Tim Curry has died

(theguardian.com)

273 points | by mykowebhn 2 hours ago

50 comments

  • TallGuyShort 1 hour ago
    I often chuckle at the observation that Tim Curry and Michael Caine's respective roles in the Muppet films were so beloved because Michael Caine acted like all the muppets were real actors, and Tim Curry acted like he was a muppet. He would have an impressive range of serious / comedic roles anyway, but I admire the ability for an actor that successful to be able to put himself be in such a silly role that well too.
  • WalterBright 1 hour ago
    > Curry had a stroke while receiving a massage

    This happened to an acquaintance of mine. He had a pain in his neck, and went to a chiropractor. The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. His life afterwards was severely degraded. He was only in his 40s.

    I'll never let a chiropractor touch me.

    • zemvpferreira 38 minutes ago
      Hear hear. An alarming amount of people around me have had serious health scares directly caused by manipulation. A friend of a friend was nearly left paraplegic after a sports "straightening" by a well-known local specialist.

      A close friend who had an extremely aggressive breast cancer at 35 (and is given to natural cures etc etc) took up acupuncture as a secondary treatment. All well and good until the third session, when the acupuncture people tried to get her to drop out of chemo and radiotherapy to fully commit to their treatments. Alternative medicine as a term should be considered fraud and its more radical practitioners thrown in jail immediately.

      • wiglaf1979 29 minutes ago
        I forget which comedian said it in a bit they did but it's always stuck with me.

        Something along the lines of "If alternative medicine worked we would just call it medicine."

        • MaMa 24 minutes ago
          "By definition", I begin "Alternative Medicine", I continue "Has either not been proved to work, Or been proved not to work. You know what they call "alternative medicine" That’s been proved to work? Medicine."

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Minchin%27s_Law

        • bitwize 24 minutes ago
          "Alternative medicine was either not proved to work, or proved not to work. Do you know what we call alternative medicine that's been proved to work?

          Medicine." —Tim Minchin

        • ColinWright 26 minutes ago
          Tim Minchin
      • pragma_x 12 minutes ago
        Yikes. I've tried accupuncture. It _can_ work wonders for pain. But as a cure-all? Total quackery. Sorry your friend was approached like that in a time of need.
      • ChemoKills 16 minutes ago
        Do you think the countless millions of “medical error” involving over-dosing chemo and killing patients should result in the same punishment?

        Because currently millions are radiated to death through capitalist medical systems that drive sales and prioritize profit over cures, bowing to other higher powers.

        I personally know more people who have been killed by chemotherapy than any disease it purported to treat.

        • stickfigure 10 minutes ago
          "I personally know more skydivers injured by parachutes than whatever they are supposed to prevent"
          • ChemoKills 10 minutes ago
            I said killed

            Stickfigure changed his comment from “drivers”/“airbags” to “skydivers”/“parachutes”

            What I would say to “parachutes” is that evidently so many people do not go skydiving - why?

            If doctors were peddling skydiving as a cure to anything, I would be just as skeptical as when they suggest radiating yourself to death.

    • nixon_why69 39 minutes ago
      Chiropractors are cranks but a normal muscle massage is really unlikely to cause a stroke AFAIK. The risks from Chiros as I understand it involve the big "adjustments" where they go for big pops, particularly in the neck.
    • voidfunc 21 minutes ago
      I'm dealing with a relatively minor but annoying back and neck issue and the number of people that have come out of the woodwork to tell me to go to a chiropractor is kind of shocking.

      I need actual physical therapy from someone with a credible degree in sports medicine. It's a relatively common muscular issue that I'm pretty confident can be handled with stretching and strengthening routines but nobody has suggested doing that so far.

    • kstrauser 37 minutes ago
      > The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot

      ...or possibly caused the issue: https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-paralyzed-chiropractor...

      Yeah. Chiropractors are not doctors, whatever their degree mill happens to say.

    • etrautmann 19 minutes ago
      edited to remove off topic response
    • huflungdung 29 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • 120bits 44 minutes ago
    My first movie that introduced me to Tim Curry was Home Alone 2. It was maybe first few Hollywood Movies that I watched with parents(non-english speaking).

