Tim Curry

Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor, voice artist and singer. He is best known for working in a diverse range of theatre, film, and television, most often portraying in villain roles or character parts. Curry rose to prominence with his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show.

Early life
Curry was born in Grappenhall, Cheshire. His father, James Curry, a chaplain in the Royal Navy, died when Curry was 12. Curry's mother, Patricia, a school secretary, died in June 1999 after living with cancer for two years. His older sister, Judith ("Judy"), was a concert pianist who died of a brain tumour in 2001.

Curry spent most of his childhood in Plymouth, Devon. After his father's death from pneumonia in 1958, his family moved to South London. Curry went to boarding school and attended Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset. He developed into a talented boy soprano (treble). Deciding to concentrate on acting, Curry graduated from the University of Birmingham with a combined degree in English and Drama (BA Drama and Theatre Studies, 1968).

Curry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968, where he met Richard O'Brien who went on to write Curry's next full-time role, that of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in 1975. Curry originally thought the character was merely a laboratory doctor dressed in a white lab coat. However, at the suggestion of director Sharman, the character evolved into the diabolical mad scientist and transvestite with an upper-class Belgravia accent that carried over to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and made Curry a household name and gave him a cult following. He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles, and New York City until 1975.

His other stage work includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1980 Broadway production of Amadeus, the Pirate King in the 1982 West End production of The Pirates of Penzance, Alan Swann in the Broadway production of My Favourite Year, and King Arthur in Broadway and West End productions of Spamalot from 2005 to 2007.

Curry received further acclaim for his film and television roles, including as Rooster Hannigan in the film adaptation of Annie, as Darkness in the fantasy film Legend, as Wadsworth in the mystery comedy film Clue, as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the horror miniseries It and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island.

Curry has also gained acclaim as a voice actor. His roles in animation include King Chicken in Duckman, Captain Hook on the Fox series Peter Pan &amp; the Pirates, Hexxus in the fantasy film FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Sir Nigel Thornberry on the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys and Palpatine on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Since 1988, Curry resides in Los Angeles, California.

In July 2012, Curry suffered a major Stroke. As a result of the stroke, he uses a wheelchair. His condition has continued to improve in the years following the stroke but he remains fully dependent upon a motorized wheelchair in order to have any amount of mobility.

Curry has never married, nor had any children.

Animated Films

 * Beauty & the Beast: A Tale of the Crimson Flower (1952) - The Beast

Animated Shorts

 * The First Snow of Winter (1998) - Voley (US dub)

Anime Films

 * The Cat Returns (2002) - The Cat King