Tim Curry has sadly died at 80 years old. But his legacy continues to live on. He gave us such iconic characters as Pennywise and Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The latter continues to entertain audiences more than five decades later.
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Several actors have stepped into the iconic role over the years. At a performance of Broadway's The Rocky Horror Show, Paul Soileau, Luke Evans, and Jake Shears took the stage to pay tribute to Curry. All three actors have taken over the role of Frank-N-Furter for Broadway.
"The role of Frank-N-Furter is a marvelous beast," Soileau told the audience. "Frank-N-Furter inhabits spaces and sneaks in spaces and places and old theater houses and old theaters like this, movie theaters, teenagers' bedrooms..."
"The way Frank-N-Furter survives is that he finds vessels and he goes into them and he takes them over and he keeps moving and moving and moving all around," he continued. "And many people in this room, on this stage, have been a vessel for Frank-N-Furter over the years. But if you trace it all back, 53 years ago, there's one home and one vessel. One mothership that Frank-N-Furter could actually call home, and it's Tim Curry."
Tim Curry Died
Curry launched a career in many ways in the original 1973 London production. It later became a Broadway production and cult classic film.
"53 years ago, Richard O'Brien laid a piece of paper in front of Tim Curry with ingredients on it," he said. "And he took all those ingredients and he created this beast that everyone found something within it and could see a piece of themselves inside of it."
"And this beautiful piece — just as Richard O'Brien created Rocky Horror to find something more about himself — you can also say that Tim Curry created Frank-N-Furter to express and find something deeper about himself," Soileau continued. "And somehow, it resonated for this long with this many people in this room here now."
Soileau noted that Curry had children all over the world through the lives he touched.
"Obituaries always say that he didn't have children. And that's bulls--t," he said. "Because he has so many children in this world. So Tim Curry has more family than I think any of us can even imagine."
The three actors performed "I'm Going Home" for Tim Curry.
"Remembering the legendary Tim Curry, who first brought Frank-N-Furter to life," the production wrote in a separate tribute. "We are heartbroken by his passing and grateful for the unforgettable legacy he leaves behind."
"Thank you, Tim, for giving the world a little more freedom, a little more fearlessness, and through the tears in our eyes, the courage to BE IT," they also added. "We love you."
