Tim Curry, Red Alert 3 star and camp icon of stage and screen, dies aged 80

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August 26, 2026
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Tim Curry, the beloved English actor beloved for his pantheon of iconic, award-winning performances on stage, film, TV, and videogame screen, has died at the age of 80. First reported by TMZ, Curry died late Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles.

Curry first carved his mark in the public consciousness as the cross-dressing pansexual mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, the 1975 film adaptation of which still maintains a cult following as a midnight movie phenomenon. From there, he secured a decades-long list of cherished roles—as Darkness in Legend and Wadsworth in Clue; in The Hunt for Red October, Home Alone 2, and Spamalot; as Pennywise in It and acting as a piratical foil to Kermit the Frog in Muppet Treasure Island.

Powerfully flamboyant, artfully unhinged, and charmingly insidious, Curry extended his talents to live action and vocal performances in videogames as well. He played the titular role in Sierra’s first and third Gabriel Knight point-and-click adventures, and later voiced characters in Brütal Legend and Dragon Age: Origins.

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But he reached the pinnacle of his powers as Premier Anatoly Cherdenko in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, where he delivered what may very well be the single most triumphant line read in the history of acting. Nobody had ever before conveyed such a captivatingly absurd cocktail of energies while saying the word “space,” and it’s likely that no one ever will again.

Tim Curry is escaping to the one place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism. – YouTube

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In a “Making of Gabriel Knight” feature included on the CD in 1993, Curry said it was “very exciting” to contribute his presence to videogames, because he welcomed “any new way to infiltrate myself into your minds.” And we certainly welcomed it, too.

Curry’s public presence receded as his health declined in recent years. He underwent brain surgery after suffering a major stroke in 2012, which left him partially paralyzed and affected his short term memory. But he was nonetheless welcomed by an adoring crowd at a 50th anniversary screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in October 2025—the same month he released Vagabond, his memoir chronicling his life and career.