I often chuckle at the observation that Tim Curry and Michael Caine's respective roles in the Muppet films were so beloved because Michael Caine acted like all the muppets were real actors, and Tim Curry acted like he was a muppet. He would have an impressive range of serious / comedic roles anyway, but I admire the ability for an actor that successful to be able to put himself be in such a silly role that well too.
Yeah, I've never understood this observation. The entire shtick of The Muppets was that every celebrity they ever had on the show treated them like real actors and celebrities. Not even "famous Muppets", just straight up celebs.
> Curry emphatically denied that interpretation. “I saw the Muppets as actors with distinct personalities,” he said. “It’s astonishing how quickly you see them as people.”
There's a video that expands on Tim Curry's time with the muppets: The Muppets Brought Out the Best in Tim Curry https://youtu.be/XzU8f4HaQw0
> In this video, we look at why Tim Curry’s Long John Silver works so well in Muppet Treasure Island, not just because he’s funny, theatrical, and completely larger than life, but because he understood the real magic of acting with the Muppets.
> There’s a popular idea that Michael Caine treated the Muppets like real actors, while Tim Curry treated himself like a fellow Muppet. But according to Curry himself, that isn’t quite right. He didn’t see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, or the rest of the Muppet crew as props or puppets. He treated them as fully formed characters with their own personalities, timing, and emotional lives. That may be the key to why his performance feels so alive.
> This video essay explores Tim Curry’s casting as Long John Silver, his love for the Muppets, his larger-than-life theatrical style, and the behind-the-scenes energy of Muppet Treasure Island. We also look at how the Muppet performers stayed in character, how Curry approached the songs and comedy, why the “A Professional Pirate” number works so well, and how one surprisingly heartfelt scene with Jim Hawkins revealed a more vulnerable side of Curry’s acting.
Both Tim Curry and that video seem to misinterpret the "popular idea", at least as it is stated in this thread.
It doesn't say anything about how Tim Curry viewed the Muppets, but rather about how Tim Curry treated himself. It stands to reason that if he was, say, method acting as an actual Muppet, that he too would view the other Muppets as fellow actors with their own identities etc.
That was my reading of it too - Curry's response seems to seek to refute something that the original quote didn't actually say!
I can definitely see how someone could interpret it that way, assuming it's implying that he didn't see them as real, but I think that's an incorrect assumption and the quoted observation wasn't actually implying that at all.
Watch the actual film at is obvious he isn't doing that. He shows way more emotional range and subtly than a Muppet is capable of, plus "[his] only number" is not very Muppetty either.
I was a fan since university when someone down the corridor would have The Rocky Horror Picture Show playing all the time...
Imagine my delight at seeing him on a packed London Tube one morning on my way to work. He asked to get by and I said something like "Just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right?" waiting for him to burst into song with the whole carriage joining in..
He just scowled and pushed past - still made my day though :)
I and a fellow clerk at a polling station realized that it would be only 15 minutes to the opening and we were the only ones manning it. he began: " it's astounding, time is fleeting" I joined in "madness takes its toll" we continued to the chorus, some seconds before the opening the other people managed to be there and we had our fun, too
It'd be hilarious if it was just some dude who looked a lot like him and is just so sick and tired of how he can't go anywhere without people thinking he's tim curry
My first movie that introduced me to Tim Curry was Home Alone 2. It was maybe first few Hollywood Movies that I watched with parents(non-english speaking).
Now I'm 42yrs old, and when my parents visit me, I watch Home Alone 2 with them. It has somewhat become a family tradition now.
Thank you Tim for such a memorable moments. Great actor!
Oh that's right I almost forgot that this film exists - his astounding pronunciation and boogie woogie tailors are two highlights of this strange stage play adaptation. I have to .. no .. i must watch it again.
If you see it next to the
Rocky Horror Picture Show (edit: and as pennywise in IT!) it really displays how wide the interpreting skill of the actor were.
I recall reading that Curry went to the same gym as the actor of Penelope in Criminal Minds and asked her (repeatedly as I recall) if he could get a role. Eventually he got one and delivered as Flynn perhaps the most terrifying unsub in the history of the show to date.
As someone who's exposure to him had been in the vein of Home Alone 2, C & C, Muppets and Ferngully where his portrayal had always had considerable amount of whimsy sillyness to it, seeing him take a seriously terrifying role like that was a wonderful experience.
Finale of season 5 and start of season 6 for those wishing to see for themselves (highly recommend).
I think it's unfortunate that they chose to adapt _that_ one, really. It's good, but it's before Pratchett really got into his stride, and it's far closer to a straight satire of fantasy novels than subsequent books.
Oh, yes! Dr. Petrov. That film has so many great actors. Connery, Neill, Jeffrey Jones, Peter Firth… it even has a Baldwin and a Skarsgård in the same film.
My wife and I rewatched Congo recently and he was great in that too even through all the goofiness. My wife's also a big fan of the Three Musketeers (that might be the first movie from my childhood I remember him from, come to think of it)
When I was a teenager my aunt got me and my brother some tickets to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show - the original west end theater production: "you must see this". We had front row seats for a weekday matinee performance, Tim Curry was in the middle of a long run as Dr Frank-N-Furter - and boy, he blew our little socks off. I have never been present at such powerful stage magnetism before or since. The film version sorta captured it somewhat, but in the flesh he was unbelievable, powerful and ... divine.
