Cult star of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” dies at 80

Stars of stage and screen have paid tribute to cult British actor Tim Curry, who has died at the age of 80.

Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon, who starred alongside him in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, said what she loved most about him was his heart, writes Nardine Saad and Sareen Habeshian.

Curry, who was born in the north-western English town of Warrington in 1946, died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to his manager. He had used a wheelchair since suffering a major stroke in 2012.

Over a career spanning six decades, the prolific actor left his mark on both theatre and film, with roles ranging from Home Alone 2 and Annie to Stephen King's It and The Hunt for Red October.

He was perhaps best known, however, for his flamboyant turn as the cross-dressing Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a role he first played on stage before the film adaptation propelled him to cult stardom. Sarandon, who played heroine Janet Weiss in the film, described Curry as funny, sexy and original, thanking him for meaning so much to so many people.

Curry's longtime manager and friend, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed he passed away peacefully at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, on 25 August.

Australian actress Nell Campbell, who starred alongside Curry in Rocky Horror, told the BBC it felt as though the head of their family had died, describing Curry as the head of the Rocky Horror family. Welsh actor Luke Evans, who played Frank-N-Furter in a Broadway revival, called Curry a force and a bright, fierce flame with an exquisite charm. In a letter he had recently written to Curry, Evans thanked him for his fearlessness and for inspiring generations of actors to be braver than they thought they could be.

The official Rocky Horror Picture Show on Broadway account thanked Curry for giving the world a little more freedom and fearlessness, referencing his delivery of the musical's famous line, “Don't dream it, be it.”

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Richard O'Brien, who co-wrote the musical and film, remembered Curry as a wonderful man by nature who was also a wonderful performer. O'Brien said Curry never sought attention and never put himself before the roles he played, calling him, in short, a good egg and a class act.

Curry also starred in the 1996 film Muppet Treasure Island alongside Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, and was among the few humans to have earned the title of honorary Muppet, according to a tribute posted by the official Muppets account on Tuesday. The post described him as unparalleled as a performer – witty, charming, unnerving and deeply funny – and said it would always be considered one of the Muppets' greatest treasures to have had him as part of Long John Silver's crew.

American comedy icon Carol Burnett shared a clip of Curry's turn as her smarmy brother in Annie, writing that nobody could play lovable villains better than he could. Rob Schneider, who played the bellboy to Curry's uppity hotel clerk in Home Alone 2, praised him as a sensational character actor, saying his single raised eyebrow could say more than most actors' entire bodies, and that he was grateful to have had the rare gift of watching him work.

Clue co-star and Better Call Saul actor Michael McKean said his last conversation with Curry had been about life, love and laughter, adding that the grim physical state Curry had found himself in had now ended, which he called a blessing, and that their own blessing had been having Curry in their lives.

Two other Clue co-stars, Christopher Lloyd and Lesley Ann Warren, also paid tribute. Lloyd shared a photo of Curry from the film, while Warren called him a dear companion in crime, describing him as a brilliant, hilarious, hysterically funny magician of artistry, and saying it had been an unbelievable joy to have shared a soundstage with such a master talent.