(Michael Coveney’s obituary appeared in the Guardian, 8/27/26)
Actor and singer best known for his roles in The Rocky Horror Show and the 1990 Stephen King TV miniseries It
In June 1973, I went to the Royal Court to see one of Edward Bond’s best plays, The Sea. On my way out, I met a colleague who said he had a spare ticket for something called The Rocky Horror Show in the Court’s studio space, the Theatre Upstairs, starting at around 10.30pm.
We had no idea what this was going to be about. There was a gantry rigged above us and, astonishingly, suddenly, crawling along it was a frizzy haired chap in fishnet stockings, suspender belt and lurid makeup. This was Tim Curry, as the deranged scientist and debauched sex magnet Dr Frank-N-Furter, introducing himself in song as “just a sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania”.
Thus was launched Richard O’Brien’s hilarious, addictive glam rock musical that went on to become a cult classic, after moving, with Curry, along the King’s Road to a former cinema, then crossing to Broadway in 1975, and later being performed in productions all around the world.
It was adapted for the screen in 1975 as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, directed by Jim Sharman, with Curry reprising his role, and O’Brien appearing as Riff Raff, the scientist’s butler, along with Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick as the young couple who seek shelter in Dr Frank-N-Furter’s castle after their car breaks down.
The film arguably lacked the stage show’s element of subversive innovation and unbridled glee, but it became a huge cult hit with audiences, with both movie and theatre-goers dressing up in glam costumes, and joining in with the dance moves of Time Warp, the show-stopping song led by O’Brien.
Curry, who has died aged 80, became a big star on both sides of the Atlantic in film and on stage. He went on to prove himself a class act in stylish comedy and hit musicals, including a rocked-up version of The Pirates of Penzance in 1982 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and Stephen Fry’s smart version of Me and My Girl, doing the Lambeth Walk as Bill Snibson on a 1987 US national tour, and as King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot (2005-07), directed by Mike Nichols on Broadway and in London.
His celebrity was certainly matched by his talent, and his innate charm was equally matched by his louche lifestyle which, for a period, involved party-going with David Bowie – a huge fan of his – and cocaine-fuelled benders with Truman Capote.
Cruelly, he was struck down by a severe stroke in 2012 and was a wheelchair-user for the rest of his life. He summarised that life in a beautifully written and generously expressed, almost self-deprecating, memoir, Vagabond, in 2025.