A family friend had a yellow ~73 Duster. Tim Curry autographed her hood in spray paint. This was back in the early Rocky Horror days - a live performance in NYC, I think. Everyone adored the signature.
ff to mid 80's: She is leaving work. She gets to her parking space and sees that her hood is just yellow; the autograph is gone.
She's staring in shock when the attendant walks up to her and says in a heavy Arabic accent: "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I scrubbed and I scrubbed all morning until I finally got it all off!" and is just beaming at her. Her shock hasn't let up any. She manages to squeak out a "Thank you" and leaves.
I know most folks think of other films, but his performance in Ridley Scott's Legend as the grumble-cackling lust driven red-faced demon is a core memory for me. Grew up watching and admiring that film and especially Mr. Curry's portrayal of that character so many times. Because of him.
It's a fun myth but Parton and Curry already come fast on the heels of a few recent celebrity deaths: Sam Neill, Bonnie Tyler, Daveigh Chase, Hayden Panettiere, and Lindsay Graham.
I wonder if it even gets that far. He's so obsessed with the limelight that his (alleged, but very clear) health scare for a week drove headlines.
There's also the factor of Vance. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to pull off the 25th, but perhaps he's waiting for popularity to completely erode. He's certainly not going to be a serious candidate for 2028 without an absolute miracle of a turnaround in the next 2 years.
Permanent 25th Amendment is impossible. It requires two thirds of both houses which is more than impeachment. Amendment probably shouldn't have provided a mechanism and just required impeachment. Trump would have to be unable to respond or persuaded to resign.
Vance trying to pull off a 25th would be political suicide.
Trump's fan base is absolutely rabid. Anybody trying to exercise the 25th Amendment would be treated as a betrayal of the party and country, and I'm sure some morons would try to claim it's treason (because they don't know what defines treason).
> but perhaps he's waiting for popularity to completely erode
Never gonna happen. There's nothing that'll reduce Trump's popularity with MAGA.
> He's certainly not going to be a serious candidate for 2028 without an absolute miracle of a turnaround in the next 2 years.
Vance has an utter lack of charisma. Neither the good form of charisma, nor the anti-charisma that Trump carries that riles up a base. He's boring and doesn't know how to talk to people. Just look at the 2024 video when he visited a donut shop while campaigning with Trump.
I like to think that because Vance is utterly incapable of getting people excited, he would get devoured in a general election, but the DNC really knows how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm terrified that the DNC is going to push Gavin Newsom in 2028.
If 2028 ends up Vance vs Newsom, we'll probably see the lowest voter turnout in decades.
Yeah, when you realize this decade and the next, pretty much everyone you grew up whose entertainment you consumed in the 60s-80s, who was an adult then, is coming up... it's a sobering thought.
"Baby Boom + Life Expectancy..." I dread at the idea that some startup is probably in stealth mode, ready to "disrupt funerals" by the end of the year.
(Also, I dread the fact that I know a few boomers that I would actually like to stick around for while...)
I remember when a group of friends went to see Rocky Horror at Clinton Street theater here in Portland, not having any idea what we were getting ourselves into. What a memory. Rest in peace Tim Curry
When was that? Just went there last year - they technically never stopped the Saturday night shows during the pandemic, so we’d both have watched the same uninterrupted theatrical run…
Command and Conquer was almost certainly my first exposure to him. I guess it's time to go replay Red Alert 3 and enjoy those cutscenes all over again.
A regular yearly replay is in order for me, too. Already done with SC2... just SC1/WC3/DoW(2)/RA2(mental/flippedmissions/etc)/RA3(uprising)/HOMM3/etc/etc/etc. Ah well.
His voice has a huge impact on so many forms of media from video games, movies, tv shows and radio. I'll miss him. I've been missing him since he couldn't use his distinct voice for many years. Miss him more that he is no longer with us.
My first introduction to the man was Muppet Treasure Island, the video game. I didn't see the movie until I was adult but the game really, really stuck with me. It's not on GOG (yet) but a copy of it sits on archive: https://archive.org/details/MuppetTreasureIslandPC
It ran on W11 without too much trouble up until CD 3 started. There the whole game just seized up and refused to run. Weirdly no amount of uninstalling helped to get even earlier CDs running.
That being said it's a masterpiece, still, 30 years later.
Not to take things too off track but I worked at Egghead Software around that time and the looping recording we had on a TV for that game haunts me to this day.
RIP. Great actor. I went from knowing him first in Home Alone 2 as a kid and then later in RHPS (always gave me a chuckle to be like "wait...is that the guy from Home Alone?!").
It was absolutely formative for my later tastes in science fiction. For a while, I thought it was something from a fever dream until I found a DVD on eBay.
As a One Piece fan I truly believe Oda took inspirations from Tim Curry's works. I mean I don't think it's a coincidence that he played the Pirate King, a clown, a transvestite and a navy admiral - all of which are prominent roles in One Piece. Rest in paradise.
For me, his best work was Muppet Treasure Island. I'm glad I watched this BTS video with him: I had no idea he had a stroke in 2012 and hasn't acted since.
I will always be grateful for his performance as Gabriel Knight, my favorite game of all time. Not only he was one of the pioneers in the medium, but the performance itself is still one of the greatest of all time.
