Tim Curry, the British actor whose leering, genre-defying performances turned “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and Stephen King’s “It” into cult touchstones, died Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 80.

His death was confirmed by NBC News and Variety. No cause of death has been disclosed.

Key Points

• Died August 26, 2026, at his Los Angeles home, at age 80
• No cause of death has been disclosed, according to NBC News and Variety
• Originated Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the London stage in 1973 and reprised the role in the 1975 film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”
• Played Pennywise in the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It”
• Also known for “Clue” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” plus extensive voice work
• Earned three Tony nominations and one Emmy nomination; published a memoir, “Vagabond,” in 2025

Curry’s performance as the corseted, fishnet-clad Dr. Frank-N-Furter made “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” a midnight-movie institution and turned the character into one of the most recognizable in genre film history, according to NBC News’s obituary. He had originated the role two years earlier, in the 1973 London stage production that predated the film adaptation.

Curry found a second generation of fans in 1990 as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the ABC miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” a performance that helped define the character for decades of horror fans before Bill Skarsgård’s 2017 film take, according to Variety’s obituary.

His range extended well beyond horror. He played the sinister butler Wadsworth in the ensemble comedy “Clue” and turned up as a villainous hotel concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Curry also built a prolific career as a voice actor, lending his distinctive baritone to animated series including “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “The Wild Thornberrys.”

Onstage, Curry earned three Tony nominations, for “Amadeus,” “My Favorite Year” and “Spamalot,” along with a 1994 Emmy nomination. A 2012 stroke left him using a wheelchair, though he continued voice and television work in the years that followed. In 2025, he published a memoir titled “Vagabond,” in which he wrote about drawing a firm line between his private self and the larger-than-life characters he built a career playing.

Tributes from actors, directors and fans followed the announcement of his death, with both NBC News and Variety noting that Curry’s performances had achieved a rare kind of permanence: characters strange and theatrical enough that, decades later, they still define the roles for audiences who never saw a single cast or crew credit. For a performer who spent so much of his career behind makeup, latex and an accent that could shift from posh to unhinged inside one line, that staying power is its own kind of tribute.