R.I.P. Tim Curry

Last week Tim Curry passed away. This one was almost as big a bummer to me as Dolly Parton's passing. Tim Curry left more of an impact on me than I realized.

After he passed I went and checked out all of his work online just to refresh my memory. He was in a ton of movies that I watched over and over again. The movie that I have gone back to time and again is "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Dr Frankenfurter left an indelible mark on me. "Rocky Horror" was the first time I saw a musical and loved it. The music is second to none in that movie, but it was Dr Frankenfurter that I put most of my attention towards. That performance was truly unique and one of a kind. Every time I watch that movie I find something new that reminds me of how wonderful a performance Curry gave in that movie. That is probably his most iconic character he has ever played.

Pennywise from the original "It" has also stayed with me for other reasons. I used to adore clowns. They were my jam as a kid. When I was younger I even went as a clown for Halloween one year. Then my brothers showed me "It" and it changed me, for the worse. I have a fear of clowns to this day because of that movie. There are only a few that I can tolerate, Krusty is probably it to be honest with you. but Curry's performance here as Pennywise put a permanent fear in me too. He was so creepy and so scary. I still get spooked out whenever I see red balloons floating in the air. I cannot hear the phrase, "we all float down here" without picturing Curry as Pennywise.

But it didn't stop with those two characters. The "Scary Movie" franchise used to be a funny enough spoof series of movies. I enjoyed the first one, so of course I saw the second one in theaters. Tim Curry gives a hilarious performance here. Sure, Chris Elliot and David Cross do the brunt of the comedy, but it is Curry's straight man that makes me laugh harder with each rewatch. There is a scene where Cross and Elliot are going back and forth, ribbing one another, and Curry is there smiling and trying his hardest not to laugh. It is small, but I still think about it to this day. More recently,

RD had me watch the movie "Legend" for one of our Patreon shows. While the movie didn't do much for me, Curry played the Devil and he crushed it. When he was on screen in this movie I could not take my eyes off of him. He was scary and mean and loud and did some really solid work as the villain. "Legend" was kind of dull, but when Curry showed up, the movie sprang to life.

I can remember seeing the movie "Congo" in theaters as a kid. When I went to see it back then, I only remembered a lady saying, "this movie is so startling, I cannot even eat my Twizzlers". My friends and I dined on that quote for years. But I rewatched it during the lockdowns during the pandemic, and while it is not good, Curry is decent. He always brought the heat whenever he was cast in a movie. Even something that should have been great, like "Congo", but it doesn't live up to the hype, Curry makes his time on screen worth watching.

I will never, ever forget my first time seeing "Clue". That movie rules. I actually think it is kind of underrated. The fact that they took a board game and turned it into one of the best movies to come out in the 90's is a feat all its own. And Curry gives us yet another great performance as the butler. He is funny and sarcastic. He is great at being the straight man in these heavily comedic movies. He just nailed it in this movie, like he usually does.

A few other movies come to mind when thinking of Tim Curry. He's exceptional in "The Hunt for Red October". He lent his iconic voice to tons of cartoons and kids shows. He is the absolute best part of "Home Alone 2". I thought he was excellent, again playing a butler-esque character. My wife has been a fan of his ever since she saw him in "Muppets Treasure Island". She has always been a muppets fan, and I bet if I asked her, she would probably rank his performance in a muppets movie right up there with Michael Caine and Charles Grodin.

As he got older he stopped acting and got pretty sick. He was wheelchair bound not too long after he got sick, but he still went out there and gave interviews. He was an icon that kept going as long as he could. I watched an interview of his from a few years back where he talked about death and his feelings towards it. He was in his wheelchair and it was a very profound and enlightening interview. I was moved when I saw it.

It stinks that Dolly Parton and Tim Curry both passed just mere hours between one another. I hope wherever they are right now they are hanging out and having a laugh together. And wherever Tim Curry is right now, I hope he is singing some tunes from "Muppets Treasure Island" or "Rocky Horror". Rest In Peace. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.