In SF, I was on a "shadow cast" that did Rocky Horror as their main show. The movie would play in the theater, and we'd be in front of the screen acting out the film in "screen accurate" detail, with our own little humorous changes.
I watched Rocky Horror what must have truly been upward of 1000 times :) Picking all the scenes apart, memorizing the movements and the lines.
I played Rocky, Eddie (Meatloaf), Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott. But I never got to play the legendary Frank.
To be honest, I don't think I could ever live up to it. There is a certain goofiness with all the other characters I loved to bring out and exaggerate -- But with Frank you had to embody Tim Curry. You can make it your own but there's still a root of him in all the depictions I've ever seen. The walk, the motions, the atmosphere of a demanding presence. It's all so distinctly Tim Curry :) I always loved seeing people fill the boots (well, the heels. Those heels are gigantic, if you've never looked at them closely!)
RIP Tim Curry. Thank you for everything you've done. All the joy you've brought into this world.
Some shadow cast RHPS memories, in tribute to our legend passing away.
1/ If you're doing a screen accurate show, you can play as Eddie and Dr. Scott :) It's a tight costume change but they're never on the screen at the same time. I always did both characters on those nights.
2/ Apparently the actor for Rocky had no idea what they were signing up for, and was super weirded out while filming. This was like the cast's entire favorite fun fact, and I don't have the heart to verify and ruin it. Because it certainly looks sort of true anyway if you take a closer look at him in the movie ;)
3/ The movie omits a single song from the broadway show. It is, of course, Brad's solo song. Which I have always found hilarious. Of course of all the songs, it's Brad's.
4/ After "Touch Me", Janet and Rocky have to stay hidden on stage almost totally naked in a tight prop space for the next scene to work right. It's a little thrilling seeing what you two can get away with, barely shielded from the audience and the cast :)
5/ Our regular Brad loved to "crowd surf" during the "don't dream it, be it" and... you know, it's very interesting doing that half naked with a boa!
6/ The floor show is the most stressful costume change. There's not enough time to do it yourself. We had people assigned and dedicated to the floor show costume change because it was so difficult to pull off. A full face of makeup, a whole new costume with fishnets, and a custom bedazzled corset!
7/ Dr. Scott's floor show change has it fairly easy in comparison. You can wear the fishnets for all of the show and just take off your pants :)
8/ Our main venue in SF was not set up for what we did. We didn't have a costume changing room; we had the trash room around the side. We laid towels over the trash cans and made our own little workstations, brought our own lighted mirrors, had to constantly whisper since the audience was literally right there at the door.
9/ My favorite all-time memory was caking the makeup on my face for floor show. I had these special spongey wedges I liked to do it with, and it was so meditative. You didn't have time to get it perfect, you had to slather it on and get up there. The feather boa, the cool night air touching my skin, the camaraderie of friends loving something together, laughing quietly and putting on a good show. None of it possible without Mr. Tim Curry.
In case anyone doesn't understand the reference, lproven is hoping that Donald Trump, current President of the United States, who has a bit part in Home Alone 2, dies next.
I think "cameo" is the correct term. He didn't wait in line all day with 1000 others to be an extra; he was asked to be in the movie because of how easily recognizable he is, and he plays himself.
as far as i understand it he requires a cameo in any film/show that uses his properties (in this case the trump hotel). he wasn't asked. it was required. supposedly most of the scenes filmed by other productions just end up on the cutting room floor but that one was left in.
He didn't say "dies next" -- releasing the Trump-Epstein files he promised then consequentially being thrown in jail for the rest of his hopefully long long life would be the ideal outcome. Fingers crossed!
i went to the symphony last year to see the movie Clue. the symphony played the music while the movie played on the big screen above. i’d never seen the movie, he was as amazing as everything else i’d seen him in.
Honestly, even though that's the only thing I've seen Tim Curry in, it's so strong that he has a fond place in my heart just for that performance. Dude knew how ridiculous it was and was having fun, which is a delight. It's hilarious to me watching him try to keep from cracking up in that scene.
Finding myself in the audience as a young adult and being inculcated into performance art, underground culture, independent film makers and the wonderful weirdos who surrounded me.. All of us wearing pyjamas or petticoats or garters and yelling towards the screen.. What an excellent way to start adulthood, with these ideas of freedom of expression. I hope the traditions continue, and godspeed to Tim Curry.
Great part, but I can't say I thought much of the movie. A friend was obsessed with it, I could never quite get why (his explanations essentially amounted to the unhelpful "just because!").
In the 1970s, a bunch of us would have marathon sessions playing this newfangled game called "Dungeons and Dragons." It was a box set then, AD&D was yet to come. We played in a games club on Yonge Street in Toronto, and just down the street as the kind of sleazy movie theatre that played "Swedish Naturist" movies and any other porn or porn-adjacent films they could get away with.
On Saturdays, we would play until about 11:45, lock the club up, and go to the theatre, where they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. It was semi-wild. A few people would be there in costume, and lots of people would shout out the most famous lines.
I enjoyed it, and ended up making a minor contribution to the atmosphere: I started brining a water pistol along, and when there was rain in the movie, I'd fire it upwards, waving it randomly so other patrons would get a little sprinkle.
There’s a small cinema in Paris that still screens 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' once a month; at certain times of the year, there’s even a troupe of amateur actors.
