Friends close to the late Rocky Horror Picture Show actor Tim Curry have given insight into the health struggles that impacted his final years, claiming he would have seen death as 'a relief'. Curry died 'peacefully' at home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night aged 80, his rep confirmed to Variety.
A career cut short by stroke
His varied career had made him a firm fan-favourite, thrilling audiences in other films too including Home Alone 2, Clue, Annie, Muppet Treasure Island and FernGully: The Last Rainforest, as well as TV shows such as It and The Wild Thornberrys. However, he was best known for originating the iconic role of Dr Frank-N-Furter, the 'sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania' in the beloved Rocky Horror Picture Show, and its stage iteration beforehand.
But after a stroke in 2012 left him partially paralysed, the actor retreated from the spotlight more, seen in public far more rarely but continuing to work sporadically with his voice acting.
Friends speak of his final years
'He was such a lively and animated person with so much talent in his fingertips that he missed the life that he had before his devastating stroke, as it took so much from him,' an insider told the Daily Mail. They added that the past few years had 'taken a tremendous toll on his health'.
'He's been in that body for 14 years not doing what he loves to do, run around and jump on stage and do musicals and sing and dance. But you know what? That's there forever. His legacy is there forever,' Scott Stander, producer of anniversary tours of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, also told the outlet.
Curry's friends also insist that he 'wasn't afraid' of death and had still been 'grateful for life and the life he had', while still understanding how profoundly his stroke had affected his future and quality of life.
'Though sad, since Tim still had a zest for life, it also comes as a small relief to people who really knew him and knew how he was feeling the last few years,' a source said. 'Most that knew him would say that he would consider it a bit of a relief as well.'
Another insider agreed, revealing that those closest to Curry understood how difficult for him living with limitations had been. 'Some of his friends think he was, in a way, happy to finally go because it was hard for him,' they added.
However, filmmaker Michael Leavy, who directed Curry in 2020's Stream and had been working with him on the sequel – one of his final projects – still praised his spirit, noting that even after his stroke 'Tim maintained that unmistakable sense of humour, wit, warmth, and charm that made him so uniquely genuine'.
What had he said about his health struggles prior to his death?
Curry gave rare insight into his health problems in October at a special screening last to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Academy Museum in LA, revealing 'real problems'.
'I still can't walk, which is why I'm in this silly chair, and that's very limiting,' he told the audience at the event, adding: 'So I won't be singing and I won't be dancing very soon. I still have real problems with my left leg.'
He also gave more detail about his stroke, sharing that he had been having a massage and hadn't realised that anything unusual was occurring.
'I was having a massage at the time, and I didn't even actually notice anything, but the guy who was doing the massage said, "I'm worried about you, I want to call an ambulance." And he did, and I said, "That's so silly",' Curry recalled, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
His stroke was not made public until almost a year later, when his rep confirmed it in 2013.
Later in October 2025, his memoir Vagabond was published, in which he said more on the circumstances of his stroke, revealing that even as he was being loaded into the ambulance, he was unconvinced that anything was wrong, feeling instead 'that we were going through a ridiculous and unnecessary exercise'.
'I probably owe my life to the fact that he ignored me, went with his instinct, and called an ambulance,' Curry said of his masseuse.
He also reflected that it was 'remarkable' he was still alive, after doctors performed a craniectomy to relieve pressure on his brain and told him that he had suffered 'a serious stroke, which sent blood clots to my brain, two of which had been removed'.
While his mobility was permanently impacted, after several weeks of limited speech – which Tim described as 'hell' – he managed to make a full vocal recovery.
Has a cause of death been given?
Dispatch audio obtained by TMZ revealed police responded to a death investigation at Curry's home, with the star pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death has yet been given for Curry. However, it was known that he had been suffering from several health issues since his severe stroke 14 years ago.