    Now I'm 42yrs old, and when my parents visit me, I watch Home Alone 2 with them. It has somewhat become a family tradition now.

    Thank you Tim for such a memorable moments. Great actor!

    • shagie 24 minutes ago
      One of the oddities of YouTube comments is the gathering of random people on specific videos for memorable occasions.

      Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal Scene - https://youtu.be/h_bUcNjmuSk

  • callumprentice 1 hour ago
    I was a fan since university when someone down the corridor would have The Rocky Horror Picture Show playing all the time...

    Imagine my delight at seeing him on a packed London Tube one morning on my way to work. He asked to get by and I said something like "Just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right?" waiting for him to burst into song with the whole carriage joining in..

    He just scowled and pushed past - still made my day though :)

    • wolfi1 1 hour ago
      I and a fellow clerk at a polling station realized that it would be only 15 minutes to the opening and we were the only ones manning it. he began: " it's astounding, time is fleeting" I joined in "madness takes its toll" we continued to the chorus, some seconds before the opening the other people managed to be there and we had our fun, too
  • cestith 1 hour ago
    Annie, Clue, Command & Conquer, Criminal Minds, Legend, Muppets Treasure Island, Rocky Horror Picture Show

    He was an icon. It’s said you can tell a lot about a person by from where they recognize him.

    • a4isms 1 hour ago
      Smaller role, but he was brilliant in "Oscar" with Marissa Tomei and some guy who was nominated for an Oscar in 1977 for the screenplay to "Rocky."

      Absolutely nobody else could make the word "elocution" sound so luxuriously redolent of desire.

    • robertoandred 23 minutes ago
      Hunt for Red October!
    • ColinWright 44 minutes ago
      He was brilliant in "Oscar".

      (Sorry, just noticed the older sibling comment said the same thing)

      • a4isms 14 minutes ago
        Nevertheless, you are still Wright to have your own say, and it is delightful to have commonality, no matter how "trivial."
  • petethomas 1 hour ago
    In 1979 Curry had a Billboard Hot 100 song in the U.S. called "I Do The Rock" https://archive.org/details/TimCurryIDoTheRock
    • wolfi1 1 hour ago
      time and again they still play it on the radio in my country, it's still somewhat popular
  • skullone 1 hour ago
    I remember when a group of friends went to see Rocky Horror at Clinton Street theater here in Portland, not having any idea what we were getting ourselves into. What a memory. Rest in peace Tim Curry
  • WarOnPrivacy 15 minutes ago
    I have a Tim Curry-adjacent story.

    A family friend had a yellow ~73 Duster. Tim Curry autographed her hood in spray paint. This was back in the early Rocky Horror days - a live performance in NYC, I think. Everyone adored the signature.

    ff to mid 80's: She is leaving work. She gets to her parking space and sees that her hood is just yellow; the autograph is gone.

    She's staring in shock when the attendant walks up to her and says in a heavy Arabic accent: "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I scrubbed and I scrubbed all morning until I finally got it all off!" and is just beaming at her. Her shock hasn't let up any. She manages to squeak out a "Thank you" and leaves.

  • shdon 1 hour ago
    Apart from RHPS, his role in Clue was a highlight for me. And him giving Gabriel Knight.
    • bena 57 minutes ago
      I'm the butler, I like to keep the kitchen tidy.
      • relaxing 31 minutes ago
        I’m merely a humble butler. I buttle, sir.
  • maqp 17 minutes ago
    My first introduction to the man was Muppet Treasure Island, the video game. I didn't see the movie until I was adult but the game really, really stuck with me. It's not on GOG (yet) but a copy of it sits on archive: https://archive.org/details/MuppetTreasureIslandPC

    It ran on W11 without too much trouble up until CD 3 started. There the whole game just seized up and refused to run. Weirdly no amount of uninstalling helped to get even earlier CDs running.

    That being said it's a masterpiece, still, 30 years later.

  • erickhill 1 hour ago
    I know most folks think of other films, but his performance in Ridley Scott's Legend as the grumble-cackling lust driven red-faced demon is a core memory for me. Grew up watching and admiring that film and especially Mr. Curry's portrayal of that character so many times. Because of him.
    • jonhohle 1 hour ago
      Legend is amazing and his character is still one of the most impactful practical effects I’ve seen.