When I went to see it, it was a joyful shambles, with rice, water, ad-libbed lines, and drag queens surfing the audience.
This still happens with full shadow-casts and everything. Look around, and look to bigger cities if you're living somewhere out of the way. If there isn't a troupe near you that does this regularly, you may have more luck closer to Halloween.
The first time I ever saw Rocky Horror was in a public screening during university, some friends dressed up and as I had no idea what I'd been invited to I was trying to work out why everyone was wearing these big coats
Then we hit the theater and the coats came off and I was trying to work out what the hell I'd got myself into
I'd seen Tim Curry before in Home Alone 2, but seeing him as Frank-N-Furter, strutting his stuff on the screen, that was iconic
I spent more Friday and Saturday nights at the Tivoli in St. Louis at RHPS showings in my teen years than I can count. Quite literally, I lost track somewhere around 80 showings. (Not all at the Tivoli, but most.)
The first time I went to see it I was 16, I think, and being able to shout at the screen, throw toast and rice, generally just be loud and roudy as a teen, was fantastic.
Finally took my daughter (she's 20) to see it about some months ago during an anniversary screening... I got shushed by somebody two rows ahead for yelling a few lines. Nobody in the theatre knew about audience participation. Still fairly bummed about that. She'll probably never get the full audience participation experience, and that's sad.
RHPS was not my introduction to Tim Curry, though: Clue was. But I didn't put the two together until seeing Clue again after seeing RHPS a few times.
Some of the modern criticism of it is rather harsh. The complaints about predatory tropes, and lack of consent miss the whole point.
It is an outlandish piece of fiction, mixed with satire. It's just ment to be ridiculous and fun.
It's why people turned the whole midnight showing into an event. You either got what it was, and went to laugh and have a good time or you were just too stiff and didn't get it. The whole scene was great for suburban queer and gay kids who might not have had another outlet or gathering place.
I was lucky to have experienced it in the 80's and 90's in a few states. The relative homogeny of the crowed across states and venues was shocking. It was always a great way to "find your people" when you went somewhere new.
A few weeks ago I had Fable build https://curry-combat-2.com: Super Curry Combat II Turbo: Legend Edition, a Street Fighter clone where every fighter is a Time Curry character.
It, was to me, surprisingly good for an AI slop project. Though Fable not suggesting the Doctor from Red October or Homolka from Congo in its initial roster is the biggest indication to me that we're far from general AI.
Rocky Horror is one of those (movie, but also stage, if you go to see it) things where you're either in the culture already or you're not. Go to your first show, and be completely lost as the audience calls back things you obviously don't know yet. It gets better after you've seen it
Now, the salesman guy was IMO the best actor in that episode, but
Tim Curry played several roles, and played as the daughter, which
was absolutely hilarious. So if you can, watch that episode -
Tim was a hilarious guy. I wonder who had the idea of him playing
multiple roles (he was good in his other roles too, but playing
the daughter was by far the funniest part).
This happened to an acquaintance of mine. He had a pain in his neck, and went to a chiropractor. The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. His life afterwards was severely degraded. He was only in his 40s.
Hear hear. An alarming amount of people around me have had serious health scares directly caused by manipulation. A friend of a friend was nearly left paraplegic after a sports "straightening" by a well-known local specialist.
A close friend who had an extremely aggressive breast cancer at 35 (and is given to natural cures etc etc) took up acupuncture as a secondary treatment. All well and good until the third session, when the acupuncture people tried to get her to drop out of chemo and radiotherapy to fully commit to their treatments. Alternative medicine as a term should be considered fraud and its more radical practitioners thrown in jail immediately.
"By definition", I begin
"Alternative Medicine", I continue
"Has either not been proved to work,
Or been proved not to work.
You know what they call "alternative medicine"
That’s been proved to work?
Medicine."
Yikes. I've tried accupuncture. It _can_ work wonders for pain. But as a cure-all? Total quackery. Sorry your friend was approached like that in a time of need.
I have tried it a couple of times. For muscle tightness, there is some science behind why it works (and indeed this worked for me). Did it work better than a very painful massage session? No. But it was a lot less painful!
Appreciate your kindness. Unfortunately it’s very hard to understand if a woo-woo provider is waiting to prey on you when you’re at your weakest. I prefer not to support any pseudoscientific treatment modality if I can help it. Stick to disciplines who are subject to a higher degree of effectiveness and scrutiny and you’ll be saving yourself and others. Anything called mecidine and anyone called a doctor must uphold the highest standards.
> millions are radiated to death through capitalist medical systems that drive sales and prioritize profit over cures
This would be a reasonable belief if the USA was the only developed country to use chemo and none of the more Socialist European countries did. In fact, I'd be very wary of any such treatment.
But the reality is that all countries use it as a last resort. So the idea that doctors are recommending it for profit is obviously wrong: a Scottish doctor makes zero more money whatever treatment they recommend, so your theory is obviously wrong.
Having nationalized medicine does not mean drug sales don’t occur, it just means the doctor is not the dealer, and often doesn’t run a private practice.
The facilities still purchase drugs and equipment from private manufacturers.
In your example of a socialist country where the doctor is not incentivized to sell Drug A - someone above him still is.
After all, big pharma sells their drugs to government sponsored health systems and hospitals too.
