Ticket 2 Ride

Tim Curry. Whatever he’s in, you won’t forget it. A devastating stroke in 2012 damn near killed him, it certainly impacted his career. Partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, but not detoured – Curry continued his voice work in television, film and video games. I’ve been awaiting his autobiography, so let’s delve in.

Curry began his stage career in the London production of Hair, and after a few more roles, he was cast in a strange little musical production called The Rocky Horror Show as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Curry writes about the freedom building this character, and it’s important to note that he feels very protective of Frank. Fifty-some years ago, Frank was on the in the era of glam-rock, androgynous personality, and sexual ambiguity, and there have been many interpretations and assumptions about who and what Frank was meant to be. Read the book.

More stage presentations and the Rocky Horror Picture Show film made Curry a recognized name in show business. Many doors opened, especially to Hollywood and Broadway.

“The roles I was privileged to play within a roughly six-year stretch certainly tested my range. Leaping from Roster to Mozart to the Pirate King to Darkness, and then on to Wadsworth and Pennywise, demanded that I stretch in every direction as an actor—and I loved that varied, uphill climb.”

Amadeus, Princes of Penzance, Threepenny Opera, Annie, Legend, Clue were plays and films that filled the 1980s for Curry.

Associated with many villainous roles, Curry only took jobs where he could build them and this in a bit of “mischief” as he called it. “Much as I enjoy trampling about in the dark arts through these characters…The thing is, I don’t truly believe in irredeemably dark people.”

Then came It, a TV miniseries (1990) based on Stephen King’s story of a predatory monster that often takes the form of Pennywise, a clown.

“In any case, the thought of embodying this killer clown made me feel simultaneously uncomfortable and like I would be pushing myself to take it on. The majority of people who want to talk to me about being Pennywise are either notably odd people, who sort of revel in his evilness, or else they want me to know that I’ve really traumatized them, or made it impossible to sleep, or something of that variety.”

The image of Pennywise in the sewer, is still terrifying to me.

The book touches on Curry’s major stage productions and films, but very little on his personal life. His father died when Curry was young and his closest family connection was his older sister, and her kids. Curry clearly states that Vagabond is not a “kiss and tell” so we learn nothing of his romantic life. Nada.

What did I learn about Tim Curry? Aside from being a very private man, who only hinted at issues he did not explore in his book, he’s also very humble about his career. He landed some extraordinary roles, but I got the feeling that he could have been a bigger film star – had he put more emphasis on seeking starring roles and less on challenging theatrical roles. That’s just my observation and not based on anything other than this book and a review of his credits. As a Brit, gaining A-list standing in Hollywood films is not easy, but he grabbed some nice character roles in films like Annie, Hunt for Red October and Clue, so he didn’t do badly..

“As for the future—it’s a highly uncertain place for me, which is how I prefer it. To experience the full spectrum of human emotion and experience…If life and all its mischievous left turns—which I do excel at executing has offered me anything, it’s that guarantees are but an illusion…Today, I am feeling quite strong. My rough patches have been rough, but I’ve survived them all.”

“…it’s that being a vagabond is not defined by distance traveled or the number of places I’ve called home; it’s about adopting a certain attitude toward life.”

I enjoyed this book, it was written with humor and humility.