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Biography
Use British English|date=April 2012Use dmy dates|date=February 2011Refimprove|date=December 2010Infobox person| image = Tim Curry in MOMI 2010.jpg| image_size = 200px| caption = Curry at Museum of the Moving Image's Salute to Alec Baldwin in New York City.| name = Tim Curry| birth_name = Timothy James Curry| birth_date = Birth date and age|df=yes|1946|4|19| birth_place = Grappenhall , Cheshire , England, UK| occupation = Actor , Singing|Singer | years_active = 1968–present Timothy James " Tim " Curry (born 19 April 1946) is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor , known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. Curry first became known to film audiences with his breakthrough role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show , reprising the role he played in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show , then later for his supporting roles as Rooster in the film adaption of Annie (film)|Annie (1982), Lord of Darkness in the film Legend (film)|Legend (1985), Wadsworth in the film Clue (film)|Clue (1985), as well as a starring role portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the horror film It (1990 film)|It (1990).
He voiced Nigel Thornberry, the father in the Nickelodeon children's TV show The Wild Thornberrys . He originated the role of King Arthur in the Broadway hit '' Monty Python's Spamalot . He is notable for often playing or voicing villainous characters in film. Curry resides in Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills , California and London .
Early life
Curry's father, James, was a Methodist chaplain in the Royal Navy , and his mother, Patricia, was a school secretary.cite web|url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/35/Tim-Curry.html |title=Tim Curry Biography (1946–) |publisher=Filmreference.com |date= |accessdate=15 September 2009 Curry was born and brought up in Grappenhall , Cheshire and attended Lymm High School until his father's death in 1958. Curry's family then moved to South London , but Curry himself went to boarding school and attended Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset|Bath , Somerset . As a child, he developed into a talented boy soprano (treble).Mervyn Rothstein, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9C0CE7DE1438F937A15752C0A966958260& sec=& spon=& pagewanted=all "Tim Curry Plunges Ahead Into the Past, Part IV", New York Times , 24 January 1990 Deciding to concentrate on acting, Curry graduated from Birmingham University with a combined degree in English and drama.Harding, James (1987). The Rocky Horror Show Book. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. page 45
Acting career
Rocky Horror
Main|The Rocky Horror Picture ShowCurry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair (musical)|Hair in 1968, where he first met Richard O'Briencite web|url= http://www.skyoneonline.co.uk/tcom/tim_curry.htm |title=Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic :: Sky One |publisher=Web.archive.org |date=18 January 2008 |accessdate=15 September 2009 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080118092709/ http://www.skyoneonline.co.uk/tcom/tim_curry.htm |archivedate = 18 January 2008 who went on to write Curry's next full-time role, that of Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show .cite web |url= http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1927272,00.html |title= 'We were all going to join this street theater troupe. Tim got a job in Hair the next day. All he had to do was sing'|accessdate=26 March 2008 |author=Mark Brown |date= 20 October 2006 |publisher=The Guardian Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German Accent (sociolinguistics)|accent and peroxide blond hair, but the character evolved into the sly, very upper class English mad scientist and transvestism|transvestite that carried over to the film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and made Curry both a star and a cult following|cult figure . He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles and New York City|New York until 1975. Critics praised Curry's performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Roger Ebert called him "the best thing in the movie, maybe because he seems to be having the most fun. He's also a capable actor".
For many years, Curry was reluctant to talk about Rocky Horror , feeling that it was a trend that had gone too far and had distracted attention away from his later roles. A VH1 Pop-Up Video Halloween special even quoted Curry as saying he grew so unnerved by the fan attention from this role he became "chubby and plain" in order to escape it. However, he has become much more open about discussing the show and now recognizes it as a " rite of passage " for many young people.
Theatre
Shortly after the end of Rocky Horror Show on Broadway, Curry was back on Broadway with Tom Stoppard 's Travesties , which ran in London and New York from 1975 to 1976. Travesties was a Broadway hit which won two Tony Awards (Best Performance by an Actor for John Wood and Best Comedy), as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award (Best Play), and Curry's performance as the famous dadaist Tristan Tzara received good reviews.
In 1981, Curry formed part of the original cast in the Broadway show Amadeus , playing the title character, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . He was nominated for his first Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play#1980-1989|Tony Award (Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play) for this role, but lost out to his co-star Ian McKellen , who played Antonio Salieri . In 1982, Curry took the part of the Pirate King in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane production of Joe Papp 's version of The Pirates of Penzance opposite George Cole (actor)|George Cole , earning enthusiastic reviews.
In the mid 1980s, Curry performed in The Rivals (Bob Acres 1983) and in several plays with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, including The Threepenny Opera (MacHeath 1986), Dalliance (Theodore 1986), and Love For Love (Tattle 1985). In 1987-88, Curry did the national tour of Me and My Girl as the lead role of 'Bill Snibson', a role originated on Broadway by Robert Lindsay (actor)|Robert Lindsay and followed by Jim Dale . In 1989-90, Tim Curry returned once again to the New York stage in The Art of Success . In 1993, Curry played Alan Swann in the Broadway musical version of My Favorite Year (musical)|My Favourite Year , earning him his second Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.