You are running with the idea of socialized medicine to mean that the country actually produces all its own manufacturing, research, etc. and that no capitalism occurs when that’s nowhere near the reality.
There is no such thing as a health system that focuses on preventative care and actually caring for people. The ones that do exist, people like you call “alternative” or wacky while chomping amphetamine pills and going bald from radiation poisoning.
But the doctor doesn't have any incentive to push whatever the purchasers recommend.
The Scottish NHS really does care about treating people. I know several people who work there.
Your "people like me" spiel is a little lame because you are rather obviously ignorant of the world. Why don't you expand your knowledge rather than continuing here?
Chiropractors are cranks but a normal muscle massage is really unlikely to cause a stroke AFAIK. The risks from Chiros as I understand it involve the big "adjustments" where they go for big pops, particularly in the neck.
Back when I was running seriously I would occassionally turn my ankle on uneven surfaces. A local chiropractor "tested" my ankle alignment and concluded I needed orthotics to line up my hips. I purchased them but the delivered product weighed 3X the weight of my shoes and never fit properly.
After numerous visits to correct the orthotic problem, he referred me to another chiropractor who "specialized" in these kinds of things. That chiropractor's office smelled of incense and reminded me of a place I might use purchase a bong, four-hose houka, or Discwasher vinyl album cleaner.
He entered the "operatory" wearing a robe and proceeded to test my "neural strength" by having me create a loop with my thumb and index finger. His test involved trying to pull my fingers apart. He told me I was weak on the same side as the turned ankle. His solution was dietary and recommended a jar of yeast wafers. One a day while the ankle healed until finished.
Purchased them too.
In the meantime, I discovered an ancient remedy involving frozen water which I applied to the ankle with great effect. I also purchased a new pair of running shoes for a third of the price of an office visit and was able to continue running comfortably.
I was prescribed orthotics and wore them for years. I never noticed any improvement. After I started running regularly, then I saw improvement, and threw away the orthotics.
I'm dealing with a relatively minor but annoying back and neck issue and the number of people that have come out of the woodwork to tell me to go to a chiropractor is kind of shocking.
I need actual physical therapy from someone with a credible degree in sports medicine. It's a relatively common muscular issue that I'm pretty confident can be handled with stretching and strengthening routines but nobody has suggested doing that so far.
> The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. […] I'll never let a chiropractor touch me.
This is not chiropractor specific:
> Arterial dissection is well known as a potential cause of stroke in young patients. Vertebral artery dissection occurs most commonly in the setting of minor trauma but has been seen in cases of cervical manipulation. With advances in at-home therapeutic modalities for neck pain came the advent of handheld massage guns. These massage guns have gained considerable popularity in recent years, but their safety for use in the cervical region has not been well studied.
I have no idea why anyone ever does. It was invented before medical science was a thing by a guy with a 5th grade education and has been thoroughly debunked.
I was horrified that after his stroke they kept rolling him out in a wheelchair to perform for fandom nerds.
Guy should have been allowed to live the rest of his life in dignity quietly, tending to his garden, not tap dancing for 40+ year old adults still obsessed with "The Time Warp".
Maybe. I don't have enough context, but maybe that's what he wanted to do? Whatever you may think about it, I'm pretty convinced Ozzy wanted to go out with a big concert. Nobody had to push him to do it.
Even if he did... he was in bad shape and it must have been physically taxing.
The thought of him feeling obligated to be on stage in front of a room of wide-eyed adult children is particularly sad. This is more a commentary on his fans than Tim himself.
>"Guy should have been allowed to live the rest of his life in dignity quietly, tending to his garden, not tap dancing for 40+ year old adults still obsessed with "The Time Warp"."
You dont become Tim Curry unless you live for the attention. I highly doubt it was against his will. Shatner is still out there doing the theater circuit right now at nearly 100. Those generations in general (Silents and GIs) just had the mindset of "I'll stop working when I'm dead". It was the later Boomers really that latched onto the concept of retirement.
So your contention is that he would have rather spent the last 14 years of his life alone and quiet, rather than getting out there to have fun and be with people who love him, just because the was left-side paralyzed?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/movies/muppet-treasure-is...
> Curry emphatically denied that interpretation. “I saw the Muppets as actors with distinct personalities,” he said. “It’s astonishing how quickly you see them as people.”
> In this video, we look at why Tim Curry’s Long John Silver works so well in Muppet Treasure Island, not just because he’s funny, theatrical, and completely larger than life, but because he understood the real magic of acting with the Muppets.
> There’s a popular idea that Michael Caine treated the Muppets like real actors, while Tim Curry treated himself like a fellow Muppet. But according to Curry himself, that isn’t quite right. He didn’t see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, or the rest of the Muppet crew as props or puppets. He treated them as fully formed characters with their own personalities, timing, and emotional lives. That may be the key to why his performance feels so alive.
> This video essay explores Tim Curry’s casting as Long John Silver, his love for the Muppets, his larger-than-life theatrical style, and the behind-the-scenes energy of Muppet Treasure Island. We also look at how the Muppet performers stayed in character, how Curry approached the songs and comedy, why the “A Professional Pirate” number works so well, and how one surprisingly heartfelt scene with Jim Hawkins revealed a more vulnerable side of Curry’s acting.
