After a 2012 Stroke, Tim Curry Stares Down Mortality — Keep Your Pity

Tim Curry sat down for a new TV profile and, true to form, turned heavy topics into sharp, unflinching conversation. If you grew up terrified by Pennywise, sang along with Dr. Frank N. Furter, tried to keep up with Wadsworth, or met a very committed concierge at the Plaza, you know exactly how singular he is. The man built a career on theatrical voltage, then had it derailed by a 2012 stroke. Now he is talking again, with the same dry bite, and he has a new memoir to go with it.

Still Tim Curry, just with more mileage

In a candid chat on CBS Sunday Morning with Ben Mankiewicz, Curry was crystal clear about where his head is at these days. He is not asking for sympathy, and he is not afraid of what comes next.

"I don't fear death. I try to avoid it as I think we all do. But I suspect that, in the end, I will welcome it. I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye. And I want to earn it."

That tone carries through the rest of the interview. He pushes back on the idea that pity is useful, saying he does not admire self-pity and essentially asking, why would anyone be so important that we have to pity them? It is the kind of blunt, bracing perspective only Tim Curry can deliver without sounding maudlin.

What actually happened, in his words

Curry broke down the stroke and the aftermath with the kind of detail fans have wondered about for years. He says he felt fine when it began, with no pain and no clear warning signs. His father died from a stroke when Curry was a child, so the diagnosis landed with history attached. The effects were immediate and frightening: his face pulled to one side, he lost his ability to speak, and he began using a wheelchair. After brain surgery and a long stretch of rehab, he rebuilt his voice from scratch.

• 2012: Suffers a stroke; initially loses speech and begins using a wheelchair
• Early symptoms: He felt fine and was not in pain, then realized something was wrong
• Treatment: Brain surgery and extensive rehabilitation
• Recovery: Had to learn to speak again; now speaking publicly with his old wit intact
• Perspective: 13 years on, he is open about the struggle but allergic to self-pity

The work that made him a lifer for fans

There is a reason he has never left the conversation. Curry did flamboyant and sinister with equal ease: Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Wadsworth in Clue, Pennywise in It, Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, and yes, the ever-helpful concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. If you are queuing up Rocky Horror or It this spooky season and saving Home Alone 2 for December, you are not alone. It is hard not to think about what we missed in the last 13 years, but the catalog he left us across genres is ridiculous.

A quick behind-the-scenes nugget

Ben Mankiewicz, who profiled Curry, noted afterward that Curry enjoyed making The Hunt for Red October and flat-out adored Sean Connery. It tracks. The man collects memorable collaborators.

The new book

Curry has a memoir out this month, 'Vagabond', from Hachette Book Group. It covers the stroke, the recovery, and the long road of his life in the arts. If the interview is the tone-setter, the book is the deep dive.

Bottom line: it is good to hear his voice again. He is not fishing for pity; he is telling you exactly how it is, with that familiar glint. That is the Tim Curry way.