2026-08-27T07:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/581718\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T07:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:26:19","slug":"sunlive-richard-obrien-pays-tribute-to-tim-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/581718\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Richard O\u2019Brien pays tribute to Tim Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard O\u2019Brien, the creator of\u00a0The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has paid tribute to Tim Curry after the actor\u2019s death at 80, describing his longtime collaborator as \u201ca good egg and class act\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with an exceptionally sad heart and misted-up eyes that I share these words with you,\u201d O\u2019Brien told the\u00a0Herald.<\/p>\n

\u201cTim Curry was a wonderful man by nature who was also a wonderful performer and understood the difference between such delightful achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never sought attention and never put himself before the roles that he played. He was, in short, a good egg and class act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was both a privilege and delight to have known him and worked with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest in peace dear Tim.\u201d<\/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\u00a0The Rocky Horror Picture Show\u00a0and Pennywise in the 1990 television adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s\u00a0It.<\/p>\n

Across a career spanning more than five decades, Curry built an\u00a0extensive body of work that stretched across film<\/a>, television, theatre, animation and voice acting.<\/p>\n

His film credits included\u00a0Annie,\u00a0Clue,\u00a0Legend,\u00a0The Hunt for Red October,\u00a0The Three Musketeers,\u00a0Congo,\u00a0Addams Family Reunion\u00a0and\u00a0Scary 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

\"\"<\/p>\n

Richard 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

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\u00a0Curry hadn\u2019t defined the role<\/a>\u00a0in the original stage production, \u201cRocky\u00a0would not be what it is today\u201d.<\/p>\n

He even beat out\u00a0Mick Jagger, who was once in the running<\/a>\u00a0for Dr Frank-N-Furter, for the role as the iconic alien transvestite mad scientist.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien previously told the\u00a0Hollywood Reporter\u00a0that Curry was responsible for much of the show\u2019s longevity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really got to be most grateful to Tim Curry,\u201d he said. \u201cI often think, if it had been anybody other than Tim, I wonder whether it would have had the legs that it\u2019s had.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Richard O\u2019Brien, the creator of\u00a0The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has paid tribute to Tim Curry after the actor\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-581718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}