It doesn't say anything about how Tim Curry viewed the Muppets, but rather about how Tim Curry treated himself. It stands to reason that if he was, say, method acting as an actual Muppet, that he too would view the other Muppets as fellow actors with their own identities etc.
I can definitely see how someone could interpret it that way, assuming it's implying that he didn't see them as real, but I think that's an incorrect assumption and the quoted observation wasn't actually implying that at all.
Imagine my delight at seeing him on a packed London Tube one morning on my way to work. He asked to get by and I said something like "Just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right?" waiting for him to burst into song with the whole carriage joining in..
He just scowled and pushed past - still made my day though :)
https://www.hardcoregaming101.net/the-rocky-horror-show/
Now I'm 42yrs old, and when my parents visit me, I watch Home Alone 2 with them. It has somewhat become a family tradition now.
Thank you Tim for such a memorable moments. Great actor!
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal Scene - https://youtu.be/h_bUcNjmuSk
He was an icon. It’s said you can tell a lot about a person by from where they recognize him.
Absolutely nobody else could make the word "elocution" sound so luxuriously redolent of desire.
If you see it next to the Rocky Horror Picture Show (edit: and as pennywise in IT!) it really displays how wide the interpreting skill of the actor were.
As someone who's exposure to him had been in the vein of Home Alone 2, C & C, Muppets and Ferngully where his portrayal had always had considerable amount of whimsy sillyness to it, seeing him take a seriously terrifying role like that was a wonderful experience.
Finale of season 5 and start of season 6 for those wishing to see for themselves (highly recommend).
Thanks for the reminder!
(Sorry, just noticed the older sibling comment said the same thing)
Sam Neil - Gone. Sean Connery - Gone. Tim Curry - (now)Gone.
All the big names from my childhood are starting to die... Damn.
A family friend had a yellow ~73 Duster. Tim Curry autographed her hood in spray paint. This was back in the early Rocky Horror days - a live performance in NYC, I think. Everyone adored the signature.
ff to mid 80's: She is leaving work. She gets to her parking space and sees that her hood is just yellow; the autograph is gone.
She's staring in shock when the attendant walks up to her and says in a heavy Arabic accent: "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I scrubbed and I scrubbed all morning until I finally got it all off!" and is just beaming at her. Her shock hasn't let up any. She manages to squeak out a "Thank you" and leaves.
I was always happy to hear his voice work in shows as well. Mighty Max and Super Samurai Syber Squad being among my favorite.
He’s fantastic in Clue as well.
Less beloved was the 90's sci-show "Earth 2" (also featuring Clancy Brown).
Also his voice role as Hexxus in Fern Gully!
Honestly, if I could make it to 70 I'd say I lived a good life. getting to 80 and outliving my grandpa would be great.
Then I see people barely older than me, who felt like they were just getting started go out way way way too young... and that just terrifies me.
We're already seeing a test of the playbook with a certain turtle-like man.
There's also the factor of Vance. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to pull off the 25th, but perhaps he's waiting for popularity to completely erode. He's certainly not going to be a serious candidate for 2028 without an absolute miracle of a turnaround in the next 2 years.
Trump's fan base is absolutely rabid. Anybody trying to exercise the 25th Amendment would be treated as a betrayal of the party and country, and I'm sure some morons would try to claim it's treason (because they don't know what defines treason).
> but perhaps he's waiting for popularity to completely erode
Never gonna happen. There's nothing that'll reduce Trump's popularity with MAGA.
> He's certainly not going to be a serious candidate for 2028 without an absolute miracle of a turnaround in the next 2 years.
Vance has an utter lack of charisma. Neither the good form of charisma, nor the anti-charisma that Trump carries that riles up a base. He's boring and doesn't know how to talk to people. Just look at the 2024 video when he visited a donut shop while campaigning with Trump.
I like to think that because Vance is utterly incapable of getting people excited, he would get devoured in a general election, but the DNC really knows how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm terrified that the DNC is going to push Gavin Newsom in 2028.
If 2028 ends up Vance vs Newsom, we'll probably see the lowest voter turnout in decades.
(Also, I dread the fact that I know a few boomers that I would actually like to stick around for while...)
RIP Tim.
One of my favourite roles I've seen him in was as Trymon in the TV version of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic.
I rewatch it every few years, still love it.
"No meaning yes!?"
https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-oral-history-of-tim-curry...
Rest in peace, mister Curry (inconceivable that he wasn't knighted).
https://clip.cafe/muppet-treasure-island-1996/but-its-not-hi...
(aside: Someone needs to upload a better-quality version of this to YouTube)
RIP Long John Silver!
Herkermer Homolka in Congo (1995)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112715/
RIP
You can probably identify the age of every commenter in this thread based on the particular role that sits with them.
The 'Wilderness Girls' scene in Loaded Weapon 1 will forever be in my heart and laughter; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRN2spEualo
It ran on W11 without too much trouble up until CD 3 started. There the whole game just seized up and refused to run. Weirdly no amount of uninstalling helped to get even earlier CDs running.
That being said it's a masterpiece, still, 30 years later.
It was absolutely formative for my later tastes in science fiction. For a while, I thought it was something from a fever dream until I found a DVD on eBay.
0: https://youtu.be/LnX3B9oaKzw?t=3m6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzU8f4HaQw0
I watched Rocky Horror what must have truly been upward of 1000 times :) Picking all the scenes apart, memorizing the movements and the lines.
