Tim Curry, the actor who brought fans the iconic roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and IT, filmed his final horror cameo in a 2024 film before his death at 80.
TMZ reported on Aug. 26 that the actor died late Tuesday night in his Los Angeles home. Police responded to his home at 11:23 PM, with a cause of death still to be reported. The actor had battled a series of health issues since his stroke in 2012.
Curry has been a horror icon for decades and was well known for his cult classic roles as Dr. Frank-n-Furter and playing one of the most memorable roles as Pennywise in Stephen King‘s novel adaptation of IT. By the 2000s, the actor began appearing less on the big screen, with one of his last major roles being in the feature film Burke & Hare in 20120.
Following the stroke that required brain surgery and left him partially paralyzed, Curry continued his career primarily as a voice actor. He voiced Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, among other roles. In 2016, he returned to a significant post-stroke on-camera role in Fox’s 2016 TV remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Instead of reprising his original character, Curry played the role of a criminologist/narrator.
Fans will not only get to reminisce about Curry’s cult classic roles, but also his most recent work before his death. The actor had a surprise cameo in the 2024 slasher horror film Stream, co-produced, co-written, edited, and directed by Michael Leavy. It starred Jeffrey Combs alongside Charles Edwin Powell, Tim Reid, Dee Wallace, Wesley Holloway, Sydney Malakeh, Jason Leavy, and Terrifier star David Howard Thornton.
Stream follows a family on vacation at a small hotel when the owner unleashes four heinous killers and live-streams the entire ordeal. Curry played the role of Lockwood, a plague doctor-masked man in a wheelchair. He wears a hooded coat and computer gloves whose character is similar to the hotel owner.
“We are so happy and thrilled to bring Tim back to the movies and back to the big screen,” the director continued. “His charm always radiates and shines through everything he does and we are so honored to have him a part of ‘Stream.’ He is someone I have idolized personally growing up and it is one of the major highlights of my life getting to work with him, especially on a project that means so much to me,” said the director to Variety.
A few months ago, in June, Variety announced that Curry would return for Stream 2: Sudden Death in a more integral role as his original character. Leavy explained that Curry’s role in the first film was only the beginning as “his character as part of a much larger story within the ‘Stream’ universe.”
It’s unclear if Stream 2 had begun production before Curry’s death or if the actor filmed his roles for the film.
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