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.
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.
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 :)
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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...)
Command and Conquer was almost certainly my first exposure to him. I guess it's time to go replay Red Alert 3 and enjoy those cutscenes all over again.
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?!").
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
>"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.
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.
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.
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.
> 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.
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.
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."
"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
"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
Tim Minchin
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.
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.
"I personally know more skydivers injured by parachutes than whatever they are supposed to prevent"
I said killed
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.
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.
> 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.
edited to remove off topic response
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!
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
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 :)
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
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.
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.
Hunt for Red October!
He was brilliant in "Oscar".
(Sorry, just noticed the older sibling comment said the same thing)
Nevertheless, you are still Wright to have your own say, and it is delightful to have commonality, no matter how "trivial."
In 1979 Curry had a Billboard Hot 100 song in the U.S. called "I Do The Rock" https://archive.org/details/TimCurryIDoTheRock
time and again they still play it on the radio in my country, it's still somewhat popular
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
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.
Apart from RHPS, his role in Clue was a highlight for me. And him giving Gabriel Knight.
I'm the butler, I like to keep the kitchen tidy.
I’m merely a humble butler. I buttle, sir.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Great show!
He will always be the Pirate in Muppet Treasure Island to me. Thanks for everything you gave the world
He was easily my favorite part of that movie. The scene where he preaches his way out of getting The Black Spot lives rent-free in my head:
https://clip.cafe/muppet-treasure-island-1996/but-its-not-hi...
(aside: Someone needs to upload a better-quality version of this to YouTube)
This is my only number!
"Clue" was my favorite Tim Curry performance. Such a great actor, will be missed.
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!?"
Losing Dolly Parton and Tim Curry back to back my heart can't take it
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.
"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...)
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.
Death comes in threes and they were both 80, could be a party soon
Anyone doing wellness checks on Cher? Mel Brooks? William Shatner?
I think parent (and definitely me) is thinking of a very specific 80-year-old.
He was also very good as Pennywise the clown in the TV version of IT in the nineties...
That performance scarred so many of us growing up. It was a rite of passage to watch that movie.
Will they send him ... TO SPAAACE?!
The full backstory of this clip is a great read:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-tim-curry...
Command and Conquer was almost certainly my first exposure to him. I guess it's time to go replay Red Alert 3 and enjoy those cutscenes all over again.
RIP. I always think of him for his performance in Home Alone 2.
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?!").
RIP.
The 'Wilderness Girls' scene in Loaded Weapon 1 will forever be in my heart and laughter; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRN2spEualo
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.
Tim Curry as the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzqcele1tY
My wife and I adore "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
RIP absolute legend.
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.
underrated movie and Tim Curry role:
Herkermer Homolka in Congo (1995)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112715/
RIP
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
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.
Stop eating my sesame cake!
And don't forget Legend!
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_...
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.
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!
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.
RIP. Poor guy. Slipped on a cuppa tea and broke his neck while hitting the dining room table on his way down.
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".
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...
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.
> 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.
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.
>"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.
2016 all over again?
Discovered him in Earth 2. 'Ello, poppet.
Tim Curry, Dolly Parton, who is number 3?
Hayden Panettiere was first I guess
Dang, forgot about her. That makes the rule of thumb. Well, until we notice another pattern that isn't there...
Way too young sadly. :(
I apologize to women named Janet.
Dammit
RIP, he made some great art and my favorite was Rock Horror Picture Show
One of his best roles was Darkness in Legend, but seems like everyone has Alzheimer and forgot this great movie from Ridley Scott.
It's pretty much the best "devil" character in any movie I've ever seen. Perfectly executed
Sadly space has now been corrupted by capitalism
Brilliant artist! I smile when I hear his name.
Nigel Thornberry is who I will always think of.
That and Hexxus in FernGully were my first introductions to him. I knew his voice long before his name or face.
This. Awesome voice acting work.
Had no anticip...ation of that.
Rest in peace
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.
RIP Premier Cherdenko
RIP His soul is escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Sq1Nr58hM
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.
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.
His tacky, over the top performance / role in Sorted ruined that otherwise nice movie.
Why use a throwaway to shit on the memory of someone? This is the epitome of tacky.