I played Rocky, Eddie (Meatloaf), Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott. But I never got to play the legendary Frank.
To be honest, I don't think I could ever live up to it. There is a certain goofiness with all the other characters I loved to bring out and exaggerate -- But with Frank you had to embody Tim Curry. You can make it your own but there's still a root of him in all the depictions I've ever seen. The walk, the motions, the atmosphere of a demanding presence. It's all so distinctly Tim Curry :) I always loved seeing people fill the boots (well, the heels. Those heels are gigantic, if you've never looked at them closely!)
RIP Tim Curry. Thank you for everything you've done. All the joy you've brought into this world.
Some shadow cast RHPS memories, in tribute to our legend passing away.
1/ If you're doing a screen accurate show, you can play as Eddie and Dr. Scott :) It's a tight costume change but they're never on the screen at the same time. I always did both characters on those nights.
2/ Apparently the actor for Rocky had no idea what they were signing up for, and was super weirded out while filming. This was like the cast's entire favorite fun fact, and I don't have the heart to verify and ruin it. Because it certainly looks sort of true anyway if you take a closer look at him in the movie ;)
3/ The movie omits a single song from the broadway show. It is, of course, Brad's solo song. Which I have always found hilarious. Of course of all the songs, it's Brad's.
4/ After "Touch Me", Janet and Rocky have to stay hidden on stage almost totally naked in a tight prop space for the next scene to work right. It's a little thrilling seeing what you two can get away with, barely shielded from the audience and the cast :)
5/ Our regular Brad loved to "crowd surf" during the "don't dream it, be it" and... you know, it's very interesting doing that half naked with a boa!
6/ The floor show is the most stressful costume change. There's not enough time to do it yourself. We had people assigned and dedicated to the floor show costume change because it was so difficult to pull off. A full face of makeup, a whole new costume with fishnets, and a custom bedazzled corset!
7/ Dr. Scott's floor show change has it fairly easy in comparison. You can wear the fishnets for all of the show and just take off your pants :)
8/ Our main venue in SF was not set up for what we did. We didn't have a costume changing room; we had the trash room around the side. We laid towels over the trash cans and made our own little workstations, brought our own lighted mirrors, had to constantly whisper since the audience was literally right there at the door.
9/ My favorite all-time memory was caking the makeup on my face for floor show. I had these special spongey wedges I liked to do it with, and it was so meditative. You didn't have time to get it perfect, you had to slather it on and get up there. The feather boa, the cool night air touching my skin, the camaraderie of friends loving something together, laughing quietly and putting on a good show. None of it possible without Mr. Tim Curry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameo_appearance
He added it as a requirement to film in the hotel since he owned it at the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF0x5qFwEp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Sq1Nr58hM
i forgot about it.
RIP Tim Curry.
i went to the symphony last year to see the movie Clue. the symphony played the music while the movie played on the big screen above. i’d never seen the movie, he was as amazing as everything else i’d seen him in.
Honestly, even though that's the only thing I've seen Tim Curry in, it's so strong that he has a fond place in my heart just for that performance. Dude knew how ridiculous it was and was having fun, which is a delight. It's hilarious to me watching him try to keep from cracking up in that scene.
RIP absolute legend.
RIP
On Saturdays, we would play until about 11:45, lock the club up, and go to the theatre, where they would show The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. It was semi-wild. A few people would be there in costume, and lots of people would shout out the most famous lines.
I enjoyed it, and ended up making a minor contribution to the atmosphere: I started brining a water pistol along, and when there was rain in the movie, I'd fire it upwards, waving it randomly so other patrons would get a little sprinkle.
People liked that kind of thing!
When I went to see it, it was a joyful shambles, with rice, water, ad-libbed lines, and drag queens surfing the audience.
Then we hit the theater and the coats came off and I was trying to work out what the hell I'd got myself into
I'd seen Tim Curry before in Home Alone 2, but seeing him as Frank-N-Furter, strutting his stuff on the screen, that was iconic
What a show, that man knew how to commit
The first time I went to see it I was 16, I think, and being able to shout at the screen, throw toast and rice, generally just be loud and roudy as a teen, was fantastic.
Finally took my daughter (she's 20) to see it about some months ago during an anniversary screening... I got shushed by somebody two rows ahead for yelling a few lines. Nobody in the theatre knew about audience participation. Still fairly bummed about that. She'll probably never get the full audience participation experience, and that's sad.
RHPS was not my introduction to Tim Curry, though: Clue was. But I didn't put the two together until seeing Clue again after seeing RHPS a few times.
Some of the modern criticism of it is rather harsh. The complaints about predatory tropes, and lack of consent miss the whole point.
It is an outlandish piece of fiction, mixed with satire. It's just ment to be ridiculous and fun.
It's why people turned the whole midnight showing into an event. You either got what it was, and went to laugh and have a good time or you were just too stiff and didn't get it. The whole scene was great for suburban queer and gay kids who might not have had another outlet or gathering place.
I was lucky to have experienced it in the 80's and 90's in a few states. The relative homogeny of the crowed across states and venues was shocking. It was always a great way to "find your people" when you went somewhere new.
[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49454496
[2]https://curry-combat-2.com/
Fast as AI turnaround indeed?
