Tim Curry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tim Curry
Tim Curry at the Emmy Awards in 1995
Born	Timothy James Curry (1946-04-19) 19 April 1946 (age 79) Grappenhall, Cheshire, England
Alma mater	University of Birmingham
Occupation	Actor singer
Years active	1968–present

Timothy James Curry (born April 19, 1946) is a famous English actor and singer. He became very well-known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). He had already played this role in stage shows in London, Los Angeles, and New York.

Tim Curry has also starred in many other plays, movies, and TV shows. Some of his famous roles include Darkness in Legend (1985), Wadsworth the butler in Clue (1985), and Pennywise the Clown in the TV miniseries It (1990). He was also the Concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996).

Curry is also a very busy voice actor. He won an Daytime Emmy Award for voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates (1990–1991). He also voiced Sir Nigel Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys (1998–2004) and Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012–2014).

As a singer, Tim Curry has released three rock music albums: Read My Lips (1978), Fearless (1979), and Simplicity (1981).

Early Life and Education

Timothy James Curry was born on April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England. His father was a chaplain in the Royal Navy, and his mother was a school secretary. Sadly, his father passed away when Tim was 12 years old. His older sister, Judith, was a talented concert pianist.

Tim spent most of his childhood in Plymouth. After his father's death, his family moved to South London. He went to a boarding school and then to Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset. As a boy, Tim had a beautiful singing voice. He decided to focus on acting and graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1968 with a degree in English and drama.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting with Rocky Horror

Tim Curry's first big acting job was in the musical Hair in London in 1968. There, he met Richard O'Brien, who later wrote the part of Dr. Frank-N-Furter especially for Tim in The Rocky Horror Show (1973).

At first, Tim thought his character would be a normal doctor. But the director suggested he play Dr. Frank-N-Furter as a wild, over-the-top mad scientist with a fancy accent. This idea was a huge hit! A reviewer called his performance "garishly Bowiesque" (meaning like David Bowie). This unique style continued into the 1975 movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie made Tim Curry famous and gave him a huge fan base. He played the character on stage in London, Los Angeles, and New York until 1975.

In 2016, Tim Curry appeared in a TV remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He played The Criminologist, who narrates the story.

On the Stage (Theatre)

Tim Curry in New York City in 2005

After Rocky Horror, Tim Curry returned to the stage in a play called Travesties (1975–1976). This play was a big success on Broadway, winning several awards. Tim's performance as the artist Tristan Tzara received great reviews.

In 1980, Tim Curry starred as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Broadway show Amadeus. He was nominated for his first Tony Award for this role, which is a very important award for theatre actors. In 1982, he played the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance in London, which also got him great reviews.

Spamalot playing at the Palace Theatre in London, where Tim Curry played King Arthur

In 2004, Tim Curry began playing King Arthur in the musical Spamalot in Chicago. This show was based on the funny movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Spamalot was a huge success when it moved to Broadway in 2005. Tim's performance earned him another Tony Award nomination. He then played King Arthur in the London production of Spamalot until 2007. He was also nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for this role.

In 2015, Tim Curry was given an Artistic Achievement Award by the Actors Fund to celebrate his amazing career in theatre.

Movies and Films

After The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Tim Curry started appearing in many movies. He often played supporting roles, like Rooster Hannigan in the 1982 film Annie.

In 1985, he starred as The Lord of Darkness in the fantasy film Legend. The director, Ridley Scott, chose Tim because he thought he was perfect for the role. It took over five hours to put on the special makeup for Darkness! In the same year, Tim Curry played Wadsworth the butler in the funny mystery movie Clue.

Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Tim Curry often played comedic roles. These included Mr. Hector, the suspicious concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996). He also appeared in action films like The Hunt for Red October (1990) and The Three Musketeers (1993). In 1998, he played Gomez Addams in the movie Addams Family Reunion.

In the early 2000s, Tim Curry was in the movie Charlie's Angels (2000) and the parody film Scary Movie 2 (2001). In 2024, he had a small voice role in the horror film Stream.

Television Shows

Tim Curry started his career with small roles in TV shows. He played William Shakespeare in the miniseries Will Shakespeare (1978). He also played Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist (1982) and the Grand Wizard in the children's Halloween movie The Worst Witch (1986).

One of Tim Curry's most famous TV roles is Pennywise the Clown in the horror miniseries Stephen King's It (1990). He later said that playing Pennywise was a "wonderful part." He also had guest roles in shows like Tales from the Crypt (1993), for which he was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award.

Voice Acting Roles

Tim Curry has lent his voice to many animated TV shows and movies. He won an Daytime Emmy Award for his voice work as Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates (1990–1991). His longest voice role was as Nigel Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys (1998–2004), a popular show on Nickelodeon. He also became the voice of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Other notable voice roles include:

• MAL in Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1991–1996)
• King Chicken in Duckman (1994–1997)
• Professor Finbarr Calamitous in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2003–2005)
• The Sorcerer in Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja (2012–2014)

Tim Curry has also voiced characters in many animated films, such as Hexxus in FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Forte in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), and the King in Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001). He also voiced Nigel Thornberry again in The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003).

He has also voiced characters in video games, including the main character in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned (1999). His performance as Premier Anatoly Cherdenko in the game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008) became very popular online.

Tim Curry has also narrated many audiobooks, including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Music Career

Besides his acting, Tim Curry has also had a successful music career as a solo artist. He had classical vocal training when he was a boy. He was inspired by jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, and he loved the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

In 1978, he released his first solo album, Read My Lips. It featured a mix of different songs, mostly covers of other artists' songs. In 1979, he had a small hit song called "I Do the Rock." The next year, he released his second and most successful album, Fearless. This album was more rock-focused and included original songs.

His third and final album, Simplicity, was released in 1981. Tim Curry toured North America and some European countries with his band between 1978 and 1980.

Personal Life

Tim Curry loves gardening and has created beautiful gardens at his homes in the UK and Los Angeles. He once helped design the garden for the famous singer Freddie Mercury.

Since July 2012, Tim Curry has used a wheelchair after having a major stroke. Because of this, he mostly focuses on voice acting now. However, he still performs as a singer and attends events to meet his fans.

In October 2020, Tim Curry played Dr. Frank-N-Furter again in a special online reading of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This event helped raise money for a political campaign.

Filmography

Discography

Albums

• Read My Lips (1978)
• Fearless (1979)
• Simplicity (1981)
• The Best of Tim Curry (1985; compilation album)
• From the Vaults (recorded 1976, released 2010)

Soundtracks and cast recordings

• The Rocky Horror Show (Original London cast) (1973)
• The Rocky Horror Show (Original Roxy cast) (1974)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• Annie (1982)
• Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
• My Favorite Year (Original Broadway cast) (1993)
• The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
• Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
• Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
• Spamalot (Original Broadway cast) (2005)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016)

Others

• Carly Simon – Spy (1979) – Backing vocals for "Vengeance" and "Pure Sin"
• Roger Waters – The Wall: Live in Berlin (1990) – Live recording of "The Trial"
• Little Tramp (1992) – Concept album for musical
• Disney's Music From the Park (1996) – "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Tim Curry para niños