In 2001, Curry starred as Ebenezer Scrooge|Scrooge in the musical version of A Christmas Carol that played at Madison Square Garden . In 2004, Curry began his role of King Arthur in Spamalot in Chicago . The show successfully moved to Broadway in February 2005. The show sold more than $1& nbsp;million worth of tickets in its first 24 hours.cite news | title = In Step With: Tim Curry | publisher = Parade Magazine | date = 29 May 2005 | url = http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_05-29-2005/in_step_with_0 It brought him a third Tony nomination, again for Best Actor in a Musical. Curry reprised this role in London's West End at the Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre , where Spamalot opened on 16 October 2006. His final performance came on 6 January 2007. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award as the Best Actor in a Musical for the role and also won the Theatregoers' Choice Award (getting 39% of the votes cast by over 12,000 theatregoers) as Best Actor in a Musical.
From 26–29 April 2012, Tim Curry appeared in Eric Idle's new play ?What About Dick? ? at the Orpheum in Los Angeles.cite web|url= http://broadwayworld.com/article/Russell-Brand-to-Star-in-Eric-Idle-Stage-Musical-WHAT-ABOUT-DICK-20120220 |title=Russell Brand to Star in Eric Idle Stage Musical WHAT ABOUT DICK? |publisher=Broadwayworld.com |date= |accessdate=2012-04-10
Musical career
Aside from his performances on various soundtrack records, Curry has had some success as a solo musical artist. In 1976, he recorded a 9-song album for Lou Adler 's Ode Records which was unreleased in its entirety until February 2010, when it was made available as a legal download (4 tracks from these sessions had been released on a 1990 The Rocky Horror Picture Show|Rocky Horror box set). In 1978, A& M Records released Curry's debut solo album, Read My Lips (Tim Curry album)| Read My Lips . The album featured an eclectic range of songs (mostly cover version|covers ) performed in diverse genres. Highlights of the album are a reggae version of the Beatles song " I Will (The Beatles song)|I Will ", a rendition of "Wake Nicodemus" featuring the Pipes and Drums of the 48th Highlanders of Canada , and a bar-room ballad, "Alan", composed by Canada|Canadian singer/songwriter Tony Kosinec.
The following year, Curry released his second and most successful album, Fearless (Tim Curry album)|Fearless . The Gramophone record|LP was more rock-oriented than Read My Lips and mostly featured original songs rather than cover versions. The record included Curry's only US charting songs: "I Do the Rock" and "Paradise Garage".
Curry's third and final album, Simplicity (Tim Curry album)|Simplicity , was released in 1981, again by A& M Records. This record, which did not sell as well as the previous offerings, combined both original songs and cover versions.
In 1989, A& M released The Best of Tim Curry on CD and cassette, featuring songs from his albums (including a live version of "Alan") and a previously unreleased song, a live cover version of Bob Dylan 's "Simple Twist of Fate".
Curry toured America with his band through the late 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. He also performed in Roger Waters ' (of Pink Floyd fame) 1990 production of The Wall in Berlin , as the prosecutor. Curry's voice also appeared on the Clash 's Sandinista! , on the track "Sound of Sinners".
The writing, production and musician roster for Curry's solo albums included an impressive list of collaborators, including Bob Ezrin and David Sanborn .
Real estate career
Apart from his activities as an actor, Curry has also developed several properties in the city of Los Angeles . Among these is a 1926 Mediterranean Italianate Revival estate located on Nottingham Avenue just below Griffith Park Observatory in the Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California|Los Feliz district. Los Angeles Times . 7 May 2006. Ruth Ryon. "An Eye for Crowning Touches", Real Estate Section.
Filmography
Films and television
Curry's television and film credits are long and varied. A partial list of roles:
"Madman" in a telefilm of John Webster 's The Duchess of Malfi (1972)
Glen in Schmoedipus , a BBC Play for Today TV episode written by Dennis Potter and directed by Barry Davis (1974)
Jerome K. Jerome in the BBC 's TV film Three Men in a Boat (1975)
Has-been rock star Stevie Streeter in '' Rock Follies of '77 (1977)
William Shakespeare in a 6-hour British TV series Will Shakespeare (TV series)|Will Shakespeare directed by Mark Cullingham, Robert Knights, Peter Wood (1977)
Robert Graves in " The Shout (film)|The Shout " (1978)
Disc jockey Johnny LaGuardia in Times Square (film)|Times Square (1980)
Host of Saturday Night Live (1981); in one sketch, Curry and Meat Loaf ran a "Rocky Horror" memorabilia store.