Top Movie Peak Performance by the great Tim Curry
http://theoneplacethathasntbeencorruptedbycapitalism.space
It, was to me, surprisingly good for an AI slop project. Though Fable not suggesting the Doctor from Red October or Homolka from Congo in its initial roster is the biggest indication to me that we're far from general AI.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0394935/
Now, the salesman guy was IMO the best actor in that episode, but Tim Curry played several roles, and played as the daughter, which was absolutely hilarious. So if you can, watch that episode - Tim was a hilarious guy. I wonder who had the idea of him playing multiple roles (he was good in his other roles too, but playing the daughter was by far the funniest part).
It was only years later that I understood this to be a statement about all the corpse forward products produced by over-aggregated companies.
Whenever it seems like the product just doesn't do what you want, and charges too much for it, remember this paraphrase:
They didn't make it for YOU...
This happened to an acquaintance of mine. He had a pain in his neck, and went to a chiropractor. The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. His life afterwards was severely degraded. He was only in his 40s.
I'll never let a chiropractor touch me.
A close friend who had an extremely aggressive breast cancer at 35 (and is given to natural cures etc etc) took up acupuncture as a secondary treatment. All well and good until the third session, when the acupuncture people tried to get her to drop out of chemo and radiotherapy to fully commit to their treatments. Alternative medicine as a term should be considered fraud and its more radical practitioners thrown in jail immediately.
Something along the lines of "If alternative medicine worked we would just call it medicine."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Minchin%27s_Law
(The whole thing is worth rewatching)
Medicine." —Tim Minchin
Stickfigure changed his comment from “drivers”/“airbags” to “skydivers”/“parachutes”
What I would say to “parachutes” is that evidently so many people do not go skydiving - why?
If doctors were peddling skydiving as a cure to anything, I would be just as skeptical as when they suggest radiating yourself to death.
This would be a reasonable belief if the USA was the only developed country to use chemo and none of the more Socialist European countries did. In fact, I'd be very wary of any such treatment.
But the reality is that all countries use it as a last resort. So the idea that doctors are recommending it for profit is obviously wrong: a Scottish doctor makes zero more money whatever treatment they recommend, so your theory is obviously wrong.
The facilities still purchase drugs and equipment from private manufacturers.
In your example of a socialist country where the doctor is not incentivized to sell Drug A - someone above him still is.
After all, big pharma sells their drugs to government sponsored health systems and hospitals too.
You are running with the idea of socialized medicine to mean that the country actually produces all its own manufacturing, research, etc. and that no capitalism occurs when that’s nowhere near the reality.
There is no such thing as a health system that focuses on preventative care and actually caring for people. The ones that do exist, people like you call “alternative” or wacky while chomping amphetamine pills and going bald from radiation poisoning.
The Scottish NHS really does care about treating people. I know several people who work there.
Your "people like me" spiel is a little lame because you are rather obviously ignorant of the world. Why don't you expand your knowledge rather than continuing here?
After numerous visits to correct the orthotic problem, he referred me to another chiropractor who "specialized" in these kinds of things. That chiropractor's office smelled of incense and reminded me of a place I might use purchase a bong, four-hose houka, or Discwasher vinyl album cleaner.
He entered the "operatory" wearing a robe and proceeded to test my "neural strength" by having me create a loop with my thumb and index finger. His test involved trying to pull my fingers apart. He told me I was weak on the same side as the turned ankle. His solution was dietary and recommended a jar of yeast wafers. One a day while the ankle healed until finished.
Purchased them too.
In the meantime, I discovered an ancient remedy involving frozen water which I applied to the ankle with great effect. I also purchased a new pair of running shoes for a third of the price of an office visit and was able to continue running comfortably.
I need actual physical therapy from someone with a credible degree in sports medicine. It's a relatively common muscular issue that I'm pretty confident can be handled with stretching and strengthening routines but nobody has suggested doing that so far.
This is not chiropractor specific:
> Arterial dissection is well known as a potential cause of stroke in young patients. Vertebral artery dissection occurs most commonly in the setting of minor trauma but has been seen in cases of cervical manipulation. With advances in at-home therapeutic modalities for neck pain came the advent of handheld massage guns. These massage guns have gained considerable popularity in recent years, but their safety for use in the cervical region has not been well studied.
* https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9197740/
...or possibly caused the issue: https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-paralyzed-chiropractor...
Yeah. Chiropractors are not doctors, whatever their degree mill happens to say.
I have no idea why anyone ever does. It was invented before medical science was a thing by a guy with a 5th grade education and has been thoroughly debunked.
Guy should have been allowed to live the rest of his life in dignity quietly, tending to his garden, not tap dancing for 40+ year old adults still obsessed with "The Time Warp".
Even if he did... he was in bad shape and it must have been physically taxing.
The thought of him feeling obligated to be on stage in front of a room of wide-eyed adult children is particularly sad. This is more a commentary on his fans than Tim himself.
Others here are saying, like Ozzy, he might have been doing what he wanted to do.
To quote the poet, Dylan Thomas,
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
https://old.reddit.com/r/timcurry/comments/1tzyqt6/sf_clue_q...
You dont become Tim Curry unless you live for the attention. I highly doubt it was against his will. Shatner is still out there doing the theater circuit right now at nearly 100. Those generations in general (Silents and GIs) just had the mindset of "I'll stop working when I'm dead". It was the later Boomers really that latched onto the concept of retirement.