When Tim Curry was finally brought on stage, the entire theater rose to its feet. Sitting before us in a wheelchair — a result of his 2012 stroke — Curry was met with cheers and tears. We shone every bit of love we had for the man who’d helped us find our own identities. It took almost a minute for Peaches Christ to quiet the crowd.
She did an admirable job of asking the questions we all wanted answered, without fan-girling too much. When asked how he felt about his cult following, Curry’s wry response was that he quite liked it. “Nothing I can do about it.”
The conversation started with Rocky Horror, of course. When Peaches asked what his favorite part of playing Frank-N-Furter was, Curry answered that he liked it when he got laid. After the laughter died down, he added, “Something we have in common.”
Curry called the Waverly Theater to see it for himself. When he identified himself as Tim Curry, the boy on the phone informed him that he was the third “Tim Curry” to call that day.
Peaches led us into Curry’s role of “The Darkness” in Legend, recalling how hot and bothered Curry’s “Satan with muscles” persona made her as a young person (she certainly wasn’t alone). “You really corrupted me!” she burst out.
“I’m very proud,” he replied.
Then came Clue. “I was astonished to be in a film with Madeline Kahn,” Curry said. “And she did not disappoint.”
And, of course, It (1990). When my therapist asks, “What scares you?”the first thing that comes to mind isn’t the headlines of doom, climate change, or even job security. No, it’s Tim Curry’s Pennywise, reaching for my ankles from the sewers.
“I approached the role very gingerly,” Curry said. “Because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”
Peaches told us that when the Haus of Cream walked by Curry backstage in full Pennywise regalia, he shrugged and said, “Been there. Done that.”