Larry Gormley in LWT 's TV comedy Blue Money (1982)
Rooster Hannigan in the musical Annie (film)|Annie (1982)
Lord of Darkness in the film Legend (film)|Legend (1985)
Nigel St. Nigel in Psych second season episode " American Duos " (2007)
Gordon McLoosh in Christmas in Wonderland (2007)
Coeur De Noir in The Secret of Moonacre (2008)
Trymon in '' Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (2008)
Lord Greville Boynton in '' Agatha Christie's Poirot : Appointment with Death (2008)
Dodo in Alice (TV miniseries)|Alice (2009)
Signor Brunoni in Return to Cranford (2010)
Dr. Monroe in Burke and Hare (John Landis film)|Burke and Hare (2010)
cite web|url= http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19231|title=Landis Heads to the Streets of Edinburgh for 'Burke & Hare'
The UnSub, Billy Flynn, Derek Morgan's nemesis in Criminal Minds fifth season episode "Our Darkest Hour" and sixth season episode "The Longest Night"(2010)
Voice acting
BLP unsourced section|date=October 2011From the early 1990s onward, Curry has also become known as a highly acclaimed voice artist . Notable roles include:
Voice of priest on the Clash "Sound Of The Sinners" song from album Sandinista! (1981)
The Serpent in "The Creation", an episode of The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
Judas Iscariot in "The Easter Story", episode of The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
Captain Hook|Captain James S. Hook in Fox Network|Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates TV series (1990)
Klang in Tale Spin TV series (1990)
Konk in Hanna–Barbera 's TV series The Pirates of Dark Water (1990)
M.A.L., evil sentience|sentient computer programme and assistant to Doctor Blight in Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–93)
Sir Gawain in The Legend of Prince Valiant (1991–94)
Premier Anatoly Cherdenko in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008)
Emperor Doviculus in Brütal Legend (2009)cite web|last=McWhertor |first=Michael |url= http://kotaku.com/5291718/tim-schafer-explains-why-dios-out-of-brutal-legend-tim-currys-in |title=Tim Schafer Explains Why Dio's Out Of Brütal Legend, Tim Curry's In& nbsp;— ronnie james dio |publisher=Kotaku |date=15 June 2009 |accessdate=15 September 2009
Arl Rendon Howe in Dragon Age: Origins (2009)cite web|author= |url= http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=oTAJn4H3FBA |title=Dragon Age: Origins& nbsp;— VO Talent |publisher=YouTube |date=27 August 2009 |accessdate=15 September 2009
Jean Descole in Professor Layton and the Last Specter (english dub) (2011)
Awards and nominations
1975 Drama Desk Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing Dr. Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show )
1981 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Play (for playing the title role in Amadeus )
1981 Drama Desk Award nomination, Best Actor in a Play (for playing the title role in Amadeus )
1991 Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series (for playing Captain Hook|Captain James S. Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates )
1993 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing Alan Swann in My Favorite Year )
1994 Emmy Award http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/tim-curry Tim Curry Emmy Nominated nomination, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for a trio of roles in Tales from the Crypt (TV series)|Tales from the Crypt , in an episode entitled Death of Some Salesmen )
1996 Razzie Award nomination, Worst Supporting Actor (for playing Herkermer Homolka in Congo (film)|Congo )
1998 Annie Award nomination, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production (for playing Forté in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas )
2005 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (for playing King Arthur in '' Monty Python's Spamalot )
2007 Laurence Olivier Award nomination, Best Actor in a Musical (King Arthur in '' Monty Python's Spamalot )
2007 Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Award as Best Actor in a Musical (King Arthur in '' Monty Python's Spamalot )
References
Reflist
External links
Commons
IMDb name|347
IBDB name|36907
iobdb|Tim|Curry
bfidb name|7165
tvtropes|TimCurry
http://www.rockymusic.org/tags/Tim+Curry.php Tim Curry at RockyMusic.org
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=4679116 Fresh Air interview with Tim Curry
http://www.americantheatrewing.org/downstagecenter/detail/tim_curry Tim Curry Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing
http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/tim-curry Tim Curry at Emmys.com
S-startS-new|shows-ttl| title=Actor playing King Arthur in Spamalot (Broadway)| years=17 March 2005 (Opening) - 19 December 2005s-aft| after= Simon Russell Beale 21 December 2005 - 26 April 2006|- S-new|shows-ttl| title=Actor playing King Arthur in Spamalot (West End)| years=30 September 2006 (Opened 16 October 2006) - 6 January 2007s-aft| after= Simon Russell Beale 24 January 2007 - July 2007S-end
Persondata|NAME= Curry, Tim |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Curry, Timothy James |SHORT DESCRIPTION=actor, singer, composer |DATE OF BIRTH= 19 April 1946 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Grappenhall , Cheshire , England, UK |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Tim Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:English film actors Category:English male singers Category:English musical theatre actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:People educated at Kingswood School, Bath Category:People from Grappenhall and Thelwall Category:People from Warrington Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Audio book narrators Category:English expatriates in the United States