      I was always happy to hear his voice work in shows as well. Mighty Max and Super Samurai Syber Squad being among my favorite.

      He’s fantastic in Clue as well.

  • losvedir 59 minutes ago
    Everyone's got their Tim Curry role that defines him. For me it's from The Three Musketeers. Though Nigel Thornberry is a close second.

    You can probably identify the age of every commenter in this thread based on the particular role that sits with them.

  • ectoloph 2 hours ago
    This is sad news, he was a very good actor.

    One of my favourite roles I've seen him in was as Trymon in the TV version of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic.

    • a4isms 1 hour ago
      As posted on Mastodon: “If I see Trump start walking around in Tim Curry’s hat or shoes, there will be trouble. Terrible, retributive trouble.”
    • PaulHoule 2 hours ago
      Great show!
  • ClassAndBurn 1 hour ago
    He will always be the Pirate in Muppet Treasure Island to me. Thanks for everything you gave the world
  • lubujackson 1 hour ago
    "Clue" was my favorite Tim Curry performance. Such a great actor, will be missed.
    • BLKNSLVR 1 hour ago
      I just love Clue. Understated and the exact opposite in equal measure. Just a great comedic movie, all held together masterfully by Curry.

      I rewatch it every few years, still love it.

      "No meaning yes!?"

  • LetsGetTechnicl 1 hour ago
    Losing Dolly Parton and Tim Curry back to back my heart can't take it
    • racl101 39 minutes ago
      Yeah, when you realize this decade and the next, pretty much everyone you grew up whose entertainment you consumed in the 60s-80s, who was an adult then, is coming up... it's a sobering thought.
      • phtrivier 7 minutes ago
        "Baby Boom + Life Expectancy..." I dread at the idea that some startup is probably in stealth mode, ready to "disrupt funerals" by the end of the year.

        (Also, I dread the fact that I know a few boomers that I would actually like to stick around for while...)

      • bsimpson 33 minutes ago
        Robin Williams broke my perception of a lot of things when he died. I was 27 then, and it's already been a dozen years.
    • saulpw 35 minutes ago
      Death comes in threes and they were both 80, could be a party soon
      • wiglaf1979 27 minutes ago
        Anyone doing wellness checks on Cher? Mel Brooks? William Shatner?
        • baggachipz 8 minutes ago
          I think parent (and definitely me) is thinking of a very specific 80-year-old.
  • julnepht 59 minutes ago
    He was also very good as Pennywise the clown in the TV version of IT in the nineties...
    • _doctor_love 39 minutes ago
      That performance scarred so many of us growing up. It was a rite of passage to watch that movie.
  • rhdunn 1 hour ago
    Will they send him ... TO SPAAACE?!
  • rubiquity 1 hour ago
    RIP. I always think of him for his performance in Home Alone 2.
  • rglover 44 minutes ago
    RIP. Great actor. I went from knowing him first in Home Alone 2 as a kid and then later in RHPS (always gave me a chuckle to be like "wait...is that the guy from Home Alone?!").
  • jojogeo 1 hour ago
    RIP.

    The 'Wilderness Girls' scene in Loaded Weapon 1 will forever be in my heart and laughter; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRN2spEualo

  • Sparkyte 1 hour ago
    His voice has a huge impact on so many forms of media from video games, movies, tv shows and radio. I'll miss him. I've been missing him since he couldn't use his distinct voice for many years. Miss him more that he is no longer with us.
  • changoplatanero 1 hour ago
    Tim Curry as the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzqcele1tY
  • world2vec 40 minutes ago
    My wife and I adore "Rocky Horror Picture Show".

    RIP absolute legend.

