Tim Curry’s cause of death has been revealed, a week after his passing at the age of 80.
The English actor, known for Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, and documents from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health indicate he died of coronary artery disease.
© FilmMagicThe document also listed a history of stroke and kidney cancer as significant conditions that contributed to his death; a July 2012 stroke left Tim partially paralyzed and with mobility issues.
People magazine was the first to report the news.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common type of heart disease Blood flow to the heart is reduced, often due to a buildup of fats, cholesterol. and other substances in and on the artery walls.
© Courtesy of the Rocky Horror Picture ShowTim died at his Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, in the late evening hours of August 25, 2026. The actor had never married and had no children.
After his stroke, he stepped back from acting, focusing on vicework. He spent much of 2025 honoring the 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and shared at the time that he found the wheelchair "limiting".
© Getty Images"I still can’t walk, which is why I’m in this silly chair, and that’s very limiting. So I won’t be singing and I won’t be dancing very soon. I still have real problems with my left leg," he revealed.
The stroke occurred during a massage, with the therapist noticing an issue and telling Tim he was calling him an ambulance.
Tim found fame on the West End in the early 1970s and met Richard O'Brien who wrote the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the stage production of The Rocky Horror Show for Tim.
It was a hit in London, but when the show transferred to Broadway, it flopped. Undeterred, Richard turned the musical into a film, and the 1975 release went on to become a cult classic.
The film follows college sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) who, after getting a flat tire, enter a nearby mansion to have their lives changed over the course of one chaotic night as they meet Frank-N-Furter, an alien scientist who is unveiling his artificial man, Rocky, for his eccentric friends.
© Getty Images
© Getty ImagesFrank became a career-defining role, and arguably Tim's most notable role, although he also starred as Rooster Hannigan in 1982's Annie, Wadsworth in 1985's Clue, the hotel concierge in 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, plus the 1990 TV miniseries Stephen King's It, in which he played Pennywise the Clown.
His work on stage earned him two Olivier Award nominations and three Tony Award nominations, including for the 1980 production of Amadeus alongside Sir Ian McKellen and Jane Seymour.
© Getty Images"Every night he’d bring something new and would keep me on my toes! Watching him work was a joy," Jane wrote on Instagram following his death. “He had that rare ability to be completely fearless, surprising, and utterly himself.".
"There will never be another Tim," she added. "I will remember the laughter, the brilliance, and the wonderful spirit he brought to everything he did."
Tim reprised his role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a 2020 table read of Rocky Horror to raise funds for Joe Biden's presidential campaign and in 2025 Tim released his memoir, Vagabond, which chronicled his life and career in the public eye.
