Tim Curry, the actor whose singular presence made Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show and The Rocky Horror Picture Show a cultural icon, has died at the age of 80.
Reducing Curry to that one indelible performance, however, overlooks a career remarkable for its range. There was Mozart in Amadeus, King Arthur in Spamalot, Alan Swann in My Favorite Year and roles in the works of Tom Stoppard. On screen there was Clue, Annie, Legend, It and countless other performances, along with an extensive career as a voice actor. On Broadway, Curry earned three Tony Award nominations.
Yet when I asked him in 2015 what he had wanted when he began his career, his answer was considerably simpler: “To keep working.”
I spoke with Curry in late May 2015 for Los Angeles Magazine as he prepared to receive the Artistic Achievement Award from The Actors Fund (now Entertainment Community Fund) at its annual Tony Awards Viewing Party fundraiser in Los Angeles. Three years after suffering a stroke, Curry was making relatively few public appearances. Our conversation focused largely on the stage career that had taken him from Hair and The Rocky Horror Show to Broadway and some of the most celebrated roles of his career.
Curry was concise, candid and very funny. He had little interest in mythologizing either himself or his accomplishments. Asked whether Rocky Horror had been a blessing or a curse, he rejected the premise. Asked whether getting great reviews gave him the last laugh after an unpleasant television appearance, he offered two words: “I guess.”
In remembrance of Tim Curry, here is our 2015 conversation.
What does it mean to you that The Actors Fund is giving you the Artistic Achievement Award?
It means that it’s just sort of solidifies the kind of work the American acting community has given me for years now. It’s very gracious of them I think. I was thrilled and I am thrilled.
When you look back on your stage career, what gives you the most satisfaction?
Amadeus and Spamalot. Amadeus because it was a brilliant play and a terrific production. And a wonderful part.
You were a big Monty Python fan when you did Spamalot. What did that experience mean to you?
Well as a big Monty Python fan and I’m a big Eric Idle fan so he wrote me a terrific part.
How important was the ability to have fun with it?
A huge part I think and hopefully it is infection for the audience. If you are having fun you hope they are too.
In My Favorite Year, you were taking on a role Peter O’Toole had made famous in the film. Did that influence your approach?
Not a lot really because except that of course he was brilliant in it. I loved the score. I thought the score was really brilliant so it was a pleasure to sing it. It’s always fun to play a drunk. The research makes it fun to play.
What was the challenge of playing Mozart in Amadeus?
That’s the big problem to make him as loony as he is but to make him sympathetic as well. The same way you tackle anything actually, use your imagination.
You originated a role in Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. What do you remember about tackling that material?
It was weird because I had three weeks to take over. I took over in London before it came to NY. I locked myself in a hotel room for 3 weeks to learn it. Every sentence has 17 subclauses. It’s very difficult dialogue. Probably the most difficult dialogue. Last summer I did Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, that was tougher. It wasn’t a two-hander. It was just brutal trying to learn it and I was never altogether successful. A reminder to work harder.
Has The Rocky Horror Show ultimately been a blessing or a curse?
It’s neither a blessing or a curse. I was lucky to get it. With a sort of bemused tolerance. I’m very proud of it. I started paying him as German and then I had a woman on a bus, “do you have a house in town or a house in the country, that’s the voice. “( HE IMITATES THE SOUND OF THE WOMAN AS HE SAYS THAT)
What do you remember about encountering Richard O’Brien when you were doing Hair?
He was in the touring company. I had no idea, how could I? I saw him last summer and I love him because he’s a good friend.
When you played Woof in Hair at the Shaftesbury in London in 1968, what were your goals as an actor?
To keep working. I think he’d be pretty happy. Yes. I’m happy with it. I wanted to have as much range as possible and I managed to pull it off. So far. I didn’t just want to do musicals which at the time you had to do because they thought of me as a musical actor or a straight actor and I’ve managed to avoid all those labels. People aren’t surprised to see me in a straight play, that means I’ve pulled that off.
I have been offered Hamlet once and said No. I don’t think I want to do that. It’s a lot of work and he’s a young man which I am no longer.
Overall, how would you define your Broadway experience?
Well it was very exciting because it’s always the thing that every actor wants to do.
Do you recall your first opening night (for The Rocky Horror Show)?
It was very exciting. When done successful. I had to go on the Today Show the next day and they were appalling. That brought me down. It was very cruel.
Did you get the last laugh when you got great reviews?
I guess.
You’ve made few public appearances since your stroke. How are you doing and are you looking forward to The Actors Fund event?
I’m doing well and I’m looking forward. I’ve done a few benefits for the Actors Fund and I think it’s a marvelous organization. I hope not to have to use it.
How important is your sense of humor to you?
Vital. Absolutely vital. No, it’s not tough to maintain. It’s just part of my DNA.
In My Favorite Year, the first act ends with the song “If Life Were Like the Movies.” If life were like the theatre, what would it be for you?
Scary. Well the theatre is scary. And the longer the time in between the period in the theatre, the scarier it gets. Life isn’t meant to be scary it’s to be celebratory. In which case it would be like the theatre. I think of that as a celebration of life.
On a personal note: I had previously interviewed Tim Curry when he was playing the role of Mr. French in the Warner Bros. Television remake of Family Affair. He was a lovely man with a sense of purpose and an equally strong sense of humor. He was one of my favorite interviews.
Main Photo: Michael McGrath and Tim Curry in Monty Python’s Spamalot (Photo ©2004 Joan Marcus)