    • telesilla 12 minutes ago
      Finding myself in the audience as a young adult and being inculcated into performance art, underground culture, independent film makers and the wonderful weirdos who surrounded me.. All of us wearing pyjamas or petticoats or garters and yelling towards the screen.. What an excellent way to start adulthood, with these ideas of freedom of expression. I hope the traditions continue, and godspeed to Tim Curry.
  • tosh 1 hour ago
    underrated movie and Tim Curry role:

    Herkermer Homolka in Congo (1995)

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112715/

    RIP

  • billbrown 1 hour ago
    For me, his best work was Muppet Treasure Island. I'm glad I watched this BTS video with him: I had no idea he had a stroke in 2012 and hasn't acted since.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzU8f4HaQw0

  • whstl 1 hour ago
    I will always be grateful for his performance as Gabriel Knight, my favorite game of all time. Not only he was one of the pioneers in the medium, but the performance itself is still one of the greatest of all time.
  • greenowl 1 hour ago
    Stop eating my sesame cake!
  • flippyhead 1 hour ago
    And don't forget Legend!
  • esafak 1 hour ago
    I've read that Rocky Horror screenings were something of an event, but I have not experienced it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show_...
    • pragma_x 4 minutes ago
      This still happens with full shadow-casts and everything. Look around, and look to bigger cities if you're living somewhere out of the way. If there isn't a troupe near you that does this regularly, you may have more luck closer to Halloween.
    • a4isms 1 hour ago
      In the 1970s, a bunch of us would have marathon sessions playing this newfangled game called "Dungeons and Dragons." It was a box set then, AD&D was yet to come. We played in a games club on Yonge Street in Toronto, and just down the street as the kind of sleazy movie theatre that played "Swedish Naturist" movies and any other porn or porn-adjacent films they could get away with.

      On Saturdays, we would play until about 11:45, lock the club up, and go to the theatre, where they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. It was semi-wild. A few people would be there in costume, and lots of people would shout out the most famous lines.

      I enjoyed it, and ended up making a minor contribution to the atmosphere: I started brining a water pistol along, and when there was rain in the movie, I'd fire it upwards, waving it randomly so other patrons would get a little sprinkle.

      People liked that kind of thing!

    • zer00eyz 1 hour ago
      They were great.

      Some of the modern criticism of it is rather harsh. The complaints about predatory tropes, and lack of consent miss the whole point.

      It is an outlandish piece of fiction, mixed with satire. It's just ment to be ridiculous and fun.

      It's why people turned the whole midnight showing into an event. You either got what it was, and went to laugh and have a good time or you were just too stiff and didn't get it. The whole scene was great for suburban queer and gay kids who might not have had another outlet or gathering place.

      I was lucky to have experienced it in the 80's and 90's in a few states. The relative homogeny of the crowed across states and venues was shocking. It was always a great way to "find your people" when you went somewhere new.

  • Grimeton 1 hour ago
    RIP. Poor guy. Slipped on a cuppa tea and broke his neck while hitting the dining room table on his way down.
  • gnuplustoejam 1 hour ago
    I was horrified that after his stroke they kept rolling him out in a wheelchair to perform for fandom nerds.

    Guy should have been allowed to live the rest of his life in dignity quietly, tending to his garden, not tap dancing for 40+ year old adults still obsessed with "The Time Warp".

    • etc-hosts 39 minutes ago
      This year I saw him roll out on his wheelchair and he had the time of his life. Not sure how others felt.

      https://old.reddit.com/r/timcurry/comments/1tzyqt6/sf_clue_q...

    • bmurphy1976 1 hour ago
      Maybe. I don't have enough context, but maybe that's what he wanted to do? Whatever you may think about it, I'm pretty convinced Ozzy wanted to go out with a big concert. Nobody had to push him to do it.
      • gnuplustoejam 1 hour ago
        > but maybe that's what he wanted to do

        Even if he did... he was in bad shape and it must have been physically taxing.

        The thought of him feeling obligated to be on stage in front of a room of wide-eyed adult children is particularly sad. This is more a commentary on his fans than Tim himself.

        • t-writescode 9 minutes ago
          Obliged means he was doing something he didn’t want to do.

          Others here are saying, like Ozzy, he might have been doing what he wanted to do.

          To quote the poet, Dylan Thomas,

          Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

    • ramesh31 1 hour ago
      >"Guy should have been allowed to live the rest of his life in dignity quietly, tending to his garden, not tap dancing for 40+ year old adults still obsessed with "The Time Warp"."

      You dont become Tim Curry unless you live for the attention. I highly doubt it was against his will. Shatner is still out there doing the theater circuit right now at nearly 100. Those generations in general (Silents and GIs) just had the mindset of "I'll stop working when I'm dead". It was the later Boomers really that latched onto the concept of retirement.

    • cindyllm 32 minutes ago
      [dead]
  • ReptileMan 21 minutes ago
    2016 all over again?
  • EA 1 hour ago
    Discovered him in Earth 2. 'Ello, poppet.
  • sybercecurity 2 hours ago
    Tim Curry, Dolly Parton, who is number 3?
    • datakan 1 hour ago
      Hayden Panettiere was first I guess
      • sybercecurity 55 minutes ago
        Dang, forgot about her. That makes the rule of thumb. Well, until we notice another pattern that isn't there...
      • Insanity 1 hour ago
        Way too young sadly. :(
    • lproven 2 hours ago
      [flagged]
      • nsxwolf 1 hour ago
        In case anyone doesn't understand the reference, lproven is hoping that Donald Trump, current President of the United States, who has a bit part in Home Alone 2, dies next.
        • stickfigure 1 minute ago
          ...along with more than half the country at this point.
        • gwd 1 hour ago
          I think "cameo" is the correct term. He didn't wait in line all day with 1000 others to be an extra; he was asked to be in the movie because of how easily recognizable he is, and he plays himself.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameo_appearance

          • larrywright 51 minutes ago
            As I understand it, he wasn’t asked to be in the movie but rather he made it a condition of filming in his hotel that he be given a cameo.
          • morder 41 minutes ago
            as far as i understand it he requires a cameo in any film/show that uses his properties (in this case the trump hotel). he wasn't asked. it was required. supposedly most of the scenes filmed by other productions just end up on the cutting room floor but that one was left in.
          • jmedefind 54 minutes ago
            They didn’t ask him.

            He added it as a requirement to film in the hotel since he owned it at the time.

        • DonHopkins 38 minutes ago
          He didn't say "dies next" -- releasing the Trump-Epstein files he promised then consequentially being thrown in jail for the rest of his hopefully long long life would be the ideal outcome. Fingers crossed!
  • WalterBright 1 hour ago
    I apologize to women named Janet.
  • joshka 26 minutes ago
    Dammit
  • garyhbutton 1 hour ago
    RIP, he made some great art and my favorite was Rock Horror Picture Show
  • ekianjo 58 minutes ago
    One of his best roles was Darkness in Legend, but seems like everyone has Alzheimer and forgot this great movie from Ridley Scott.
    • scroot 38 minutes ago
      It's pretty much the best "devil" character in any movie I've ever seen. Perfectly executed
  • Teknoman117 46 minutes ago
    Sadly space has now been corrupted by capitalism
  • BatFastard 1 hour ago
    Brilliant artist! I smile when I hear his name.
  • idontwantthis 1 hour ago
    Nigel Thornberry is who I will always think of.
    • puddnutz 1 hour ago
      That and Hexxus in FernGully were my first introductions to him. I knew his voice long before his name or face.
    • Isamu 58 minutes ago
      This. Awesome voice acting work.
  • dboreham 1 hour ago
    Had no anticip...ation of that.
  • ChosenEnd 2 hours ago
    Rest in peace
  • Mistletoe 1 hour ago
    Who is the third since they come in 3s? Can we lose one bad one for the two good? I’ve got someone in mind.
  • iwontberude 2 hours ago
    RIP Premier Cherdenko
  • fullshark 2 hours ago
    RIP His soul is escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Sq1Nr58hM

    • toofy 1 hour ago
      omg that game!!!

      i forgot about it.

      RIP Tim Curry.

      i went to the symphony last year to see the movie Clue. the symphony played the music while the movie played on the big screen above. i’d never seen the movie, he was as amazing as everything else i’d seen him in.

    • bigstrat2003 1 hour ago
      Heaven!

      Honestly, even though that's the only thing I've seen Tim Curry in, it's so strong that he has a fond place in my heart just for that performance. Dude knew how ridiculous it was and was having fun, which is a delight. It's hilarious to me watching him try to keep from cracking up in that scene.

  • indianwashlets 1 hour ago
    His tacky, over the top performance / role in Sorted ruined that otherwise nice movie.
    • nozzlegear 1 hour ago
      Why use a throwaway to shit on the memory of someone? This is the epitome of tacky.